Greetings.
I just test fit my Spikes Spider snow spikes on the new MINI to see if they work. They seem to fit fine, so will have to try them out on a snowy road on the ski trip this weekend.

Has anyone with an R56 used these yet? They worked well on my old MINI Cooper, on snowy and icy roads. Kind of like using chains, but easier to install and remove. I'll report back on their effectiveness with the new MINI if the roads get bad enough this weekend to try them.

 

Woah, nuts! I'm pretty sure those monsters wouldn't be legal here in Michigan; where chains are banned.

Why do you need such things in DC?

 

Why would anyone ban a traction device if it meant you could drive on snow without crashing? Hmm...

Don't need them in DC, up in the mountains of PA. Though when they are needed here, it is usually only for a few hours before the roads get plowed. They were great on the old MINI for driving through unplowed streets!

 

Chains are not legal here because the Road Commission don't want any competition making the worst roads and biggest potholes!

 

where do you get those things? this is the first time I've seen anything like that, could come in very handy for skiing up on Mt. Hood.

 

back in '03, we had 30" on the ground here in VA. even my Wrangler on 30's got stuck.

 

Yikes! We don't get hammered like that usually; just some snow here and there. Thankfully I'm out of the lake-effect snow war path too!

 

I first saw them on a Mercedes and then a Porsche 911 in the Austrian Alps, years ago. But I had a Jeep Wrangler with off roady tires, so I didn't need them. Bought from the US importer, www.spikes-spiders.com a few years back when I had the 2002 MINI Cooper.

Two cautions and a suggestion... one, they may, or may not be legal in your region, though a ticket is a much better option than sliding down a snowy road backwards into a tree. And I'd like to see the average police officer in his Crown Vic try to catch a MINI going slowly up a steep, icy hill.

The most important thing... you can't ever drive faster than 30mph! A few years back some guy decded to race his MINI in Alaska, 17 inch wheels, Spikes Spiders and over 60mph on snow and ice covered roads. Needless to say the arms spread, and tore into the insides of his fenders. Of course he was upset, but tonight I noticed the 30 mph warning imprinted on each mounting ring. So, sometimes those warning labels should be heeded.

And the suggestion... get smaller wheels for winter with real snow tires. The Spider Spikes don't really help unless they have real snow to drive on, so a thin (.5 - 3 inches) layer really won't cushion the spikes, and you'll just wear them out fast. Snow tires have treads that like cold, grip (a bit) on ice and push the snow out from under the wheel, giving you better traction. The two in combination would be unbeatable...

Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

They weren't racing, it was a road trip to Hudson Bay.

The problem was they were engineers, so expected something labeled 30mph to actually be good up to 60mph, and when really bad things started happening at 47mph they concluded the product must be somehow defective.

 

you cant put chains on 2007 minis. when i bought my car in november 07 i had to sign a paper saying that i wouldnt put chains on my tires. i guese it has something to do with the tire being so close to the wheel well but i dont know. where did you get that spikes spider and how hard was it to instal ect... please let me know im very interested!

 

Cool let us know how they work.

 

me too! now I'm supposed to head up to Tahoe this weekend and wonder what to do - the manual says certain types of tires and it lists them will take front chains...

would love to know what does happen if you use chains...

 

Would cable-chains work? They're much lower profile than normal chains.

I used them quite successfully last weekend up in Tahoe, albeit on a non-Mini.

 

For those with questions, go to the spikes-spiders website, there are videos that show you how simple they are to install and exactly how they work.