When I bought my 05MCS in October my plan was to put it away in the garage for the winter. I was concern about how it would handle in the winter, the road salt, and accidents. December came I cleaned it up and put MINI away. That lasted one day. The snows came and I have as much fun driving MINI in the snow as on dry payment. The DSC is amazing. There are no spin-out, it always drives in the straight line. The only goofy thing is starting from a dead stop on snow. If the DSC kicks in to maintain a straight line you can loose power and your forward movement is drastically reduced. But you get use to this and don't jump out in front of anyone in this situation expecting to blast away.
I just read an interesting artical today in Feb' Car & Driver by Csabe Csere about what he calls Electronic Stability Control. I believe this is exactly what DCS is. Apparently it appeared first in BMW and Mercedis in '97 and since then they have statistically shown single vehicle crash fatalities have reduced 56% in cars with this option. They thought ABS would have done the same but there is no statical data to support any reduction in this type of fatality because of ABS. The article also had a great layman explanation on exactly how the DSC works.
Has anyone else noticed the difference the DSC makes?
It's -9F (-23C) snowing and time to motor.

 

just a suggestion: when first starting out in snow conditions ,turn the dsc off, and then you will have more control over what the car does.Once you get going ,turn it back on.We here in the northeast are about to get DUMPED!I guess I'll find out just how good Zane grey is in the deep stuff!

Hope this helps. Jock

 

Jock,
The only issue I have had with GBMINI this year is after having to stop on the slight hill up to my home (oil truck), I could not get going forward again. DSC would cut all power and no DSC would just spin a wheel.
Had to roll back to flatter bit and go from there.

I guess my only option to sort that issue would be snow tires?

 

And for anyone else that missed the story on MotoringFile, check out the link to a video made by Jason Livingood a few years back (a famous MINI owner that was mostly responsible for getting rear fogs allowed in USA!)

 

Hmmmmm, just had to dig my new Mini out of the snow. Got it hung up. To the defense of my new car, we had about half a foot of snow last night. To whine a bit, I never had this problem with my previous car a 1977 Datsun 280 Z which has about the same clearance and NO TRACTION!...so what do I blame other than the fact that I could have shoveled?? (which my wife already yelled at me for ) DSC.

Although generally I like DSC, I really WISH it was an option that switched on rather than defaulted on and had to be switched off. I got stuck because I forgot to switch off before plowing through the snow and lost all power. Live and learn.

Additionally, when I tried to push it out and put my wife (who was already peeved...see previous paragraph) behind the wheel, she stalled it which of course then defaulted the DSC on when the vehicle was started. We didn't catch that right away so I couldn't figure out she wasn't giving it any gas!! The neighbors must have had a great time watching this from their windows!!...I have to admit PRETTY FUNNY to me now

Anyway, that probably is my only gripe about DSC. I would like the option (maybe programmable??) to switch it myself rather than have it default. We've had such terrible cold and snow that the streets are like ice rinks so the DSC is more annoying than anything right now for me until we get to 32 and can melt some of this glacial ice off the roads.

I have to remember though that I live in North Dakota, a state that the MINI wasn't quite made for. I'm reminded of this everyday when I am dwarfed on the road by the giant 4 wheel drive pickups and SUV's wherever I go.

Good news: traveling forward, even plowing snow, the MINI is at least as good as any car I've ever owned...and the handling (I.E. wide stance, responsive steering, braking, acceleration) is wonderful!...not to mention the heated seats!

 

Your answer is simple (and I can't believe that Ian didn't already pipe up on this)......Get Ian's "Auto-up Circuit with DSC", which, when installed, causes the car to default to DSC-off when you start the car. Send a PM to GBMini and he'll set you up.

 

Where have you been? Talk to GBMINI above. He's got a "mod" called TRACK MODE DSC which makes the DSC default OFF.

 

When I dumped my 16" dunlop run flats a while ago, I replaced them with Goodrich comp t/a all season radials, and I have had NO problems at all with any amount of snow (as long as I remembered to turn the blanking DSC off ) and yet these tires are just as good in the rain and dry conditions as well.Thank you again Alex( oh great tire rack guru) for the great recomendation Jock

 

I agree....with a set of snow tires on, the MINI is amazing on snowy roads.

 

Ollie is awesome in the snow... and yet no non-MINI owners believe me when I say that.

 

I was out today in 7" of new snow with no driving problems in the city or on the highway. I was passing many SUV with owners who obviously have no idea how to drive an SUV. I have 16" factory snows on MINI. Did have the usual problem starting on a hill with DSC on or off, but alway eventually got going.

 

Snow tires rock
Makes twisties like this a hoot

 

Thanks everybody


I thought Ian's invention was just auto up for window and garage door opener. Will definately be contacting him!

 

Six months ago I got 16" BF Goodrich Traction T/A, V rated all-season tires with snow like the 10" we got here yesterday in mind. I haven't felt this confident driving in snow since my '69 VW Beetle.

 

wow Lot15.....that looks like SO much fun I gotta find a place like that. What kind of road is that?

 

Oh, I HAVE to agree with you!!!

I was once, yes once, a driver of a Ford Explorer ***ducking*** but that was years ago, and it was my ex-husband's.

This MINI goes just as well as that Explorer did, except this is a h*ll of a lot more fun. I love driving in the snow anyway, and the MINI just adds to the fun of it, and yes, I have the DSC as well. I LOVE boot rounding corners. So much fun!

Just on Saturday, after a bad snow storm, I was passing minivans and a RWD Audi that were spinning their tires on a hill. I just zipped on past.

 

We had 2+ feet of snow in Boston and the city hasn't bothered to plow the damn alleys yet

So I just took it upon myself to plow it with the MCS. There is now a nice uniform 4" deep snow layer! Awesome traction with the snow tires.

Note: a few SUVs preceeded me through the alley over the last day or so. Don't try your MCS in 2 feet of fresh snow

 

I totally agree, and was just telling someone yesterday the exact same thing - that although I've had 4WD vehicles for the past 20 years, I haven't had so much fun in snow or felt more confident driving in it since MY 69 VW Beetle. I don't have DSC, but I do have a bitchin set of Dunlop WinterSport M-2's, and they are simply awesome. I was worried about how the MINI would be in the snow, but this is WAY more than I could have even hoped for. Chalk up one more reason (and a big one) why I'm in love with my MINI!!

 

I know we hang a little low,well alot low really,and the front air dam plows the snow,well like a plowtruck.But I wonder if that pushes the drive wheels into the snow,and that's why the little buggers pull so well through the snow? Any snow folk got ideas on this.
Or would it be better to take off the dam, and have a skid plate?I think then you would get lift and the drive wheels would not have as much traction.
I would love to be able to "lift" the car for the winter,1 to 1 1/2 inches.

 

Amazing in the snow...Yes it is, isn't it?

 

Yup

 

The car does alright in the snow. I however got stuck going up a really steep hill. It was to be expected though. It wasn't salted or plowed and was really fresh. I managed to get within 20 feet on the top and started spinning.

A bunch of guys sled riding with their kids pushed me the remaining way.

 

With 3 feet of snow this weekend yet still commuting and driving around, I just got a ton of MINI snow driving experience!

First and foremost...the DSC is amazing. You may think it is interfering but if you turn it off you will quickly realize the difference. Turn it off only if you are stuck and it is stalling the engine trying to get you moving.

After many traffic lights on packed snow roads I developed an excellent start technique (again, DSC is on!). Blip the clutch with a featherweight on the gas in first to get it barely moving, then shift to second. You can floor it if you want, the DSC will take control of the the throttle at that point and you will slowly accelerate.

I got stuck on one road that had about 6 inches on snow on it with no hope, I had to back out back into the intersection. Don't enter any snow over 4" deep without speed.

I have the 16" all season runflats and they are pretty bad. Turn of DSC and they are all over the place, really hard to keep from slipping manually. Not quite the worst tires I've had in the snow, but yes, the best thing you can do is buy snow tires!

 

I love all the pictures that are posted! They are great! It Brings a smile to my face seeing all those minis battling it out in the intense snow

This is my cars first winter and the DSC is amazing At first I was a little nervous driving in the snow but it turned into... what can my car not handle? I found out that answer is just about nothing


My only problem was getting out of my driveway. The road I live on seems to always get plowed a day late and the driver of the plow puts big mounds of snow at my driveway entrance. Poor small car couldn’t get through it so it was garaged for the weekend until the massive amounts of snow and ice were removed