I live in NYC and for those of you who do o know how much of a nightmare the potholes are. Any ideas on how to help my problem new suspension??? tires??

Also everyone talks about lowering their mini, has anyone ever raised it and hot longer tires from bottom to top?

 

You could consider getting a tire with more meat on it to dampen the hit, but you would risk rubbing. By no means should you ever raise your MINI haha. I know how bad the potholes are -- I used to travel in and out of The City every weekend, and couldn't stand the potholes. You can also change your driving technique so that you won't hit the potholes, like I did. How long do you plan on living in NY for?

 

hah im 18 i plan on living in ny prob longer than my mini lasts! lol and i live in Queens

 

Here in Vancouver our roads get pretty riddled with potholes during winter... for that reason I picked up 15" rims and tires for the winter (non-runflat). They do a pretty decent job of soaking up potholes. They look a little dopey, for that reason I didn't bother getting alloys or even hubcaps. Just black rims with black tires.

The total wheel size isn't any bigger or smaller than my summer 17" set, but the ratio of sidewall-to-rim is larger (the lack of stiff, heavy steel belts also helps).

 

I commute into Brooklyn from Wantagh every day. You just have to watch where you're going, as ridiculously obvious as that sounds. It also helps to know your route.

 

yes....dodging potholes is the best solution. Make a mental note of the ones along the routes you travel most. Also pay attention to the driver in front of you as they are often doing the same, and if not then you can sometimes see them hitting them...possibly giving you enough time to dodge. I run 15" wheels (down from 16" wheels) and stock suspension. I've even picked up a spare used OEM suspension for peanuts as many people like to swap theirs out for lowering springs/higher performance struts. I hit a huge pothole with my previous car (civic) running a performance suspension and the shaft of my left front strut shot through the housing and dented my hood from underneath. Lesson learned

 

Also, leave greater distance between you and the car ahead of you, so you can see them coming.

 

haha in New York, that's easier said than done

 

Yeah, leave a space any bigger than necessary and theres another car in it.

 

Oh, yeah... that hadn't occurred to me. I guess it's like London driving. I swear, I was nearly run off a B-road by a lady in a Toyota Starlet who decided she had to cut in front of me.

 

Exactly what he said, if any of you have driven in NY then you know what im talking about. I do pay attention not only to the car infront of me at all times but 2 and even 3 cars ahead. Thats the way i was taught to drive but there is a new pothole everyday that you dont know about trust me on that!!! It sucks i had my car for 2 weeks and i feel my tires are gona fall off tomorrow.

Especially since my old car was a SUV i took potholes like nothing.

 

Dimi, you've got to get some more durable front-end suspension components and tighten up some other parts, starting with better control arm bushings, strut tower defenders, a strut bar and camber plates. raising the car will not be better for it, just make bears want to attack you

 

No matter what, make sure you have strut tower reinforcement plates or cambers on your suspension. Hit a pot hole hard and that screws your strut towers.

 

I noticed with the winter weather, more pot holes are created every day. I think it's due to the snow chains and studded tires. Only thing you or I can do is to remember them, and avoid them like the plague. I have potholes in Boston so deep, I can see the metal frame work underneath.

 

Another cause of potholes is ice jacking... the water seeps into the cracks, gapes, a bubbles in the road, then expands when it freezes, breaking apart the pavement (and on more shoddily paved roads without enough glue), splits the road from the sub-pavement beneath. :( I hit a gigantic pothole about the half the size of my MINI today. Luckily I was able to slow down enough.

 

Well at least you guys don't live a mile down a dirt road.
It takes me almost ten minutes to get from my house to the highway. ...So sick of it.

 

hmm ... sounds a bit dramatic.
I too live in Queens and drive all over the boroughs all the time ... literally every day. 4 years in my old MC and almost a year now in my Clubman.
Yes, there are bad roads and yes it migt "feel" like the wheels might fall off ... but the MINI can take it.
And you have some pretty tight and quick reacting steering ... so as long as your eyes are on the road, and are not on 18's and flying on the BQE ... you should be good.
Never had a bent wheel or any other wheel/steering related problems with either car.

 

i apologize in advance, to the moderators that may reprimand me for being a cynical new yorker.

if you're 18 you might not be paying taxes yet. it gets worse when you get older...

when you're young you hit a hole and think, "****ing pothole". when you're old you hit a hole and think "****ing pothole" and then you watch some of your tax dollars fly out of your wallet and into the sky, where they magically patch a nonexistant pothole. it's arguable, but the "patch a nonexistant pothole" could be interchangable with "pad an already well padded politico wallet".

as a native new yorker, and a youngin (25), i say "****ing potholes" quite a bit. i love new york though... stuck behind someone from new jersey, i get to burn my clutch as i stop and go through traffic, whilst burning through all my fuel, whilst rocking my way through potholes. it's all worth it though, when i only have to circle a meager 5 times, to get into that george costanza, super tight dream spot, on the street on upperwest side of manhattan... and then from there i can watch from my sisters apartment window, as my mini safely sits just outside... where bike couriers sideswipe my doors and mirrors, new jersey idiots ram my front and rear chrome bumper guards until they are level with the bumper, and dogs poop between my driverside door and whatever obstacle that prevents me from fully opening the door (so that it's nearly impossible to not knowingly step in dog crap). . ahhh cynicism.

 

Hey enough of beating up some of us from NJ, I too am a native Ny er, I lived in the city for 30 years before I moved out. I dare say there are plenty of Ex Ny ers living in NJ and many other places across the US, that actually know how to drive.
I do more then my fair share of driving, better then 30 K a year, and in those 30 years all with one insurance company I have Never filed a claim till last week when I hit a large pothole in Newark at 3 AM, It Blew the Snow tire right off the rim, 300.00 for flatbed home and 3k in Damage and the car is still in the shop.