I love my Mini Clubman, but it is poorly handling even an inch of snow, despite highly rated all-season tires with plenty of tread on them. Please share how well your Mini handles four inches of snow or less, and if you are happy with your experience, please indicate what tires you are using or other measures you may be taking.

I used to live in Minneapolis and I know how to drive on snow, but my Mini is not cooperating. Thanks!

 

I drive my MINI year round and have plenty of opportunities to drive in snow. My snow tires are the Blizzaks and they work very well. Some times I find I have to disengage the DSC so it will allow me to spin the tires. Otherwise the engine will just keep adjusting downward and I go no where.

 

Honestly, to my surprise, I have found that my MINI handles as well in light snow as my SUV did. I was very concerned about this before I bought my MINI. Above 4-6 inches and I'll take the SUV however due to the clearance issue of course. For the record, I have all season stock 15 inch. But again, I see little to no difference between my old SUV and my MINI when driving in light snow. I just take my time and drive carefully no matter what I am driving.

 

We have 2 MINI's and they both run Blizzaks in the winter and they have great traction. My wife was afraid to drive in the snow with her all seasons, but since we got her the Blizzaks she has had no problems and has even remarked how well her car is in the snow.

 

I haven't had any problems with the snow we've had in NJ this past month. I did buy 15" Michelin X-ICE snows 3 years ago, like them so much I got a pair for the wife's Passat. Agree with comment on occasionally turning DSC off in controlled situations (getting out of driveway), but leave it on for general driving.

 

is your clubbie an S and what size tires/wheels you got on it? Some all season tires that say they are rated for snow really aren't. I had some pirelli tires that were rated decently from tire rack for the snow. First time out in the snow with them I made it maybe a block from the house and came right back. There was less than an inch then. I don't use anything other than snows now. I've got the michellin X-ice. I've used the dunlop winter sport M3 tires which were awesome. Very good dry road handling as well as wet. Gave up a tiny bit of snow traction for the better dry. Never got stuck with those though even in the deep stuff.

 

2010 MCS with the auto and 215/50-16 Kuhmo ASX. DSC turned off, no sport button, and a feathered take off from a stop...I do just fine. I find the toughest part is take off on ice/snow pack, but once I'm going it no issue at all.

 

I have simple all-seasons on my car, and I find that it is easiest to turn off the DSC and just take it easy when it comes to braking and turning.

I've found that my car handles wonderfully in the snow.

-Chase

 

All Season simply means they do nothing well. I run 15" Nokian WRs and nothing stops me but really deep snow.

 

All seasons mean all seasons except snow season. Get youself some snow tires and I think your problem will disappear.

 

I have the all season 17" Continental Contact Pros and here in VA we had the largest annual anowfall in history this winter. I fouind the Clubman handled okay in the snow. Not fantastic but decent. I actually found that my old '97 Honda Del Sol with semi-old Goodyear Eagles handled better in the snow.

So, I really do not have a major issue with driving in the snow with either small car but there is a snow limit as to if you can drive at all with some of these small cars with low clearance to the road. The MINI has a plastic shield under the front end and that woud limit driving in aything above say 4" or so. Depends on where the snow bunches up as various road conditions emerge in your travels or just leaving the driveway. If the plastic shield is going to see abuse, then best not to drive.

 

The 16 in. "all-season" Dunlop SP5000 runflats, on my MCS, are just about the worst tires I've ever had the horror of experiencing in the snow! I never thought I'd see another all-season tire as bad as my wife's Cooper Zeons on her old Benz, but these are every bit as bad...maybe worse, b/c her car was rwd, and this, of course, is fwd and the car is still just all over the place in the snow! The car only made it half way up the first (very) moderate hill it encountered, after leaving the house, after this last big snow storm. This was after they plowed the road (with a couple inches of fresh unplowed snow added). I was less than a half mile from the house, so I took it as a bad omen, reversed back down this mild upgrade, and went back home.

 

What highly rated A/S tires are you running ?

How is your alignment ? Is your suspension stock ?

I have all season radials on my MCS. And contrary to a post here there are some which are great in any weather.

I have used Bridgestone Potenza RE019's Grids, and they were excellent. I am currently running Pirelli PZero Nero all season tires and they have awesome grip in dry, wet and in the snow. They are also wearing better than expected.

 

My MINI will go anywhere in the snow... Blizzaks!
Here's a word of advice... do not buy steelies... there are so many good buys on used MINI wheels both here on NAM and on e-Bay.
They look a lot better than steelies and you won't have to deal with plastic hubcaps.
I bought a set of used wheels for about $100.

 

Thanks for your tips and comments. I hadn't realized that turning off DSC would help. In answer to questions that some of you asked, I'm currently using Continental ContiProContact SSRs, and my tire size is 195/55R16. I'm definitely getting winter tires next fall.

 

I'm running on Hakka 2 snow tires 185/65/15. They work great as will any real snow tire. Once the snow gets too deep the MINI's lack of ground clearance does you in.

 

When I lived in Manitoba, I had Pirelli snow contacts, and I could get through well over 6 inches of fresh snow no problem.

Mark

 

Before the snow hits, I wash the car, vacuum and detail the interior, dry everything well, drive it up and down the driveway to dry the brakes, then I put it in the garage and drive my Jetta until the snow and salt are off the roads!!!

So far it seems to be very effective.

 

I drive my F150

 

One thing I learned recently...

I did some research on All-Season Tires for my wife's vehicle. I went to ConsumerReports.org and TireRack.com. I found ones that had good performance in the dry, wet and snow. I think they are Dunlops. Sorry can't remember right now. Anyway, I decided to purchase them local and found some and had them installed. Thru the fall they were great. First snow storm they were terrible. I jotted all the information down and then went and visited ConsumerReports again. Come to find out there was a huge difference in tire rating because of the difference in speed rating. The ones I purchased had a higher speed rating than the one in the report. Otherwise the exact same tire! Upon further reading I discovered a small blurp that spelled out exactly what I experienced. So, make sure when you select a tire, the speed rating is the same as the one you researched.

 

Snow tires are a must in the MINI. I've had my MINI for several years now, and this winter is the first time I've had snow tires. I will ALWAYS have snow tires now, the difference is AMAZING.

-Cody

 

What everyone else said......get yourself 4 good winter tires. The Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 is a great winter tire, but can be pricey. I really like the Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance 2 also. I had the Michelin's and have the Goodyear's now, one is as good as the other, which is to say, both have been excellent (these are on my other car, not the Mini, it gets put away for the winter)

 

Any reputable dedicated winter tire will be vastly better than even the best "all-season" tire in the snow and ice. The differences between various winter tires are almost negligible relative to the improvements gained in winter conditions, over all-seasons. So IMHO, price should govern winter tires purchase, unless you live so far north that snow covered roads are a regular and routine occurance with an extended winter season.

 

I love the look of my black Winter steelies. I wouldn't dream of hiding them behind a plastic hubcap!

 

I have the ContiProContact 205/45/17 as summer tires but they did not handle well on snow so I bought a set of Blizzaks last December and they worked great.

Get some winter tires and you will not regret it