I have started a search for a new Cooper S. I had never driven one until yesterday and they are as zippy and fun as I expected. The one I drove pulled hard to the right. under steady driving and under braking it would really dive right. The salesman attributed it to the "rough roads" but then again he told that the tire pressure monitoring button was for "traction control". I informed him of the meaning of the DSC acronym and ignored everything else he had to say from there on in.

I probably won't buy that car, but it made me wonder if the car is prone to tramlining or following road grooves and imperfections. This car only pulled right and if it were tramlining it would go with the road in either direction. The tires were Pirelli Euforio run flats and they looked to be stock width and size.

 

I run the same tires, and I can vouch for the fact that the car pulls around a bit on uneven pavement. However, the feeling is rare, not an incessant pull to the right like you described. I notice it occasionally on the highway or when stopping at a light where the pavement is worn or bumpy from everyone braking on it. The tramlining really isn't much of an issue IMO, but it is there.

 

I think most people dump the run-flats the first week and put on regular tires. Up until and through 06, the MINI was designed for normal tires. In the R56, the new MINI is designed for best performance using run-flats.

 

Was the car that you drove brand new? It sounds to me like nothing more than the toe being off on one or both of the front wheels. An alignment is probably all that is needed.

I don't think this car pulls any worse than any other car I have owned in the past, and it's my 9th car in 7 years, so I've had plenty of experience.

I have noticed a "floating tail" feeling on grooved highway sections. You know, the section of road with all of the thin strips running parallel to the driving direction.. I attribute this to the light rear end on these cars, as well as the relatively skinny tires. I have felt this in other cars before, but this one is a little more noticeable.

Drew

 

I had them, and we have some grooved concrete highways here, pulled a lot! The GY GS3Ds don't do this at all. Different tread patterns, and relatively wide tires for the wheelbase are the cause. It's not the car, it's the tires. I don't remember if my Toyo T1s did or not, but nothing I've driven were as bad as the Pirellis

Matt

 

watch the parralel threads. It just makes it harder to get good info, as it's spread around. Eventually a moderator will merge them, and then the flow gets a bit funny.

Matt