Well it looks like winter is here for some folks,I hear an inch or so fell in Edmonton,and lake effects are causing snow and freezing rain all around the Great Lakes.Winnipeg had traffic jams on a Sunday morning,because all the bridges crossing rivers were covered in ice.Winnipeg hardly ever has traffic jams,and never on a Sunday.
Any day now I know that it will be very icy or snow covered here.

So how do others change their driving when winter conditions show up.
I tend to go some what slower,stop further away from the car in front of me in traffic,one reason being so I can get around them should their car not go,but also to watch what is coming up behind me to have room to move up,or at least not get sandwiched.Has happened to me.
I also don't pull out into traffic if the roads are slick,Traction control on or off,if the wheels spin,well your not going anywhere fast.

For the cars sake I go easy on hardtop that has snow or ice patchs,spinning the wheels then catching dry pavement is hard on the drive train.
I'm still learning this new fangled ABS,my Dakota had it on the rears,but it never felt different.
I've had to brake hard on the highway,going 60-65mph to slow for deer,the steady hold on the brakes is hard to do after years of pumping the brakes,but I trust it now.I practice this all the time when no one is around.
I also drive onto the shoulder of the highway,asphalt to gravel,at speed to be used to how that feels,and so far the MINI makes the transition without any loss of control.
This car is no snow sled,snowmobile for you folk south of the border,but any one who says this is not a winter car,has only driven jeeps in the winter.

 

Agreed...throw on some skinny winter tires on some 15" wheels, and the car is actually quite good in all but deep snow.

 

We only get rain here. It started today and mixed with fog it at 5:30AM it is no fun. I drive more slowly and am sure to leave more room between me and the car in front of me. I worry about the big puddles (small rivers) we get when the rain is bad. Don't want to suck in a bunch of water. I have never driven such a low car.

 

We have a 04 MC with 17" wheels. Your techniques seem ideal, the idea no matter what car you drive is to drive SLOW!. We have mini, mini van, and a 4 wheel drive SUV, they all slide the same on ice! GO SLOW! And remember do not drive over un-plowed areas as you can get stuck.

We did not notice the plow did our street and the snow bank it formed at our driveway, my wife tried to drive trough it and got stuck.

 

I got my MINI stuck once last winter,trying to park the car and did not notice the drift.Ran it back and forth a few times so I had a bit of a run at it,Got the revs up a bit,dropped the clutch in reverse,had the wheels spinning,got out and pushed,got rolling,got back in,parked else where.Just like in my classic

 

Californian's are some of the worst drivers when it comes to rain, I mean, seriously, we only get rain a few months out of the year, but people don't understand that when it rains, especially when it just starts to rain, they gotta slow down. I witnessed 3 cars spin out of control including an SUV that turned on to the freeway on ramp just ahead of me that nearly lost it. He went sideways, and almost did a 180, before recovering.

Then tonight, the rain started again, and people were still flying down the freeways at 80+ mph, only slowing when they hit huge standing puddles of water.

I took it really easy, esp. since I'm driving with Yokohama's AVSES100's, I wasn't sure how they would do in the rain.

 

Yeah, what people tend to forget, especially the yahoos in the SUVs, is that it's more important to be able to stop....than start up. Every storm there's at least one or two SUVs / pickups spun off the road.


Good snow tires, good driving techniques, all help.

Now, the only thing I need to do is mount one of those orange bike flags on my bumper so people can see me over the snowbanks

 

I have a 100 mile commute,lots of times with snow falling,blowing around and there are always more SUVs,4x4 pick-ups in the ditch than any other kind car.
They just don't get it,it's slippery,you can't see,and the vehicle does not make you a better driver.

 

Is it StormWatch 2004 yet?? HAHA! I love when they do that in LA.

 

It is stormwatch 2004 here I'm watchin' the wind blow and the rain fall. several feet of snow are expected in the sierras too so maybe there will be a thanksgiving ski trip in my future!!

So this morning was my first stormy day in the mini. Went pretty well, I was worried about road debris; rightfully so, they were full of tree bits, didn't have much of a problem. hit a couple tree chunks that scraped the lower side of th bumper (i think) but all in all it went well. Very please and feel that the MINI will be just fine this winter, untill we get the little rivers running through the roads.

 

and just how do MINI's drive in the snow...?


anyone?
anyone?
buller?

 

GREATI motored last winter with no problems,snow,ice,very cold,the MINI was great.Folks that did not think this car would perform well in winter,changed their minds after Poco pulled up after a 50 mile run in a snow storm,all seasons last winter,waiting for the winter snows on steelies for this winter.Can't wait for snow:smile:

 

I'm wondering how the car will handle with the 16" Dunlop SP3000 Run flats that are on it. I'm banking on maybe changing the tires if I have to. I've got the DSC so it will be interesting to see how things go.

Glad to hear it's a nice snow car.

 

The narrower the tire the better.The front end of the car will tend to plow the snow,so get ready for snow flying up over the bonnet,but I could go through snow up to the axles,but it's cold here and the snow tends to be "dry" not clumpy.But with all that plowing,your mpg's will go down.

 

First snow arrives, go out to your nearest empty parking lot and practice some skids and recovery. Every car handles differently in snow so you need to know your characteristics.

When you can perform a perfect "reverse 180" at 20 mph then you are ready for anything.

 

The 180 reverse at some speed is fun.But doing one from a stand still is a hoot, back up a few feet ,crank the wheel hit the throttle,spin the car on a dime,while spinning shift into 1st and drive away.Fun at low speeds,and folks watching love it.But for both make sure there is lots of room,nobody behind you,and no dry pavement