What is your winter set up for your r56 MCS. A seperate thread would be good as the MCS has a bigger caliper and cannot fit 15" steels.

 

Not an MCS but I got my cooper with 16" rims. I use the stock bridgespoke rims with Dunlop Wintersport M3s 195/55s in the winter. Use the aftermarket rims in the summer.

 

Here in the south..............we use the same tires all year round . If it snows we stay home and play in it , and then curse because the roads are such a mess.

 

My winter setup is an AWD BMW 5 series.

 

If you are looking for advice, get two snow tires for your front wheels, put a bit of weight in the back, and motor with reckless abandon.

 

I'll have OEM 16" Stock Wheels with Blizzak's LM-25.
It will be my first winter, so I can't comment yet. Sorry!

 

i ordered the 17s with All-seasons so we'll see.... Hope they work out...anyone had experience with them?

 

Where I live, you are fined 300$ if you get caught with these between nov.15th and march 15th... We MUST have winter tires on ALL 4 wheels. Which makes sense actually, considering the type of weather we get here in winter.

 

yikes... we have NO regulations for anything... Just have to have non-expired tags.. You could drive an Enzo in the snow if you wanted (or could)

Thats crazy but safety is safety i guess

 

Mines my Audi allroad with Nokian WR's, unstoppable.

 

Nice, definitely need to add an all road to my collection, rented one last month on a trip, pretty sweet transportation.

 

Ours is to watch Molly indicate a Freeze Warning, then look at the Weather and see if she's going to be OK. If not we'll take the 4x4 Durango not FUN, but better to keep Molly safe!!

 

17" wheels shod w/ Blizzak LM-25 RFT. Ordered 4 tires mounted on wheels w/ the TPMS installed from Tirerack. After 1 winter/spring I must say I like the LM-25s. They are a good compromise winter tire for both the snow/ice, wet and dry when temps get low. In snow and ice the MINI with winter tires handles very well and with DSC it's even safer. You don't mention where you drive, but here during the winter the temperature is below 40* but only with occasional snow/ice accumulation.

To keep the handling predictable and safe, I would recommend 4 of the same tires at each corner.

 

I just run the stock all season's, they work fine in a few inches of snow, but do get much worse when it ices over. No dedicated winter tire, but it will do just fine in most winter climates. The car itself is actually pretty good in the snow with FWD and plenty of weight on the front end, with a good bit of help from the decent ABS system that doesn't kill stopping distances like older ones did.

 

This will be the first winter my MCS gets and I'm sticking with the 17" wheels with all seasons. If it get too bad, I'll throw her in the back of my H2 and take her for a ride. ....... Can't wait for the gas fill-ups!!!

 

Please Motor with Caution

Couple sandbags in the boot would be a good idea, a better idea will be to also have a bottle of Clorox, when your wheels spin on ice,
a little clorox on the slipping tires and ice will get you started.

Agree on the "All 4 wheels" have heard about fines for studded tires (off season). Some roads may be closed to you, if you don't carry Snow Chains
(for front only ).

A look at Wx Forecasts would be a great idea, nice to have 4x4 or awd, but remember that when you lose it in four wheel drive, you have Really Lost It.

 

My winter set up? Blizzak LM-25's on stock 17" crown spoke wheels (I would have gone to 16" but could not bear to get rid of the stock wheels), plus the all rubber MCS floor mats. Both work great.

 

Close the sunroof, roll up the window, and use the defroster.

Winter in Texas is easier than summer. You can always put on more clothes if your cold. You can only take off so much when it gets hot.

 

16" S-Winders with 195/65R16 Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 snows.

They're great in the snow, as good as anything can be on ice, and what's appealing to me is they're still grippy (just not sticky-tire grippy) in 70F weather, and they don't wear nearly as fast as, say, Blizzaks, when we get typical Detroit winters where it snows for two days then is just cold, then 60, then blizzards...

Got the wheels brand new take-off from a local kid for $250 after I sold the tires that were on them. Tires were not quite $500 on the car from my local Discount Tire hook-up who matches Tire Rack prices and balances/installs for $8/wheel.

 

I got the 17" all-seasons, since NJ rarely gets snow that lasts too long. Since I live at the bottom of a hill with a cul de sac we'll see if I can get out this winter. They always plow us last, so it gets packed and frozen. There was only 1 time I didn't get out with a '93 5.0 Mustang with all-seasons, so I'm confident a FWD car will have a fighting chance.
Come summer I plan to get non-runflat performance tires, and when the all-seasons run out I'll get dedicated winter tires that aren't TOO soft, since our snow rarely lasts very long.

 

Not a good idea to mix tires in slippery conditions and extra weight in the trunk is not going to help any on a FWD car. It may even make it worse. If you live where you get allot of snow do yourself a favor as well as other drivers around you and get snows on all 4 wheels. You can get decent snows for under $70 each. I have seen way too many vehicles off the road because of a poor choice in tires.

 

I'm just hoping the snow comes late this year so that I can drive my mini back form the dealership and get it home in one piece with the stock all seasons. My winter set up is a '90 Jeep YJ with 31" mud terrains!

 

Sarcasm.

 

Hmm...that's funny, because I drive a RWD truck in the winter and I put snow tires on my rear wheels, and had my normal all seasons up front. Guess what, I was getting around no problem with weight on the rear axle. Other cars were not, one of them being a Mini. And weight on the rear will help with on a FWD car, because it will help tires maintain contact at all times, especially since there is little to no weight on the rear wheels. An excessive amount will hinder braking, but a reasonable amount will not. But then again, what do I know?. I only own two pickups, work for a company that does snowplowing, and work on cars and trucks all the time.

 

Sure you were "getting around", but you can't deny it would be even better with four winter tires.