Hi all,

I'm new and my wife and I just purchased a 2003 MCS. We live in Maine and the winters are pretty bad. How are these cars in the snow?

We now have 3 vehicles and could put it up in the winter, but my wife wants to drive it.

Any help or ideas would be great.

thanks,

gbowman

 

With the right tires, you will run circles around SUVs. Lighter cars are better in the snow because they have less mass to stop. DSC is good too.

Might I recomend Nokian Tires?

 

try this link..


http://www.mini.ca/en/More_MINI/Wint...g/default.aspx


I'm in Minnesota and getting ready for my 3rd winter with a MINI.

Unbelievable!

 

Note the winter tires in those videos.

This will be my 5th winter with a MINI. Altough I tout winter tires, I have never actually used any. But my sister has on her MC, Nokian Hakapallitas or whatever they are called. They work wonders she says. Anyway, I used the GoodYear RSA for a few years, then Avon Tech M..somehting. Hell, one year I used summer tires and made it through...almost. This year it will be my sister's discarded hollies with 5 year old-nearly-blad-stock contis on 'em, since she has new Hakapelitas on her 16" 5 spoke siver star rims(came with the '02 MC as an option)

 

My 03 has gone through winter just fine here in OH. As said....put the right tires on and off ya go.

 

I had just regular All weather tires on my 2003 in Salt Lake City and did just fine.

 

Besides suggesting getting a set of winter tires/wheels (to make the switch over easy) just remember that the MINI has lower ground clearance. So just don't drive it if you have more than about 4" of fresh snow, wait for the plows.

 

gbowman,
Where in Maine are you? Congrats on your new MINI. I just purchased an 07 Cooper. I will shortly equip it with as yet unnamed dedicated snow tires. I live in Poland.

formerly BMWboy
now MINI and Ranger boy

 

I've got winter tires on my '04 MCS and have not had a problem. Last winter I drove through close to 1 foot of snow passing everything.

 

Dunlop 16" Wintersport M3 (runflat) on mine for the winter. Great combo. And keep in mind that the winter tires will also help at low temperatures when there is no snow, since they use a softer compound. My 17" summer tires turn hard as a rock the closer you get to 0 degrees.

 

Thanks for the video Jimmy Racoon. It was very helpfull. Thanks to everyone for their imput.

gbowman

 

I ran my 03 Cooper the first winter with the all-seasons. It was ok, but no where near as great when I had snow tires.

I used to live out in the country and after many a snow storm it was just me and the snowplows out and about

After I dug him out, I was motoring in this stuff.




Now that I live in St. Louis, where winter is a myth, I don't need snows.

Mark

 

Alot of people don't realize that summer tires go hard in cold . I've had so much fun with the Mini with dedicated snows( the tires should have little snow flakes on the sidewalls) in the snow. Its really too fast ! Just get the tallest & skinniest tires that will fit on your rims and under your car.

 

Proper snow tires on a MINI and you are good to go. Even the RSAs are not bad in my experience. I've driven circles around SUVs in 6" of snow. Ground clearance can be an issue though...

 

My '04 MCS loves the snow. Assuming you get snow tires, the only problem you'll have is deep, heavy snow. Once it gets packed underneath and the front wheels are hanging in the air, your progress will definitely slow down.

 

Snow tires make all the difference. I use Nokian Hakka 2's in 185/65/15.

 

This will be my 2nd winter in my '04 MCS. It's a blast to drive, I've got a set of Pirelli Winter Carving studded tires and 15" cheapo aluminum wheels from Alex at the Tire Rack - 186/65/15 is the size. Skinny and tall works best in the winter. I have some pics in my gallery and at http://www.flickr.com/photos/AKIndiMini

I feel a lot more glued to the road than I do in my '94 Jeep Cherokee (also equipped w/ winter tires). It was so much of a blast to drive last winter that my Jeep ended up sitting except on the heaviest of snow days.

I will add that my factory 17" run-flat Pirelli Euphori tires are just downright dangerous in winter weather. They get really hard in temps colder than 45*F and cease to grip anything other than dry pavement.

 

I've completed 3 winters in central PA on my Hankook Ice Bears in a 195/50-16 and have had no problems. I've driven through 8-9" of fresh snow without any problems. It does push some snow with the front air dam but it doesn't seem to affect performance. I'll be putting on a fresh set this winter in a 205/50-16 because the rating on the 195's is marginal and clearance is an issue. If you want to see MINI's in the snow, check out:

http://www.arcticmini.com/

Hopefully, I'll be heading back to Newfoundland next February.

 

What's snow?

 

I run all seasons in the winter on my MINI. They get me through. Still, since my wife works 2 miles away and I work 32 miles away, I take her Saab when there is snow. She has the Dunlop M3 Performance Winter tires. With the all seasons I get through. With the winter performance tires I'm in better control than all the cars around me as long as I'm moving with traffic. This is cool because, unlike in the dry, in the snow many, many drivers push right to the limit of their vehicles. I can brake and steer around the skidding vehicles of which there are one or a few in each city to city commute in a borderline winter state like New Mexico.

Maine may be another matter. Real snow tires are quite different than performance snow tires. Really good in the snow and drivable on ice . . . at least as big a gap as between all seasons and performance snows when the road is snowpacked. I like performance winter tires because most of the time the roads aren't snowpacked and I can still enjoy the Saab (an Aero model) on the cold dry pavement which is usaually offered in winter. And yes, they are better than the all seasons on cold dry pavement.

As for the specific characteristics of the MINI: Ground clearance is the biggest negative issue. The second negative factor is that the performance all seasons are poor in the winter.. . and many of us get summer tires with the car. However if you solve that problem with appropriate shoes, it is an excellent winter car in every other way.