The EVO article was very complimentary of the Mini (and the Honda, but they had to almost redline it to make it fast). The torque steer was a little scary to get used to but now it's kinda fun!

 

[quote=OkieSnake;1950641]The combination of torque steer and poor thottle calibration (it doesn't close quickly enough when you lift off) saps a large portion of driving joy"...."We need to drive a Cooper S without a limited-slip diff to see if that's part of the problem"...

Well, I have the LSD, and it still has the throttle lift off and torque steer.
The throttle lift off from what I understand is a part of the ECU tuning, this was done to keep the turbo spinning to decrease the turbo lag during shifts. At first is was a little bothersome, but I've gotten use to both, I think the throttle lift off could be lessened a bit though, I have the JCW kit , not sure if any tweaking to the program is something the dealer could or would want to do.
It can get a little scary if you are WOT over an un-even road surface, the thing almost pulled me into the median the other day I don't have my car lowered yet, but intend to do so as soon as I decide on the coilover setup. This may help, but then I'm concerned with bump steer by changing the angle of the steering rack (not sure how the mini is set up) but when I lowered my mustang gt I replaced the stock steering rack bushings with offset ones, this put the rack back to its proper position and helped with the bump steer. I can tell you that bump steer in a rear-wheel drive car, feels very similar to torque steer in a front-wheel drive car.
I'm not too concerned with it at this point, but I plan on doing a turbo upgrade and other mods to my mini in the near future, I'm not sure what the torque steer will feel like when the car is putting out 250hp+ maybe then it will become a problem. ????

 

When you increase the HP to 250 in your Mini the torque steer will get your attention, no matter what you do to the suspension (you should lower it with springs and add a bigger antisway bar to the rear at least). If you tweak it it's like any other high performance car. You gotta be able to handle it with the added power, it's not going to be the same car that you bought.

 

i'd just like to say that for the millionth time that IF mini would have put the right tires on the thing there would be virtually no torque steer!

***** RunFlat tires!

 

Torque steer isn't caused by the tires. The tires are just going where they are told to go. The torque steer on my MINI is much greater than any other car I have owned. But, I have learned how to control/prevent it. I have never experienced the other issue.

 

I think it's 10% torque steer and 90% differential traction, with the left and right front tires losing and gaining grip at different times under hard acceleration. Hence the squirrely dynamics. That's what it feels like, at least -- 100% torque steer would always be in the same direction...

 

the rf tires have a very think sidewall, making them grab at the groves in the road. Under acceleration it is at it's worst. but i think 911fan has a point, the traction control is constantly trying to get traction, giving the feeling of torque steer.

my point is that MINI put the wrong type of tires on the thing. it is like throwing gas on the fire. the car already had gobs of power with no enough traction. put the right rubber on it and you can solve half the problem.

 

The tires "grabbing" road imperfections and torque steer are 2 different things. Both of which the MINI is happy to do.

 

The torque steer does not bother me. Mainly a first gear start issue and easily avoided by simply avoiding jack rabbit take offs.

 

Yeah.... Kind of like avoiding the nudist beach when I'm in Greece.....

 

That's a different type of "jackrabbit take-off..." at the naturist beach.

 

I'm with you Ed, I love gripping the wheel when it tries to b eat me one way or 'tother. I've got LSD and on hard acceleration the torque steer vacillates from side to side but not so bad that one can't control it.

 

If your goal is to avoid jackrabbit starts why oh why did you buy a car that just screams "how soon can we get to 60." You shoulda bought a Ford Explorer

 

torque steer = something you get used to

 

smooth is fast? FWIW, the mini is a relative dog in the world of 0-60 times. IF you want that you should have bought a V8!

Matt

 

I have slight toe-out alignment for autocross and this probably makes the torque steer worse. Applying full power while going right a tight corner generates a strong pull - if you let go of the steering wheel the car would tighten up the radius rather than straightening out. I had the same alignment on my R50 (with pulley, cat-back, intake) and did not get this steering effect so had assumed it was the LSD. Sounds as though this is normal so I'll go back to enjoying the car.

 

I don't know about your Mini but my MCS can get to 60 in 6.2, damn close to my 335i's time of the low 5's. 1600cc engine, which is 98 cubic inches, 6.2 to 60, amazing ! Of course if you're comparing the Mini to a Ferrari, Corvette, Porsche 911 etc etc etc, then yes, the Mini is a dog in 0-60 times. The power to weight ratio is the bottom line in acceleration. Nuff said.

 

So I know about 0-60 times. It's slow in todays world. It takes a lot more power to shave each tenth off the faster you go. For what it's worth, the power to weight ratio of a 170 HP car that weighs 2600 lbs is a bit worse than 15 lbs. P/W ratio of the 335i coupe manual is 11.9:1. That difference in ratio trims a bit less than a second off the times.

The Mini isn't a dragster, it's a handling package. Sheeze the Mazdaspeed 3 has an 11:1 P/W` ratio.

Matt

 

I pulled up next to a Lambo yesterday and revved it a bit at a light. I couldn't see in the car but the dude must've chuckled.
The light changed and we both lit it up, to onlooker delight.
Uh, let's just say that we should be happy with our funny little cars in the twisties and enjoy our upper-body workouts with our torque steer. That Lambo had me for an appetizer.