picked up my 04 MCS on thursday... and slid into a curb on sun. had to have it towed to the dealership, where i found i did at least $1700 in damage. yikes. i wasnt even going that fast, and im wondering if run flats give you less traction then a normal Z rated tire. I used to do some wicked stuff in my GTI with no problems, but it seems that the mini will break and slide real easy. other than that... i love the car.

called insurance to foot the bill (500 deductable).

-> (hating self)

 

Ouch that sucks!!! Sorry to hear about the curb attack.

 

When we went to buy our new MCS the service manager told us of a guy that picked up his brand new MINI left the lot got one block and totaled the car.

So yeah it sucks that the curb attacked you but atleast it is fixable

 

OOOOO!!! Thats bites. I had similar damage to my old 94 Sunbird. Didnt think I did too much damage either but before ya know it, the bills gone up past $1,000!! Hope everything gets fixed up soon

 

thanks guys, i feel a bit better

i would feel a lot better if i was able to improve the car in some way though

the JCW suspension upgrade looks nice, but not sure if its worth it (not officially asking, cause i know if i do someone will pimp slap me with the search button)

 

The run flats would not stick as well from what I have been told and read. If you read here for a bit you will constantly run across the phrase "Ditch the run flats" quite often.

I'm not sure if that was directly related to your mishap, but an investment in standard tires might be the cure for spirited driving.

 

I find the RF don't stick too well to the concrete or asphalt. I'm thinking of getting another set of rims to put some nice sticky tires on for the summer, then maybe run the RFs in the winter. It's a big investment, but one slide into a curb could be the cost of what I need to avoid what happened to you.

Sorry to hear about your new MINI. Hope all is well soon.

Mark

 

First...Sorry you pranged your new MINI. They will fix it & it'll be fine.

Second...I hope it's a $500 lesson for you. There are much safer places to drive your car at the limit, they call them race tracks. Most drivers schools cost less that $500.

 

Sorry about your MINI... that really sucks!

In my experience, I've had REALLY good traction with the S-Lite runflats on my MINI... but as we all know, every MINI is different.

 

RFs do stick relatively well, especially the Pirellis as they are a full-blown summer performance tire. I'd say that your unfamiliarity with the MINI, plus the undeniable sense of superiority that comes with MINI ownership combined to surpass the laws of physics. You can claim extra-credit for your undergraduate degree though, if that's any consolation.

 

Man that totally sucks!! I can´t imagine what you´re even going through... I liked my RFs when I had them, not knowing any difference... But now that I have actually gotten away from them (I now have Kuhmo ASXs) I can totally feel the differece... I think you should get away from the RFs... and maybe upgrade your swaybar too... Sounds like you´re going to be a pretty spirited driver.

 

Don't know if this was an issue.. but the summer performance runflats are pretty good but will need 300-400 miles of break-in before they reach max stickiness (if they were new).

 

Maybe this will help....

Many many moons ago, when I owned a MCSa.......

I waited and waited for my car to get her new JCW wheels put on... Two weeks later, they were on! YEA!

I got all excited and drove back to my town..... and went to starbucks to show my friend....

and hit a curb going into my spot. Less than an hour of ownership and already one had been destroyed.

and best of all? there was a MINI run the next day.. .sigh.

I feel you pain brother! Good luck!

 

So sorry for your mishap

I have the Pirelli runflats & they stick really well. I have never felt like I was going to lose control in a twistie (nor could I imagine going any faster in that same twistie on any tire). I am going to go non-runflat when I replace my tires but I am doing it for a smoother ride. If the car sticks better that will just be one more plus

 

Its not a matter of the tires being poor, you just don't know how to control your car yet. Take some time to learn your MINI before you do anything wild

 

I have the dunlop RF's, and it took almost the whole break-in period for me to feel them really have good traction (a lot of that time it was raining). Since then the tires have grown on me, althogh they still are rather bumpy and not as good as tires I've had on other cars.

It took me about 2000 miles in 2 and a half weeks (is that like a record or something for a new MCS?), mostly highway driving and LA driving, to feel the suspension really settle and become more predictable for my style of driving, which is overly aggressive quite often.

I hope everything fixes okay and nothing else happens, this board feels your pain.

 

I love the Dunlop runflat 16s. I travel cross-country a lot by myself and they are the best choice for me. I just ordered my third set of them...got about 30K on the last set!

Sorry about your mishap....hope it's all fixed up and ready to go SOON!

 

THe runflats all depend on which ones you get, preformance hold better that the all-seasons, I used to kick the back-end out all the time going around corners or making turns just lift of the gass a little bit and you can get loads of oversteer. I can't do that with my non runflats.

 

I have the Dunlop SP Sport 5000A Ultra-high performance all seasons....they've served me very, very well.

 

Preformance all seasons I wished they offered those to me, I was told it was preformance or all season, I know that the RF Perellis also have real good grip.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone...and yes... i have learned my lesson (drifting is for the track)

i talked to the service center guy and he said that DSC would have kept me on the road. i also dont have a LSD but so i think i will just have to drive like a grandmother till i get the feel for the car.

it will be gewd anyway cause i think about were i want to start moding the car. engine, rims, brakes, all seem like good choices... so much to do, so little money to do it with

 

Sounds like wheels & tires may be a good place to start. You don't have to drive like grandma. Just work slowly up to the limits of you & your car. After a while you'll have the feel down. As I've said a drivers school is the best place to do that. You don't need DSC to avoid accidents. You need drivers skill. Put this behind you & go enjoy your MINI.

 

First, your car requires a break-in, that includes engine, trans, tires, brakes, suspension and some other stuff. Your tires have a lubricant on them to help keep them sticking to the tire molds, it takes a couple hundred miles for that to wear off. Second, the mini handles better than the gti (i know from personal experience) but not on brand new tires. DSC might have prevented it but that depends on lots of parameters (like did you go into the turn way to fast and just understeer in to the curb or did you go in a little too fast then speed up and then slide off). Regardless, I always slowly approach the limits of new cars that I drive so as to avoid such incidents. There is a difference from "safe" spirited driving and stupidity. Definately go to a driving school or atleast auto-x so you get some performance driving training. I hope everything gets fixed.