I know there have been other threads on this but I got completely stuck today and need a "refresher course"!! Luckily when I got stuck I was in my condo complex and was able to grab a neighbor to help me, he had to drive the car up the snowy incline which tells me it's the driver and not the car. So here's what happened: I made a right turn and started up the snowpacked and icy incline, I got part of the way up and then the wheels started spinning and I was going nowhere. The tire light started flashing (due to the spinning wheels). I know I need snow tires and that will help but what could I have done better tonight to make it up the incline? I've never had this happen with any other car before and I'm surprised it happened with my Mini, it's FWD.
Has anyone ever added any weight to the boot (bags of sand ect.) to help with the weight factor in bad winter storms?

 

When you go up a hill the weight over the drive wheels shifts back lessening your tires grip. Adding weight to the trunk will not help you one bit. Doing that takes weight off the drive wheels. You already know what you need to do....yep go buy 4 snow tires. You will be much safer having them.

 

Trixie, I'm not an expert, but I have driven in snow and ice for many years. It was probably the combination of turning and slow speed (no momentum) that got you slipping. Front wheel drive makes it useless to put weight in the rear, and there's not much you can do to increase the weight in the front but sit on the fender! Obviously, that won't work, but I do know that narrower tires work better in snow. Wide tires like most Mini's have just spread out the weight more. No one gets around on ice very well, no matter what they tell you. Even studded tires only do so much. Just keep it slow and steady, with no sudden changes of direction or speed and try to keep moving. Its harder to get going from a dead stop. HTH

 

Since it's front wheel drive, I would think that adding weight in the boot wouldn't help. You would want more weight over the drive wheels. Slow and steady might work but ice is ice.

Snow tires definitely, especially where you live. Doesn't it start snowing in September and end in June out there? Are your tires old? Hope the rest of the winter is better for you.

Swizzle

 

try this, start out in second gear, it reduces torqe to the front wheels and therefore reduces your chances of spinning your tyers. Wierd as this may sound apply your brakes lightly when the tyres start to slip, it will slow down the spinning tyre and tranfer the toque to the one that isn't. If this doesn't work I spread some Kitty litter in front of the tyres to act as a traction aid. Worked for me in the snow country way back when.

 

mini2di4 - not much you can do by adding weight to the boot. I had a similar experience last week attempting to negotiate a 20+ degree gravel road. Our MCSa had a tough time getting up that incline. I had to put it in "manual" mode and kept it in first and second gear all the way up the hill. The joys of front wheel drive.

 

I was going slow and steady, I was halfway up when the wheels just started spinning and the car wasn't moving forward. My tires are in very good condition but they aren't snow tires. I tried coasting back a bit and still couldn't get the car to go anywhere. I've driven in snow and ice my whole life so you can imagine how I feel.....

 

You could move to Florida. But that'd be expensive and time consuming. Much less costly would be Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's from The Tire Rack. They'll land on your porch within a week or so. Toss in a set of inexpensive aluminum wheels (mounted and balanced by The Tire Rack) and it will be much easier to change to and from snows each year. I love mine.

 

i wish I could give u some advice, but I have only driven in snow a coupe of times.

 

Or he could move to cal. too

 

Our winters are long - snow from October to April. The storms and snow may be big but they are very short lived. The sun will probably be out tomorrow and the snow will melt fast. I was lucky tonight, I didn't get stuck on a major road and cause traffic problems but I'm dreading the next big storm!!

 

That should read "SHE could could to cal. too" No thanks, I love Colorado!! I've lived here 15 years and never had snow tires on any car and never had this happen. I know how to drive in winter conditions and hate to blame this on the Mini....she, unlike her owner, is perfect!!

 

Now that we're talking about traction loss, i was driving earlier today and it was raining and i was stopped at a light, when i got the green i started going and my wheels just started spinning (im thinkng a combination of water and motor oil on the road caused it).........is the DSC too sensitive or the runflat tires plainly suck?

 

Thats my idea

 

Same thing happened to me today too. I have the stock 17" Pirelli Euphori@ runflats. I've heard that the DSC is pretty sensitive and that might be why. A lot of people recommend driving with the DSC off except in extreme icy conditions and such, however I've driven 6 months with it and I don't know how it feels without it.

 

Would turning the traction control off help? I know on dirt and such it does.

 

i think it does. i live near chicago, unfortunatly we dont get big winter storms to often like Colorado (though im moving there within the next few months!!) we get ice and such. Driving in a high gear than normal will definitely help. less torque=less frequent wheel spin=better traction.

 

in snowy conditions, if I am at an intersection that I need to dart across and not have to worry about the DSC kicking in and causing a stumble, I just shut it off, but then try to remember to turn it back on after I'm across. I have a lot of hills here and with my snow tires rarely have any problems while 4 wheel might, but if I tried to getup a hill, and got half way up and had to back down, I would try again with the DSC off...does anyone else do this?

 

Getting started on a snowy, icy hill is the weak point of the MINI in the winter. It really just doesn't do very well at all in this situation.

Snow tires will obviously help, but it's still not easy.

One option is to try to keep the wheels from losing traction. Back up ont flat ground and approach the hill with some momentum. If that's not possible, try starting out in second (or even third) gear so there's less torque available. Sometimes working the steering wheel from side to side can help by getting the car to move sideways a little bit, perhaps moving the tires from an icy spot to a snowy spot where there's a little more grip.

Another option is to let the traction control try to find the grip for you. Once you get the clutch all the way out, just keep on the gas at half throttle or so and let the computer try to figure it out. Sometimes, it works great. Sometimes, it is painfully slow progress. Sometimes, there's so little traction available that the traction control actually stalls the engine.

Another option is to turn the traction control off and just spin the tires and see if that can get you up the hill. It's not pretty, but it sometimes works, especially if there's just a short icy patch that you're stuck on. These icy patches are caused by people spinning their wheels in the same spot - it creates heat which melts the snow, which later freezes into ice. If it's just a few feet of bad ice, you might be able to spin your wheels enough to inch forward past the icy spot.

The last option - stay home.

Don't feel bad about having problems getting moving up a hill... I've got plenty of winter driving experience too, and it really is the weakest aspect of the MINI in winter.

 

Out of curiosity what tires do you currently have?

 

I generaly dump the traction control, MAINTAIN MOMENTUM when proceeding uphill (stopping or coasting backward when pointing upward is generally the death knell for that particular trip), and when you feel your car starting to loose traction find new snow. In this manner I've motored up hills past Ford trucks (well, ok, 1) sliding backward and have never (thus far) been stuck. That was with the OE Dunlop all-seasons. Since moving to Savannah a few months ago, however, I have replaced them with Potenza summer tires, so Xmas at home this year may prove a bit more... festive.

And yeah, I never quite got the people in FWD cars loading down the ****-end of their car with heavy things...

 

Lots of bad advice here, and a few bits of common sense. I have been driving in snow all my life, including driving classic minis in snow back in the 70's. Heres the scoop:

1) You said the snow was packed. this is the most difficult to drive on, especially when there is no grit on it.

2) The turn you made before the incline ensured you had little momentum to help you up the incline

3) If you have traction control it would have reduced power and then let it kick in again, causing spin and again reduced power.

4) Are you tires 'all season'? Summer tires are aweful on snow because the compound goes hard.

So, a few tips to get you up the same hill next time;

1) The key to getting up hills in winter is momentum. As you hit the steepest incline you will NOT be able to maintain all of your momentum because this will require too much power and the re is not enough grip. Allow the car to slow a bit but keep some power on. This is the hardest thing to judge and takes time to learn. With practice you will be able to keep as much power on as is possible without loosing traction.

2) Turn off the DSC. To use the technique explained in item #1 you cannot have some pea brain trying to think for you.

3) Ascertain how you can hit the slope with the most speed.

4) As stated by someone in the know, use a higher gear. maybe even 3rd gear may help. This will assist you in modulating your speed as explained in item #1.

5) Steer as straight as possible. Each turn of the wheel will be a moment when traction could be lost.

6) If you have passengers, boot them out of the car! Make them walk to the top of the hill. Although this will marginally reduce the weight over the driving wheels, the reduction in mass those wheels need to drag up the hill is better.

7) The technique of putting weight over the driving wheels is much less effective for hard packed snow.

That's about it. If you can't get up the same hill using these tips then your tires could be the issue. Go to www.tirerack.com and check out the survey information for your tires. If they have a rating of 7 or less for winter driving this could be an issue. I'm driving on Pirelli P-zero Nero M/S 205 45 17's and they are great in snow.

 

i always drive with the DSC off except when its rainy or snowy......i figured the DSC would give me better traction than having it off, now that said i do have the 17" stock runflat tires but i got different ones, my MCS came with the Good Year RS tires

Thanks everyone else with your suggestions, ill put some of them to good use

 

OK, pet peeve of mine... There is a difference between Traction Control and DSC! Granted on DSC equipped cars you have to disable it to also disable traction control, otherwise they are two different systems. Keeping DSC disabled in any condition puts you at greater risk of loosing control of the car.

Keep in mind the way traction control works, if you loose grip on one wheel, it will divert power to the other. In situations where you don't have grip on either wheel and are only relying on momentum, it might then be an issue. There is a reason after all why traction control is installed. And it's not just to annoy drivers with the way BMW made it oversensitive.

 

DLG - The TC element of DSC on the MCS is brutal, intrusive and downright dangerous in my opinion.

I am perfectly able to handle a little wheelspin by feathering the throttle, or simply holding on and letting it spin a little.

What I really, absolutely, fundamentally object to is that the loss of momentum when it kicks in is dramatic and a disproportional.

The TC simply does not understand the phrase 'I stuck my foot down in first because I had to pull away fast' prefering to scare you half to death by cutting 99% of the power while I am mid interection - really safe that !

I get in the car, start the engine, flick it off.

If I could find a way of disabling just TC I would be really happy.

As for the original poster - its been a while, but the key to drving in snow is an extremely light touch of any control that you interact with. That means that you need to feel the clutch out, gently apply throttle, super-gently brush the brakes etc

Sudden, jerky movements == loss of control.