I live in San Diego and was wondering if some of the East Coast owners could comment on how the R56 handles in the snow---getting through deep snow---traction from a standing start---and just general on road (snow) performance.

Thanks

 

although i have no experience in this, i would assume some HUGE factors would be...

With or without snow tires
LSD/DSC?

 

If you have all season or winters - I'm sure it will be fine. DSC is a plus. I can't comment on LSD - my manual R56 doesn't have it and our R53 is an auto. There is going to be a little more clearance compared to the R53. I can't wait for the snow to start falling!

 

My wife picked up her MINI at the end of February here in Minnesota. Although we didn't have any huge snowfalls after she picked it up, it performed without issue for the rest of the winter.

We ordered her car with the 16" all seasons. The runflats suck. She will be running snow-specific tires on the oem 16" wheels this next winter.

If things get real bad she can always take my Subaru (next to the Mini).

 

I'm very interested in hearing what people say about this too. We spent some time looking over the options for Blizzaks runflats on tirerack.com and man, pricey. So was thinking of getting rims and non-runflats but then what do you do about a spare. Maybe I should do that and just get AAA. I was also wondering if the R56 would be similar in performance to my old 96 VW GTI. That car was horrible in snow, even with studded snow tires. In deeper snow, it was some what of a snow plow and it was so light it couldn't get up even small hills. Maybe having to do with the sort of crappy slippery wet snow we get here in the Pacific Northwest.

Kathy

 

Last winter was my first with a MINI. Our other car is a Subaru that wears winter tires. I was more that a little worried about going from AWD to FWD.

I bought a set of dedicated snow tires & had them mounted on some MINI 15" wheels. The tires are Nokian Hakka 2's. The car performs great in the snow. My car has a LSD, but I believe it's the tires that make the difference.

 

I just got new mini last week so I can't tell much about mini.
we also have a subaru and even subaru slipped a little during heavy snowing condition with stock tires then I got nokian tires on subaru. it's much better on snow. AWD helps you to keep going but when you apply brakes, it's almost same as FWD. AWD system does not mean "invisable" in snowing condition.
Just Drive slowly and get good snow tires.
I don't think mini will have a big problem with good snow tires unless you need to drive uphills or mountains.
love that nokian tires

Anyway, I won't use our mini in snowing condition though.
I thought I am only person to have subaru and mini at home

 

Nice looking MCS!
Minnesota winter! That's the real snow test. All these snow pictures are making me think of christmas but it's too far away yet and our coconut trees don't even have their colorful lights on yet. Note- the lights are pre-strung by the city but don't go on until after Thanksgiving. Hah.

 

hehe, i dont think any type of drive system makes you "invsible"...
i think your looking for the word invincible.

 

Here in the upper Midwest we get to see the annual spectacle of the idiots who think 4WD equals invulnerability to the elements. It no longer surprises me to see that 4WD vehicles are greatly over represented along the side of the road. For the last six years I have driven a 4WD Blazer during the winter months and have never had a problem. My wife has driven a front wheel drive Focus with all season tires and has, likewise, never had a problem. I just got my Mini a month ago (with all season tires, LSD and DSC) and sold my Blazer. Years ago I had a 1973 VW Beetle that would go places in which Jeeps got stuck. With the weight distribution and traction characteristics of the Mini I anticipate no problems unless the snow gets very deep. On the other hand, ask me again in the spring. [FONT=Wingdings][/FONT]

 

Don't forget about MINI roadside

 

I've had snow tires on our WRX and '90 Jetta. Never got stuck in either. Remember, AWD or 4wd still have the same four brakes as a FWD or RWD car. While brakes slow the wheels down, it's the grip of the tires that actually does the braking. That's why tire choice is so important. I actually drop my Corrado in the snow this last winter with summer only tires. While it was scary on those days it snowed during the commute, I'm still here. I don't plan to do that again though. I'm looking at the Dunlop Winter Sport M3 snow tire or the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 for our Mini Cooper in a few month. These non runflat tires 99 and 100 from tirerack respectively.

 

Thanks for the suggestion of Mini Roadside. I totally forgot about it but don't know much about it right now since I still haven't received my car.

The Blizzaks I have on my RAV4 are just about the most awesome snow tires I've ever had, although they wear quickly. Alas, too bad they won't work on the Mini so I have to sell them. I've heard good things about those Dunlops so will look into them too. Last night I was looking at the tire pressure monitor thread and am all confused about how the sensors will work with aftermarket rims. Guess I need to talk to the Tire Rack folks to get my head around it.

Kathy

 

If you have cold and snow you HAVE to have dedicated snow tires. This goes for any front wheel drive INHO. I got some for my daughters Vibe and it made a huge difference. On my 06 MCS I run 17" runflats in summer and 15" snow tires in winetr, the only issue is snow depth as the Mini has low clearance.

I read somewhere that the rubber on all season tires essentially freeze by -10C, making them virtually useless in cold weather. The rubber on most snow tires won't freeze until around -40C.

 

I used to have a Subaru that made a monthly pass over the cascade mountains when I was in school. One time the Sue-bee even handled a blizzard where the snow was actually rolling over the top of the hood and windshield, while the Subaru handled everything the elements threw at it, I would have to say it wasn't exactly "Driving Excitement", not like my few drives with the Mini has been so far. I'm looking forward to the mini's ability to handle cold weather driving, as I'm sure I'll be heading back to visit my folks from time to time.

I also agree with ladisney I've seen too many people buy a new 4wd and think it will let them stop on a dime or let them corner as well as normal conditions. A little black ice can certainly put a frown on your face even at low speed.

 

If you live in an intermediate state that gets sporadic snow (Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, etc...) I'd consider a set of Nokian WRs for the 16" wheels. They don't wear out like regular snow tires (and work good in the dry as well). They also come in runflat if you want...



I had a set on my Volvo while stationed in Germany. They met Euro snow tire requirements (as they have the "mountain/snowflake" emblem), worked great when it did snow, and still maintained autobahn (H-rated) performance when there wasn't any snow... although there was admittedly a little "slop" due to the deep treadblocks.

 

I just picked up a set of wheels with Dunlop Winter Sport M3s. My last 2 cars were a Subaru Outback and an Audi Quattro TT. I live on a steep driveway, and don't always plow it in the snow.

I have LSD on my MINI and my only concern is ground clearance if there's 6" of snow on the ground. With FWD and the weight over the driving wheels, I'm ready for the snow in PA. I don't think DSC is any help at all in terms of getting traction, and I actually turn it off to get better traction. DSC is a safety feature that helps handling in situations where control exceeds the driver's capabilities. It's not designed to help you get up a snowy hill.

With rear wheel drive cars you may notice that you can often back up a slippery slope when you can't do it going forward.

So with LSD, dedicated winter tires, and FWD, you should be good to go. Stopping, as someone pointed out, is absolutely not improved in AWD vehicles.

I highly recommend the Dunlop Winter Sports. They don't disappear on dry roads like Blizzaks do. Best to wait till average temps drop below 50 before installing them, and remove them when the weather warms up again. But I have driven them all year round without excessive tread wear, but they are noisier, and don't handle as well.