I love my lowered Mini S but have garaged it in the past in winter (it snows alot here). When I purchased it (already lowered) I hoped the adjustable H& R shocks could be raised for winter. But an adjustment I made for a relatively lower front and slightly larger tires, brought to light how any raising/lowering changes the alignment, requiring a trip to the alignment shop. Does anyone go through this for winter clearance and snow tires? If so, what is your sequence?

 

If you get snow, then it's probably a good idea. So I guess the better question is, does your area create hazardous road/street obstacles in the winter? If ice forced you off the road, would you be comfortable driving on the shoulder with a lowered Mini?

There-in should lie your answer.

 

my sequence is simple... garage it, use a different car in the snow.

 

I like the idea of a winter only car (I have a '97 Outback @this time, my daughter got my WRX hatchback when I got the Mini S) but feel guilty having a car that sits for the other 9 months while I enjoy tripping in my Mini S. Plus 4 months creates Mini Withdrawal

 

im in the same dilemma as you.... my mini will have winter tires back on in about 2 weeks.... question is.... do i buy a winter and daily driver and revert my car to a full time weekend summer toy... i probably can't do it... so i just do double duty on both?

-Herman

 

My Mini Cooper is my winter car. I'll leave the Miata and Mustang parked in the garage for most of the winter (except for snow and salt free warmish days) and drive the Mini to work. Skinny all-season tires and stock ride height will do for all but a couple of the worst days during the winter around here.

-Keith

 

i don't like driving MT cars to work. that's my primary. the secondary is
i hate washing cars... i like to drive a clean car neatly, and do only
mist&wipe and garage it the rest of the week or month. as for the
commuter, i don't care as long as its a AT, looks pretty good, great
mpg, and has a nice sound system.

 

Do most ppl have winter & summer tires/wheels? if so - why? I have 17" wheels w/ the stock runflats?

 

^^ yes and no. on my commuters i use all seasons all year long.
on my fun cars, i use summers only.

 

Winter/summer tires? Absolutely. They each work far, far better than all-seasons. The way to go is two sets of wheels though. This will be my 4th winter on this set of snows.

Scott
90SM

 

The winter / summer versus all-season question depends a lot upon where you live. Here in northern Vermont, all season tires are called no-season tires. You'll see plenty of people running snow tires (real snow tires, not all-seasons) all year round, with the theory that if you can only afford / justify one set of tires, it better be snows.

I've got three sets of wheels / tires for the MINI, summer street, winter, and autocross / track. If I can find the cash, I'll make it 4 sets of wheels / tires by having different autocross and track sets.

 

My wife's Mini S has extra wheels with winter tires and is one of the best winter snow cars we have owned (only the WRX with winter tires has been better). Low center of gravity has been a plus for control on icy roads. The downside is when the snow is deep and the car high-centers. This is why my original post was hopeful of finding someone who has successfully raised their lowered Mini for winter driving. I'd like to have the option of raising my lowered Mini S for winter if it's feasible.