I live in Ohio and will purchasing a Mini Cooper S new very soon! I am wondering about the snow though.....how do they handle, should I be concerned about having it as my only car to drive in the winter? I am in love with the Mini and I really hope they do well in the snow because there is no other car that I want more!

 

My experience is that they are OK as long as you have appropriate tires.

Do not try to use summer only tires as they just do not provide adequate grip. Use either all season or dedicated winter tires (better).

Another thing to consider is the low ground clearance. You may experience some noises as you drive over clumps of snow bigger than 4" or so. Driving in snow deeper than 4-6" may cause some problems as the car may just be too low.

If your car has traction control, you may want to consider turning it off in the winter. Some people have reported the car losing power when accelerating in snow. The traction control in our MINI's is aggressive meaning that if the car senses slipping tires, it will really cut back on the power. You may feel the car seem to almost stop as you accelerate. This can be scary if you are going through an intersection. An alternative is to turn off the traction control and accept some slip or accelerate much more gently.

Good luck! (I grew up in southwest Ohio!)

 

having lived in Cleveland for 4 yrs before landing a job in NJ, you shouldn't have a problem as long as you have decent winter tires.

I have 2 sets of rims... one with summer tires and one with snows.

Also, after you get your Mini (or any other car for that matter), find an empty snow-covered lot and test what happens when you turn off traction controll (or don't)... before finding out the hard way on the roads...

HTH

 

I highly recommend you do some searches here on NAM - there have been many, many discussions of the MINI and it's abilities in snow. Suffice to say, except for really deep snow (ground clearance issues), it's fantastic (provided you aren't driving on summer tires!).Turning off the traction control is particularly dangerous advice for snow driving, especially if your car has DSC (and not just ASC). DSC is tremendously important and helpful in bad weather, especially snow. I would only recommend turning it off in bad weather if you get stuck and you need to "rock" the car back and forth with the gas. If you are moving, it should be on, always, in bad weather. There have been exhaustive discussions of how DSC operates here on NAM - another worthwhile search. The "power cutting" behavior is specifically the ASC design, and the only times I recommend turning it off (on public roads) if exactly the example you are giving - when about to hammer the gas through an intersection, which is a more likely "wheelslip" situation (and triggers ASC). Even then, you're better off feathering the gas instead of hammering it anyway.Very good advice - DSC is fantastic at helping to recover from slides and spins. If the car doesn't have DSC but does have ASC, you may find it much less helpful.

 

Just finished my first full winter with my MINI (at least I hope it's finished) as a daily driver. We had nearly 200" of snow overall. I live in the sticks, lousy roads, hilly, barely plowed. Put on a set of Pirelli winter tires on 15" rims and it was like a little tank, no problems whatsover. Soft deep snow is no problem, it will go right through it, I'd be more concerned about hitting those nasty ice clumps that fall off of cars and trucks in the winter due to the low ground clearance. The stock performance tires on an S are awful for winter, don't even think about it where you live. My neighbor tried it and couldn't even get out of their driveway. Remember, narrow is good, wide is bad.

 

For the winter there are only three things you need to do.
1) Install winter tires.
2) Install sign (which should be standard from the factory imho)
"Get In
Sit Down
Shut Up
Hold On."
3) Have fun.

Do not disable DSC except when "practicing" winter handling in a car park or similar.

 

NO NO NO NO NO! If you have traction control (which you do, just depends if its DSC or ASC+T) simply turn it off when accelorating from a stop, then turn it on when you get moving. Your car will be able to break single wheels electronically when it senses a spin, if you have it off, all you will be able to do is brake all four wheels and turn. You have much better odds at getting to your destination safe if you have your traction control on!

 

I don't care if you have winter tires or not... If it snows a decent amount you will have trouble getting around regardless. I drive a Mini as my only car (my wife has a jeep so I am not totally stuck if I can't drive the mini) and anything more than 7-8 and the car severely drags... If I had to drive through such snow for weeks at a time I would have to have another car.

 

I'd say it's been a lot better car in the snow than I thought it would be. Coming from an awd car I was more than a bit worried. I bought a set of 15 holies & wrapped them in Hakka 2 winter tires. I got 185/65/15's, narrow is better for snow. The car went very well. In fact better than an awd without snows. As far as DSC goes, I don't have it & had zero problems. The traction control will need to be turned off.

 

That's like saying: "As far as airbags go, I don't have them & had zero problems"

The point of DSC is to help protect you in those unexpected situations.

As for the basic traction control (i.e. ASC, not DSC), there are some circumstances where it makes a lot of sense to disable it, such as aggressive maneuvers when pulling through intersections, or when "rocking" your car back and forth when it is bogged down in snow or mud, or when you simply want to spin your tires on purpose... but when trying to ascend a steep slope in slippery conditions (where you won't be hammering the gas), it can be very effective.

True, technology can't defeat the laws of physics, but it can be of great assistance in many situations.

 

Man Edge, you sure are protective of that DSC nanny. Do you get a royalty for every nanny sold? If not, I think you should. I'm sorry I haven't been able to prove you right. Nope ain't crashed & burned yet. Stay tuned could happen on my next nanny-less devil may care motoring adventure.

Oh almost forgot to mention. As far as airbags go, I don't have them & have had zero problems. Of course that's a lie. My car has them, but I haven't tested them yet.

 

The point I was getting at is your "nothing bad has happened to me" comment was beside the point.Of course, I know your MINI has them - they all do. Again, it wasn't a lie, it was a general statement to prove a point... that some technology is good to have, even if you NEVER end up actually use it... it's worth having there just in case. That is the situation with DSC.

 

The airbags do not drive my car. They sit there passively until I crash & burn. If they tried to drive for me like DSC, then I wouldn't have them either.

 

OK, let's try another example. ABS brakes. Oh, let me guess, you're a proponent of threshold braking, and you'd opt for no ABS either, if you could.

 

Yep, especially on ice & snow. Oh yes & gravel too. If you don't know how to thresh-hold brake you really should learn how. What will happen if you find yourself in a car without all those nannies to protect you? Or if your nanny malfunctions? With such a dependence on those nannies you'll be crashing & burning. Not to worry, mister airbag will punch you in the face & save you.

 

I never said I didn't know how to threshold brake... but managing to do that and continue steering the car at the same time is where ABS shines.

 

Yes it gives the ability to steer to those who can't thresh-hold brake. The trouble is most folks feel that peddle kicking the bottom of their foot & lift off the brake. Or they do keep their foot on the brake & run into what's in front of them. Never turning the wheel to avoid contact. ABS lengthens stopping distances, especially on snow, ice & gravel. Used properly it is a good item to have on a street car. Stand on them & steer, then they work.

 

OK you two, knock it off already! That's advice for another forum. I've driven DSC on and DSC off in controlled snowy track conditions, and can report it's MUCH harder to get the car out of shape with DSC on, but it almost always hampers acceleration, and can make it near impossible to climb certain slippery hills.

My Mini on Dunlop M3s (a "performance winter" tire) is actually quieter on dry and wet pavement, more fun to drive (less tramlining), and has very good snow traction. A more dedicated snow (hakkas, blizzaks, X-ices, and other non-speed-rated "good" snows) are even better in snow but give up some performance in the wet and dry. Do NOT get "low budget" old-school snow tires (Winterforce, anything that can be studded, budget-club snow tires). They're noisy and squirmy and slippery in everything BUT snow.

BUT - it's SPRING already so let's not worry about it until next fall! Do keep your eyes peeled on the Classifieds though, there are usually some bargains to be had there in the off season, got my snows there for $150 the set, including alloy wheels...



Study up, but DEFINITELY get snow tires if you're driving the mini in snow conditions at all.

 

OK I'll knock it off, but just one more thing. If you get more proficient at your driving you won't need that nanny. You already have the big piece of the puzzle. Proper tires for the conditions. Done for now.

 

I have snow tires for the winter too. I have found that the combination of both snow tires and DSC at the same time is awe-inspiring. Of course, the catch is not to get too over-confident...

 

+1 Yep that is right. Drive for the conditions.

If we don't stop this DixonL2 is going to kick our butts.

 

...and hey, even if you throw the rear end out with the E-brake the DSC will help (fairly dramatically so) in bringing it back in line...

AAAAAUGH! YOU'VE GOT ME DOING IT NOW!!!

(did you know that the new '07+ Minis have a Really Annoying "BongBongBongBong" sound when you throw the e-brake on while moving?)

 

We got, what? About 3-5 inches of ICE in that one storm in our area this winter Edge? During that I went out just because I could, kept DSC on and drove agressive as I could (on empty streets for safety concerns) DSC kicked in often, and kept me in a straight line the entire time. Turning that off, I woulda been sliding all over the place. (I was on all season run-flats)

 

mini + snow, better be ready for a serious adventure. especially if you have a big rear sway bar. my car is close to scary in the snow, and i am from ohio originally.

 

OK that's it, report back to Ohio next winter for remedial snow training. And for the love of God, back the rear bar off.