Torque steer (as much or as little as each person experiences) is one thing about the Mini that makes it a Mini. For me, I find it fun. Get on it, and steer through it. This is great stuff. I'm surprised people complain about it.

 

Did a little unofficial "testing" this weekend (in my S Manual). My impression is that the wheel felt slightly off center, but stayed straight. What I mean is that it did not pull to one side or the other, but if you tweak the wheel in either direction, it will continue to pull in that direction.

This would be a factor in turns, but I can tell you unequivocally that the TS in the MINI is far, far, far less than in my 02' GTI VR6.

I'm not a racer by any stretch of the imagination, but from my experience I'll say that the TS on the MINI is quite low when compared with most other FWD cars. If you are coming from RWD and never experienced TS, it's probably an unusual feeling, but that's the price of FWD. I think the intent of the first post was to say that he was seriously concerned about TS prior to buying, but was pleasantly suprised to find it a non-issue. I would tend to agree with that.

 

I think there are a lot of factors involved, now that I've had a little seat time in my '09 Clubby.......

Mine's an auto and I think that mitigates it somewhat, but it will spin the left front tire if I nail it from a stop, also hitting bumps as you're accelerating hard will cause the wheel to dance a bit in your hands, you need to be holding on well.

Different sized tires and wheels probably have an effect too, mine has the 16" runflats, and I can't wait to get some decent rubber on some 17" wheels to compare.........

Lastly, temperature.........on a really cold day Sat it tried to ts more than it did the day before when the temps were considerably warmer, less grip on a cold day is my assumption........

OH, and my '03 MCS JCW also will jump around under the same circumstances......

 

I think a manual with LSD has way more torque steer than one without and a manual without LSD has more torque steer than an automatic. The LSD will send all the torque to the inside wheel in a turn like when making a right turn from a stop. If you gun it, you'll feel the torque on the inside wheel more than the outside wheel and it'll want to straighten out really quickly causing some pretty good torque steer. That was my experience with my MCS manual with LSD anyway...

 

My '09 JCW has a bit of TS. Caught me off guard the first time but, it is manageable now. It will definately jerk the wheel on a hard take off. It's something that is easily controlled for an average driver.

 

I to agree with the OP on this. I haven't noticed any bad torque steer. I mean there's a little bit, but not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

 

I've definitely noticed it on a couple of occasions and I have an automatic.

On a rough road, sport button on, foot planted, it has caught me off guard and reminded me that I have a (relatively) high HP front-driver by wriggling and emphasizing the need to keep a firm grip on the wheel. It's not a "get thee to a gym" kind of wriggle but were I not to firm up my grip I might be in the next lane over (not a pretty proposition on US 19 I might add!)

I think the OP is just spoiled as - by his own admission - he drives/has driven 2 of the torque steer queens of recent memory

 

Rexicon wrote:
>> On a rough road, sport button on, foot planted, it has caught me off guard...I think the OP is just spoiled as - by his own admission - he drives/has driven 2 of the torque steer queens of recent memory<<

What you are describing is not really torque steer. Torque steer does not require a rough road to present itself. You are experiencing the effects of a short wheelbase coupled with relatively high horsepower and a stiff suspension. The bumps in the road are causing the wheels to lose contact with the pavement. As each wheel touches down independently and exerts more forward thrust, the car is pulled from one side to the other, back and forth.

Torque steer will manifest itself on a perfectly smooth, flat road and will cause the car to veer off to one side only, not back and forth. Even my Mustang GT exhibited this back and forth pulling when I romped on it on a rough road. The only solutions are 1) a much more supple suspension so that both wheels maintain constant road contact or, heaven forbid, 2) You cease mashing the fun pedal. #2 is NOT an option <g>...

 

^^ He's absolutely correct! My friend had a souped up Honda Civic with TERRIBLE torque steer. You can feel it on brand new pavement. It doesn't have to be rough. And generally, you're probably going to find that the steering isn't going to "wiggle," it's going to just yank really hard to one side. The MINI has a little TS to the left, but I would hardly say it's "bad." I would just say it's "noticeable."

 

I got my Clubman S out of its 3 month winter storage yesterday and took it out for a drive. Once again, I was surprised at how much torque steer the car has. Its apparent in every gear except 5th and 6th. Pulls pretty hard to the left when flooring it in each of the first 4 gears.

 

Man, I truly pity you manual transmission guys - torque steer up the wazoo and the dubious pleasure of replacing the clutch every 50k miles or so. My Aisin automatic exhibits virtually no torque steer and I'm willing to bet that tranny will last a good 200K miles before needing any serious work.

Plus, I get the ultra-cool paddle shifters, too. I can't tell you how many women I've bedded just because of those paddles - "Ooooooh, sweetie, paddle me again!! And this time, do it with feeling!"

Heh, heh...

 

Really? Mine pulls ever so slightly to the right........maybe after 3 months you had a low tire or something? Tho I guess you would have gotten a warning on that, wouldn't you...........

 

Can of worms - open.

Everyone should get the car they want, but it would be a sin for me to own a MINI with a slushbox. Save your pity for someone who deserves it... like anyone who drives a GM product.

 

+1.

And replace a clutch every 50,000 miles?!?!?!?! I don't think so, Tim. Try at worst... every 100k.

 

Yeah, I've had far more transmission problems with autos than I've had with manuals. But here's to hoping no one has any problems with their MINI trannies.

 

All 4 of my cars are manuals, 2 of them with over 200,000 miles, and I've never had to replace a clutch or had any tranny problems before. I don't know why the Mini's wouldn't go the distance. Its has the best feeling pedal and its the smothest shifting of all of them.

 

I read the same stuff about torque steer, and wonder if we're talking about the same car. If my 07 MCS has it, I haven't found it yet!

 

It seem like it is most noticeable on cars with manual transmission and a LSD.

 

Ok, now that my Clubbie is finally out of break-in, I got to push it pretty hard on my relatively twisty commute. I have an S with sport package and sport suspension and in any combination of Sport button and DSC/DTC/EDLC only torque steer is very minimal. Equal length axles do their job well. I've driven a couple of above-average power FWD cars (180whp Matrix, 210whp Scion tC, 210whp Cobalt SS) - all of them had an obvious pull to one side under hard acceleration. MINI doesn't.

I have to give it to BMW once again - they know how to build a driver's car. Even in FWD.

 

Can you clarify auto or manual trans? I'm wondering if that makes a difference.

 

I have an 09 and while I am not through the breakin period yet I feel virtually zero torque steer. I have a MCS with the 6 speed and LSD.

Pat

 

6spd for me, no LSD (just EDLC). Theoretically I hope that MINI has equal-length axles in both transmissions, but I haven't seen the auto on the lift yet.

 

I, too, have owned three high-horsepower front wheel drive cars - 2 Taurus SHOs (220 HP, 5-spd manual) and 1 Saab 9-3 SE (200 HP 4-speed auto.) and both exhibited strong torque steer. The Mini has virtually NONE. Read my lips: N-O-N-E.

Someone else wrote:
"...also hitting bumps as you're accelerating hard will cause the wheel to dance a bit in your hands, you need to be holding on well."

That is NOT torque steer. It actually has a name: bump steer. No kidding. ANY car with a relatively stiff suspension and a short wheelbase will exhibit bump steer. Every racecar driver knows of this and so do most hard-riding motorcycle riders, me included.

You guys who are complaining "ooooh, I've got torque steer" need to get in the gym and man-up. Stop sniveling, it's embarrassing...

 

I'm sorry but I beg to differ..............bump steer is when the tire and the car change direction from vertical or horizontal movement of the suspension, on or off the throttle has nothing to do with it.

If your car pulls left or right under hard acceleration, that's torque steer - steering due to the torque of the engine acting on the front wheels and steering the car in a direction not instigated by the driver or the steering wheel.

Having the car jump around left and right and pull the wheel around in my hands under hard acceleration is classic torque steer, the bumps just amplify it.........and since the auto trans cars don't have LSD, it's even more evident. I think it shows up more on some cars than others due to tire size/type/pressures/temps...........

At no time have I said that it's uncontrolable or dangerous, but it's certainly there - in my car - given the right load and temp cicumstances.

I'll be putting some summer rubber/non-run flats/17" 215's on my car next month, and I expect that to make a difference too.

The fact that you're not experiencing it in your car doesn't mean it's not there in ours.............

 

Torque steer pulls in only one direction under acceleration, on most FWD cars it's to the left. Period. And it exhibits itself on glass-smooth pavement as well as bumpy roads. The 1st time I punched it hard with my 1st SHO, I damn near shat myself. And I had just traded in a 275 HP Mustang GT which, being rear wheel drive, did not have this trait. But, the Mustang DID exhibit bump steer.

You are describing classic bump steer, caused by....bumps. Now, it IS certainly possible to have bump steer AND torque steer occurring simultaneously. And it certainly is a handful when it's bad. The Mini does exhibit a bit of bump steer. But any capable driver can handle that without breaking a sweat. If you want to mitigate bump steer, stay on smooth roads, get a longer wheelbase car, or get a more supple suspension with longer wheel travel. Or some combination thereof.

FYI, I'm running the standard Conti All-Season runflats with a totally stock suspension. Tire pressures are 35 front, 34 back. Torque steer is not an issue with my car. And I'd be willing to flog anyone else's who says they have it <smirk> just to prove them wrong...

BTW, MiniDave, I'm not bustin your chops. How could I? You named your Clubbie the same as my pitbull, so you're a-ok in my book! And you should see this dog when he's riding with me - he must have claws like an eagle to keep from being thrown about!!