Anyone have any thoughts or input to the Feb 2008 issue of Automobile magazine, 5625 mile fleet update on the Mini cooper S? They stated "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"...

I edited this post - It was the current Feb 2008 issue - Not Feb 2007

 

Torque Steer = For Sure, pulls like mad

Throttle = pretty normal, most new cars have throttle overhang to help with emissions.

But who cares, if you drive one and like it, buy it.

 

^ exactly.

 

It was (is?).

A lot of the mags ragged on the R56S early on for various reasons. Usually the "too big, too soft, too much mass appeal".

Since then, even the hardest core (Car and EVO) have drasticly changed their tune. The R56S JCW was even included in each mag's "Performance Car of the Year" articles. Granted, the bottom of the brackets in each... but its an honer to even be included with the best offerings from Porsche, Ferrari, Austin Martin, AUDI, Lamborghini, Lotus, etc. In both CotY articles... no LSD and standard suspension on the MINI JCW, either (not that it would have changed the outcome). Both still said it was the fastest MINI they've ever driven.

Bottom line, though... drive it. Do you like it? Than who cares what some auto journalist says.

 

Drove it, didn't like it, didn't buy it.

btw, I thought Mini told us a while back that equal length half-shafts were the cure for torque steer. What happened?

 

Every manufacturer of FWD cars with any appreciable amount of torque says that. Every FWD car with appreciable amounts of torque torque-steers.

 

They won't ever completely eliminate torque steer from FWD, but equal length half-shafts help reduce it. LSD is supposed to reduce it even more. I don't mind it myself ... kinda like having to keep a little rein on the thoroughbred when you smack it in the a$$.

 

Expected to hate the torque steer. I like the extra involvement it gives me. The only time it's annoying is when I give too much throttle on a very tight turn which is really my fault for screwing around and not the car's.

 

Completely agree!

Driven lots of high power AWD cars which cover up all your mistakes. With the Mini you really have to pay attention and control the car.

 

The complaints you hear today about torgue steer/having to actually drive the car at speed, remind me of complaints of the middle to late 60's with high powered A-body cars. Same problem NO, does it require driver involvement YES . Thats what make it so much fun. I have a MCSM and a 55 Belair small block with a richmond super t10 4speed. Each is a blast to drive because of the downfalls alleged by others.

 

they can stick it. i love my mini!

 

Some of the writers in the car magazines love the Mini, some don't. It's the same for any car. Certainly the Mini has some eccentricities, some find them annoying, some find them endearing. There are a few things I think should have been done differently but I don’t dwell on them, they are all overcome by the sheer fun of driving the car.

 

Thought I was the only one with this image in my mind...

 

Pardon my ignorance, but what is "torque steer"? How would it manifest itself?

 

When you accelerate, the steering wheel is tugged in a different direction than you are steering. Essentially you have one wheel pulling faster than another for various reasons, suspension angle, drivetrain windup, tire contact patch. The more power you route through the front wheels the more potential you have.

 

The comments are from one staffer in their "Four Seasons" update. Automobile Mag has/is a huge supporter of Mini's in general. I would not get in a frenzy over this, no biggy.p

 

Thanks for the explanation, ezpeasy. Let me chew on it a bit a see if I can absorb the physics involved.

 

We went motoring yesterday in the mountains; we passed everything in our way.
That Acura is still trying to catch up.

Hold on with two hands and floor it. Damn the torpedoes.

 

Personally, I like the torque steer also. The input required to counteract it keeps me involved in the drive and not just along for the ride. That's part of the fun.

 

Right. Want a tame ride? Get a Camry, dammit.
I like cars that make me holler like a Skynyrd concert. Ya-hoooooo!

 

I notice the torque steer far less than I did when I first got my MCS. I kind of like it, too. It doesn't happen unless I'm pushing to go fast so feeling a response from the car is what I want. I might have a different opinion if I was used to driving rear wheel drive sport cars, but I'm not.

 

Lots of folks with lowering springs have mentioned the torque steer pretty much disapears. I installed Mach V springs which lower the car 1.25in and I have to agree...gone. (car came with SS and LSD)

 

My MCS is lowered via H&R springs by about 1.4 inches. It reduced the torque steer, but certainly did not eliminate it. Sometimes it can be used to advantage, as when exiting a corner on the throttle and letting the torque steer help pull the car around. As several posters have said, torque steer is a feature that you can either live with, like, or hate. I feel you have to live with the car and regard it as a whole. I like what my MCS does and have no problems with its quirks.

I'm sure some of you recall Road & Track's review of five "Hot Pocket Rockets"" (June 2007) in which the MCS finished fourth. It was the lightest car by about 400 lbs, the most fun to drive, got the best milage, and according to other tests (Grassroots Motorsports) had the fasted 0-60 time by quite a margin. They seemed to get so hung up on the large central speedo that they couldn't see the car. Also, it was the only car on run flat tires, the others all having summer high performance tires. Also the car was badly optioned: no LSD, no sport suspension, and with a sun roof. I would love to autocross or play on the track with any of the cars that placed higher than the MINI. My car is properly (to me) optioned, has good tires, and has been lowered a bit. That article was the last straw in my nonrenewal of my long-standing subscription. John R. Bond would have agreed with me, I think.
(end of rant)
cheers,
Joe Stephenson

 

I stopped reading car magazines because they are lobbied so much that no article is unbiased.

 

Funny--must be a regional thing. Around here it's Yee-Hawwwww!