For those of you motoring in the Northeast today, how has the MINI handled in the snow?

 

Here's what I found with the search function

1st MINI snow driving experience

Even when she's frozen, she heats up quick!

MINI in the snow???

MINI + snow

Bonnet Stripes may not live through the winter

 

Well I'm in Chicago and we got about 2 inches near the lake yesterday.

The MINI handles very predicably overall. This is my first front driver so I'm still getting used to the change in vehicle dynamics from owning BMWs. I think I still prefer a rear wheel driver with snow tires or all-seasons and a 50/50 weight balance in some instances. With the MINI yesterday I noticed that once the front wheels started lose traction your ability to steer goes away quickly. That being said I found the traction control and DSC very helpful in those type of situations. I would imagine both will be invaluable in moderate snow. In deep snow they'll most likely become a burden.

I have to say I'm glad I swapped out my sport runflats for some all-seasons. They're not snow tires but so far my Sumitomo HTR+'s have impressed me more than I expected.

 

>>Here's what I found with the search function
>>
>>1st MINI snow driving experience
>>
>>Even when she's frozen, she heats up quick!
>>
>>MINI in the snow???
>>
>>MINI + snow
>>
>>Bonnet Stripes may not live through the winter

That's all well and good, but I was asking specifically about the Northeast, and particularly the dirving conditions today. We have a decent amount of snowfall for a fall storm, and as usual, the now is really wet and heavy. So I think that someone in Wyoming would have a difficult time describing the driving conditions as they would be VERY different. Thanks for the advice, though.

 

I think this forum may end up with a lot of posts as we are expected to have a nasty winter and this is the first winter the new Minis will face (at least in the U.S.A.); therefore, I have a suggestion for starting posts here:

List your:
1)Mini type - Cooper or Cooper S?
2)transmission - automatic or manual?
3)tire width - 15 inch, 16 inch, 17 inch?
4)tire type - performance or all season?

Thanks to all that oblige.
-Otto

 

Storer,

I live in Jersey. Not as much snow as expected (I have to travel northwest - Florham Park/ Livingston area - to get to work). The road was wet and cold this morning but no ice. I have an MCS with DSC and 16" Dunlop all season. The rain we've had has been much worse. So far, MINI handles like a dream in the wet.

I'm hoping we won't have a hard winter but if we do I don't think I'll have a problem.

_________________
MINI on the Brain: Dark Silver/Black MCS w/Lapis Blue Leather, DSC, Fog Lights, Cold Weather pkg, 16" 5-Star rims. YAY!!!

 

I drove to work today in about 3 inches of snow, I have an MCS on 17s with performance tires, all I can tell you is that the car did great. I kept on the DSC (just in case) and she make it with flying colors!!

 

I drove my MC (sports pak so 16" runflats) this morning ... initially took minimal notice of the snow.
Fine till I accelerated along 128; I suddenly felt the car go really loose as if it wanted to spin free. Immediately released accelerator (maybe DSC cut in too) and all was fine.
After that, kept to gentler acceleration and top speed about 60-65. No problems but the roads were mostly cleared.
I did notice when I got to work that the tyre treads were full of snow.
Experimented in work parking with acceleration & braking and found MINI to be very sensible in behaviour.

So overall, happy so far and not yet ready to buy snow tyres. But I will ease off the gas when the road/tyres are snowy.

 

We got 8 inches, but I must confess, Ziggy was safely parked in the garage under her heated blanket <----Joking about the blanket , I don't think I would have made out the driveway anyway and if I did there would be no way back in.

X2

 

I drove from the Boston area to western Maine this morning. Left at 7:30 AM so it was still snowing pretty hard. (I took a photo of my MCS with about 2 inches of snow on it in the driveway, I'd love to share it, but I don't know how to post pictures here). The roads were bad up through NH, but started to clear in Maine where it wasn't snowing at all. Anyway, Nigel handled surprisingly well. I don't have the DSC feature or snow tires yet either! 17" run flats on my MCS. I saw about 5 accidents including 3 cars off the road and badly damaged, but Nigel stayed to the road like a champ!

That nasty left hand passing lane was attempted, but thought better of it when I felt some tugging and decided to avoid it, but all in all a great experience today. The commute only took an additional 20 mins. more than usual.

 

If you know how to drive in snow,ice or rain the MINI will do fine-even for those who are less skilled.This car is just like any other front drive car,with the correct tires for the proper driving conditions.As for those that think 60 plus in the snow means your MINI is doing well,shame on you.Remember to drive according to the conditions.
Sorry if some think this is blunt but the SUV bashing in here shows that the skill level of some is less than disirerable. The right tool for the right job.The right machine for the conditions,stay the heck home if you do not have the proper equipment.

 

PureSilver, You can upload your picture to the Member's MINI's Gallery and then add it your signature file with this html code:
[*IMG]https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/albums/album04/boy.thumb.jpg[*/IMG]
Except remove the 2 (*)asterisks and replace my file name with yours.

 

More snow last night in New England (and more to come later this week!)...and I'm glad to report that my MCS seems to handle great in "real world" winter conditions. By this I mean side streets plowed down to about 1" of hard-packed snow, main roads alternating between dry and spotty with slushy winter spooze. With my winter tires (Blizzaks) I seldom lost traction and the MINI felt as firm and stable as any fwd car I've driven in such conditions. Once or twice the DSC came on (mostly when starting out at lights/intersections), but never so dramatically that I felt that the car would stall out or such.

About the only handling difference I found is that with the smaller tires and reduced traction, it's quite easy to induce oversteer. The steering is so normally tight that with a little slip under the front wheels it seems that it wouldn't take much to swap ends (on ice, packed snow, etc.). Something to watch for. It seems like it'll be a snowy winter this year, and I don't anticipate seeing 100% pavement on many of the local roads I drive on until many months from now.

But basically, with properly cautious winter driving skills -- keep the revs down and keep your eyes well ahead of where you are on the road -- the MINI is a champ on winter roads. I'm distressed at seeing my car -- which kept ultra clean duringthe fall -- now covered in winter road grime, but hey, it's a tool; and that's how it looks when you use it.

One small, but frustrating problem (Listening, MINIUSA??) is that the windshield washer tank is too small. It only holds 1/2 a bottle washer, and gee...on slushy, salty, days like today you can exhaust that in a 20 mile drive! I thought all modern cars had tanks that held at least a gallon (certainly was the case with my Nissan, Chrysler, Volvo, etc.). Anyway, I had to stop for washer fluid part way through my commute..and that's a pain. (and I also then discovered my cooling system tank leaking at the seam when I had the hood open...but that's another problem altogether :evil.

 

I have an MC, without DSC, but I have all-season 15’s on it. The baby doesn’t really have too much problem taking off, even though the wheels spin now and then. What I did notice was that if you take the icy corners even a little too quick, you will slide fast. I would exercise extreme caution on corners, but moving in a straight line, the MINI handles like a pro.

I read somewhere that the MINI has something incorporated into the anti-lock, that keeps it straight in corners. It's not DSC, and it's not ABS....something to do with weight distribution I think. Anyone have any idea what I'm talking about?

 

Meenee, I think you may be thinking about the electronic brake distribution (or some term close to that). Basically, what this is is a computer function that moderates the brake force at each wheel to keep it balanced. This helps directional stability when braking. Maybe someone more technical can say more, but I don't think that it has much to do with cornering...more about stopping well.

 

I live in Pittsburgh, I have an "S" with the 17" performance tires. It hasn't snowed very heavy here, and I don't drive it much in the snow. Recently we have had a few days of 1 inch or so. On the occaisions I've had to go out I've decided these tires are really not at all suited to even light snow conditions. Take one good look at the tread pattern and it's evident why. There is plenty of soft rubber to grip (dry) pavement, but the groves in the tires are really pretty close together and not designed to throw the snow, ice, slush out. When they fill up it seems like you can go skating. I was taking one of my favorite s-curves the other day on a road that didn't have any snow but apparantly had a slick spot right in the apex. The front right tire caught it, and let's just say it was "unsettling".

I'm glad the subject came up though. Can anyone recommend a decent snow tire or all-season radial? Should I switch to 16"'s for that? Also, has it occurred to anyone else that if you don't get run-flats in the "S" you don't have a place for a spare?

 

I've been doing a LOT of research on this over the past few days because my performance tires nearly got me killed in about a half inch of slippery stuff just last week. There seems to be a bit of consensus that Bridgestone Blizzaks are da BOMB for hardcore winter driving. If you drive 17s in the dry stuff, they seem to generally recommend a switch down to 16s for winter tires. I recommend checking out the tire forum for more info.
Good luck!





>>I live in Pittsburgh, I have an "S" with the 17" performance tires. It hasn't snowed very heavy here, and I don't drive it much in the snow. Recently we have had a few days of 1 inch or so. On the occaisions I've had to go out I've decided these tires are really not at all suited to even light snow conditions. Take one good look at the tread pattern and it's evident why. There is plenty of soft rubber to grip (dry) pavement, but the groves in the tires are really pretty close together and not designed to throw the snow, ice, slush out. When they fill up it seems like you can go skating. I was taking one of my favorite s-curves the other day on a road that didn't have any snow but apparantly had a slick spot right in the apex. The front right tire caught it, and let's just say it was "unsettling".
>>
>>I'm glad the subject came up though. Can anyone recommend a decent snow tire or all-season radial? Should I switch to 16"'s for that? Also, has it occurred to anyone else that if you don't get run-flats in the "S" you don't have a place for a spare?

 

>>Meenee, I think you may be thinking about the electronic brake distribution (or some term close to that). Basically, what this is is a computer function that moderates the brake force at each wheel to keep it balanced. This helps directional stability when braking. Maybe someone more technical can say more, but I don't think that it has much to do with cornering...more about stopping well.
>>

Yeah....this is what I was thinking about! Sounds fun though. Extra breaking here, and little less there....my MINI did so well in school.

 

List your:

1)Mini type - MCS
2)transmission - 6 sp.
3)tire width - 15 inch snows (Champiro GTs - Nokkian knock-offs from Finland)
4)tire type - Winter only

I LOVE this car in the snow. It's a snowplow. You have to know when to turn the DSC off, and when to leave it alone. Play with it - you'll figure it out!

 

>>I've been doing a LOT of research on this over the past few days because my performance tires nearly got me killed in about a half inch of slippery stuff just last week. There seems to be a bit of consensus that Bridgestone Blizzaks are da BOMB for hardcore winter driving. If you drive 17s in the dry stuff, they seem to generally recommend a switch down to 16s for winter tires. I recommend checking out the tire forum for more info.
>>Good luck!
>>

Actually, the proper Blizzaks are 15" tires, not 16s. I think there are 16" snows available for the MINI, just not Blizzaks.

If you have serious snow -- and I'm not talking about a couple of inches now and then, but constant big storms that dump a foot or so at a time (i.e., Canada, great lakes area of NY, etc.) -- you may want to check out some of the German and Finnish tires such as the Nokia/Hakkapeliitas. IMHO those are more than most of us need...let's face it, your MINI is grounded if you have to drive through more than about 8" of snow anyway...but they're supposedly great tires.

 

*****************
>>Actually, the proper Blizzaks are 15" tires, not 16s. I think there are 16" snows available for the MINI, just not Blizzaks.
*****************
>>
So JSUN, in your opinion do I go to 15 Blizzaks or look for something in 16"? What would be the performance considerations of each? In other words, why choose a 15 over a 16 for snow tires?

 

1)Mini type - MC
2)transmission - CVT.
3)tire width -
4)tire type - Stock 15 inch Conti All-seasons

I agree completely about the DSC/ASC. You need to know when to.... (A Kenny Rogers song comes to mind for some odd reason.)

Some of my own observations:

1. When on loose-surface roads (gravel, dirt, etc.)
2. When climbing at low speed.

I'm not at all thrilled with the stock all-seasons. I would go so far as to say that Molly often feels "skittish" to me. My wife's front wheel drive Saturn with Kumho snows gets much better traction overall (I just hate driving that car.) Unfortunately, I already have the 16" Goodyear runflats for summer (also asking to be replaced), so I can't justify getting a third set of tires.... Guess I just take it easy on the slick stuff.

 

You should go over to the Tire forum and look at some of those threads and/or pose a question there so that Dan the TireRack guy can give you his 2cents...he's a professional at this after all.

The one thing I've consistently heard about snow tires, and found it to be true myself, is that "performance" in snows is largely defined as the ability to safely travel through snow (duh). You certainly give up some (lots) of the cornering and dry grip that you get on a "summer" performance tire...and that's why many of us who have to contend with winter decide to simply change our tires seasonally.

A snow tire will perform better if it's somewhat tall and skinny, vs. wide and fat which is what we want in a performance tire. Tall and skinny cuts through snow better and gives less contact area to get clogged up with gunk. Therefore, it's common to go down to a smaller diameter tire when moving to snows. In the MINI, this definitely moves you to 15 or 16" tires. Which is better? I actually can't say. I chose 15" 'cause that's what the Blizzaks came in, and I wanted Blizzaks. I know that doesn't answer your question completely, but I hope it helps.

 

I LIVE IN SNOW. Not by choice of course. I live on the Michigan and Indiana state line about 30 miles west southwest of Lake Michigan (known by the locals as Michiana). Know by everyone else as LAKE EFFECT CITY. It snows here daily. The temperature is currently +12 F. and it doesn't feel too cold. I guess I'm used to it.

To get to the point, I know something about driving in snow. I use my MCS as my DAILY driver and constantly drive throughout the lake effect area (I'm in sales). I have only the all seasons runflats and standard traction control. I have had the car since the first snowfall this winter and the traction control has activated only a dozen times, and only for the briefest moments starting at lights and intersections.

The MINI does just as well as my Saab 9-3 and better than my Jeep Cherokee ever did in the snow (4WD excluded). I would have no qualms about driving in the snow with the MINI with the exception of piles of ice which could damage the front air dam.

The key to foul weather driving is driving within the limits of the car and conditions.

_________________
MINI Pilot with Pure Sivler wings! 2003 MCS

 

For some reason -- maybe the 4 feet of snow we've had here in New Hampshire -- The question we're most commonly asked is how the car drives in the white stuff.

The answer is the same as any other small front-wheel driver and it depends greatly on the tires. We have the Blizzaks on all four wheels another car we have, a Nissan, and the difference in grip between those and the all-season tires on the MINI is huge.

I didn't want to spend the money this year but we'll definitely get a set for the MINI next year.