Hello,

I'm trading in my countryman for a hardtop. ( I had nothing but problems with my countryman) I heard hardtops are bad in snow. Is that true?
How many of you put on winter tires?

I live in the NYC area, do you think its necessary?

Thanks for any info.

 

That is an untrue statement. With good snow tires on that hardtop Mini it will get around just fine. I just use regular tires on my Mini and it gets around just fine in snow. Granted we don't get a lot of snow in Seattle but when it does snow it's nasty slick wet stuff and our Mini's get around very well thank you. The problem comes when the snow is too deep. The Mini will have a tendency to plow through the snow simply because the Mini sits so low. There does come a point where the snow is too deep. In that case to prevent damage it's better to use a car more suited to snow that deep or take the day off and enjoy the snow.

This is my experience since we bought ours in 2009. My Coupe went fine in the snow we had a year or so ago though it did plow a bit cause the snow was too deep. Since I need a vehicle to haul my grandkids in I have since bought a Chevy Trailblazer so both problems have been solved.

 

Have a 2013 MCSa with Federal Himalaya WS2 non studded. We recently had a 8" dump. No problems at all. The traction control is aggressive, for large unplowed hills I turn it off. I just came from a 2007 Jeep Wrangler Sahara that was unstoppable... it is a Jeep... and was worried about the snow. No worries now!

 

Yes it is necessary, get the Continental DWS all season. They are great in snow and work well the rest of year. Check Tirerack for them and their review.

 

I agree with the above statement.

 

Quattro,
I've been thinking about what to do about tires also. My Mini Hardtop is going to need new tires soon. I could put on All Season tires but all season really aren't for snow. And with the possibility of often running out to Northwestern Jersey (snows more there) I figure I need more than all season.
So I could get snow tires and then regular tires in the spring. But changing tires is a hassle and getting a second set of wheels is an extra expense.
The choice I am leaning towards is putting on a set of Nokian WRG2 tires. Tire Rack doesn't carry em. But the Nokian WRG2 is an All Season Tire that also meets the standards for a snow tire. STS Tire Centers carry the Nokian brand. The Nokian will cost me a little more than other tires but I won't have the hassle of changing out of dedicated snow tires back to summer or regular all season. And won't need an extra set of wheels.

 

Damn you guys are good!

 

Here check out this review of the Continental DWS from Tirerack in the Artic circle. I live in the Poconos in PA and never had an issue in the snow.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=124

 

I live in central MA and the security of having dedicated snow tires is far better than just all season tires. Avoiding one accident is less expensive than the cost of tires. $100 to get them changed over. I'm probably going to leave them on my factory rims. I ordered it with 195/55 16 all seasons. Will go with 17's on a summer compound.

 

Hey Bram,
I only have a Justa. 15 inch wheels. I dont think the Cont DWS comes in a size I need. Original Equip size is 175/65/15. Could go with 195/60/15. Was considering the Conti DWS and Nokian but only saw Nokian in size I need.

 

Call Alex at Tirerack. He can advise you as he is usually on here.

 

Tarbot,
I agree with you 100%. Having the right tire is worth it should it prevent that one accident or even being stuck somewhere. Though the Nokian WRG2 is an all season, it has the "snowflake" marking on it signifying it meets the requirements as a snow tire, not just an all season tire. On Nokian's site they list this tire in both their winter and regular tire sections.

 

As he stated he live in NYCity. They have lots of subways if he really has to get somewhere. Plus he would have the expense of 2 sets of tires and storage if he has room. He could get dedicated snow tires on the 15 inch rims and then get a second custom set in 16/17's with summer tires.

 

Bram,
Thats exactly where I am undecided. I could put on dedicated winter 15 inch and get 16 inch wheels/tires in spring. I'm in North Jersey just outside of NYC. So it's either do that or just put on a set of Nokian WRG2. I guess I will decide soon.

 

Finner... those Nokians are interesting... One of if not the best snow tire makers out there. The snowflake designation proves they went through the independent testing and passed the severe snow rating. Do you know of any summer testing? Could be a future tire I would look at. As always this site is a wealth of real world info!

 

The Nokians -http://www.conti-online.com/generato...n,tabNr=1.html

See the resemblence?

Read the 1st review from actual user http://www.conti-online.com/generato...en,tabNr=.html

 

Agreed. I use those exact same tires in the winter. Excellent from my vantage point.

 

To those that posted about the conti DWS, they are great tires but not at all snows. The way they wear down, they won't last in the snow for very long either.

As for needing snows in this area, I've had my MINI in Hoboken for the past few years and never had an issue getting around town using all seasons. Also, the snow so rarely sticks on the roads and they are well traveled. Even when it does, it's quickly plowed. Now I started reverse commuting recently and travel about 100 miles a day so I decided to I with dedicated winter tires. Given my experiences with them so far, I would highly recommend them if you plan in traveling north of the city a lot in the winter. The difference between dedicated snows and all seasons is remarkable.

 

Tarbot,
Some time back I did a search and read a few reviews on the Nokian WRG2. Overall no complaints about the tire in normal driving conditions. I'm not racing or whatever. I'm sure the tire will handle just as well as the Conti ProContact All Season that is the OEM. If the Conti DWS came in a 15 inch size I probably would be getting it.

 

I will have to disagree some. I had almost 30k on them before the S wore off. But this is all subject to how each person drives. Many use them in deep snow including myself and have had no complaints. You are right that snow would be better, but the DWS is close. Like I said before I live in the mountains of the Poconos where deep snow is common. I had no issues.

 

Let's not also forget that these are FWD cars WITH traction control which are marginally better in snowy conditions.

 

You make a very valid point. While I made the comment about wear-rate, I'm really thinking about this from the persepctive of functional operation based on the outside temp. Once you hit that below 40 degree point, all seasons will start to become more and more limited in terms of traction. The tread compound really gets hard and won't grip very well, which is where those snows will shine. However, you're right in that for city driving, and more importantly, city storage, all-seasons makes the most sense unless you regularly see long drives in freezing temps.

Agreed.

 

I have the Nokians on my car (16"). Very decent snow tires! They are called all-season, however. I've put about 30k miles on them. Still tearing through the snow just fine. Now they are starting to get to the tread bars, they are getting very noisy on dry pavement.

 

I just ordered a set of rims and Blizzaks from Tire Rack yesterday. We've had 2 major snow storms in Wisconsin so far this winter, and I have a 25 mile drive to work that I had to take for both of them. My last 3 vehicles I had did ok with all season tires... I found the MINI is just terrible (I have the stock run flats on right now.) My last vehicles were a Honda Fit, Pontiac Vibe, and Ford Explorer. Having either the narrower tires or 4WD helped with those.

Since i plan on keeping the MINI for more than 2 years, I went ahead and bought winter tires. I can't say for sure that it is worthwhile, since they are currently in a UPS truck instead of on my car, but I don't see how they won't be a huge improvement for winter driving.

If I were you, I'd buy a set of winter tires. Your winter weather is very similar to what we have here in Wisconsin.

 

Strobey,
Glad to hear of someone running the Nokians. Were they fairly quiet on dry pavement for the first 30,000 miles?
...Finner