I hate winter. It was raining here all day(good) and later on in the evening it turned to snow(bad). It was one of those super rare snowing thunderstorms, very cool. Anyway my drive home from work went well untill the last little hill near my house. At this point DSC couldn't help my summer tires anymore and I got stuck. After many attempts to free my car I decided to abandon her.

I walked the 2 blocks to my house and got some of those reflective triangles. They were the ones I had thrown out with the safety/first-aid kit in an attempt to shed all the weight I could. It was still snowing as I walked back to my car to set up the triangles, the road was down to one lane. Feeling the cold at this point I headed back to my house. While I walked backwards up the hill I could see other cars maneuver around her, it made me nervous.

There was also a snow plow around here somewhere. He plowed a T intersection and left a 2 foot high plow drift right in the middle of the road; I presume he was going to finish the side street and then start on my road, clearing the drift. The idea of him hitting my car was not to pleasent.

Back at my house I hatched a plan to free my car. I loaded two s-lights wraped in Avon Tech M550 tires, a jack, a shovel, and my torque wrench into a sled. Dressed warmer this time I pulled the sled and my equipment back down the hill; the snow was too thick and the sled too heavy to let gravity help. It had stoped snowing at this point.

Once there I shoveled a space for the jack, there was hard slush under the 4 inches of snow. Changing the front tires in this evironment took longer than normal. All the while people were passing me. This must have been one of the strangest roadside sights they had seen in a while. Leaving the summer tires and my equipment sled on the side of the road I got free with some rocking. The Avon tires are really quite good, it's just that the s-lights are too damn heavy so I hardly have them on anymore.

The plow drift was still there blocking my way, so I turned around and took a more traveled path home. If I had managed to make it up the hill I would have been screwed. Taking the round about route I made it, only to get stuck in the driveway. So I shoveled it and got into the garage. Then it was back down the hill to get my sled. The road at this point was a slushy mess. I'm talking about 5 inch deep slush. Had I waited longer, this slush would have completely prevented my escape.

With my sled in tow I headed for home. For being relatively light-weight rims they sure were heavy. This was the first winter in years that would have justified snow tires. In the past it was 2, maybe 3 snowy days a year, not worth buying dedicated tires for. This year I lost count of the snowy days but winter is almost over so I'm not buying tires now. I hate winter.

 

Sorry you had long night! Glad everything turned out well though!

A set of 15s with 4 season Nokians are a great compromise for the winter when dedicated snow tires aren't necessary. Plus they make driving in the snow fun

 

Ouch!

Glad to hear everything worked out. We had an early snow this year (Nov). At that point I realized my all season runflats wouldn't cut it (to my satisfaction) with anything more than 2-3 inches of snow.

Sooo... I bought a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's from Alex at Tire Rack. I had them mounted on my S-lites (I figured heavier wheels were probably a good idea in the winter anyway.) Good thing it turns out, since we have had more snow this winter than any I remember since I've been a kid...

I have new wheels I'll be mounting my runflats on once the weather warms up a bit. Once the runflats wear out I'll replace them with summer tires...

I am also ready for winter to end...

 

I put 15" holies on with real snow tires, not all seasons ,these have the little snow flake symbol on the side, thats all you have to look for. Also get the tallest and skinnest tires you can find that fit. I pass SUV's in the same conditions you experienced, and have so much fun I look forward to the sloppy stuff

 

I've been running the 15" holies as well but with the stock tires for now. I also use this procedure for the traction control:

"Push and hold the ASC+T/DCS button; the traction control light will illuminate for several seconds (about 10), the go off. Once the light is off, release the button. Your Mini's traction control system is now in a mode where ABS will be applied to the wheels that lose traction, but the engine throttle will not be reduced.

Note:Unlike normal traction control operation, where you can go from ON to OFF and back again just by pushing a button, once your Mini is in this "half-mode", the only way to deactivate it is to turn the engine off. The next time you start the engine, it will revert to normal mode (traction control ON)."

It helps when on some steep hills where the engine gets reduced by too much and you end up stopping in the middle.
I have a 2003 MCS, so not sure if it also works on other years?

 

I haven't even bothered mounting my winter wheels/tires this "winter." All they're good for is making my back stairs smell like rubber. We've had less than six inches of snow total the entire "winter."

 

What many people forget about snow tires versus summer performance tires... is that it's not just about snow, but also about temperature.

If you make the decision to run summer performance tires on your MINI, you need to remember that when temperatures start to drop (say, below 40), that your summer rubber is basically going to turn REALLY hard, like driving on bricks.

Even without snow, this results in quite a miserable motoring experience, and potentially dangerous too, since the rubber won't grip as well.

In my opinion, if you live in a climate cold enough to get snow at all, and you use summer performance tires during the rest of the year, then you should buy winter tires. You will be much better off in the long run. Of course, you could just choose to compromise all the time, and use all-seasons year-round.

The trick is choosing winter tires that suit your area. Although Bridgestone Blizzaks are considered the best (or close to it) for snow performance, they also use a very soft rubber that is terrible on dry pavement, and wears really fast. Here in the Washington DC area, where we usually get some snow every year, but not all the time, I have found that the Pirelli Winter SnowSport tires are ideal. They are -almost- as good as the Blizzaks in snow, yet they are far better (and more durable) on dry pavement. Bonus for those who like runflats - they are available in both runflat and non-runflat form.

I actually mounted my snow tires on S-Lites. The S-Lites may be very heavy (terrible for performance), but they are also very durable as a result... which is great for the oversized potholes that always turn up in icy weather. Although narrow 15-inch wheels are the best in snow, they are not an option for me since I have the JCW brakes.

 

I'm waiting for my all-seasons to die before I buy summer tires.

 

I also agree the Pirelli Winter tires are a great choice. I put a pair on this winter (have had over 100 inches of constant snow and very cold temps so far) and they are quite amazing. You can barely tell you are riding on winter tires when the road is dry as they handle great but they grip like mad on ice and snow. I actually look forward to drive my little tank in the winter with these.

 

I have 15" snow tires on my MINI and had no problem with a 9" snowfall! The car came with steelies and plastic hubcaps which I swapped out with 4 OEM MINI wheels from E-Bay for $100 plus shipping. You have from now to next winter to find some nice MINI wheels to mount those snow tires on, believe me, you won't regret it. Not only will your MINI look cool (just like in the summer), you won't have the hassle of the plastic hubcaps.

 

I normally have steel rims with summer tires. I know about the reduced grip in the cold, it's fun. The Avons on the s-lights are good for snow, it's just that the snow only stays on the road for about a day till it's clear.