Could be, I got rid of the runflats very shortly after getting the car.

 

I still have them, but only 10K miles. I have not found a space saver at a reasonable price yet. After putting on the Bilsteins, I still hold that the handling issues are not the fault of the tires. They don't contribute significant spring rates. ( a tire spring rate is about 1000 Lbs per inch, where the springs are in the 180 range. Granted, they are no gumballs. I plan on re960's when I get a spare.

 

My Bridgestone Potenza RFs give some very unpredictable handling traits when they are underinflated. When I first got the car, I ran them at the sticker indicated 33psi. Wrong. Pumping them up to 37 front and 39 rear gave me a different car -- really, like night and day.

Mine's a Justa, so handling is all I have to work with, no power to play with. I was really upset with its original feel.

Play with the tire pressures a bit. Then give some thought to a rear sway bar. I've played with mine a bit, even borrowed a set of 17 wheels/tires (heavy one, but...).

They car will corner like its on a rail. Really, it will.

Now -- having had a couple of mid-motored cars (Lotii), I would remind you that the handling characteristics are VERY different. That's not to say that one is better, but they are clearly different. If you are driving your front drive Mini exactly like you would drive the Cayman, well, it won't handle that way, it takes a different style. You may need a track day, or a gymkhana or something to allow you to play with the Mini a bit.

In a few weeks, you may be asking yourself if there is something wrong with the Cayman.

Give it some time. and explore its limits. The Mini will really surprise you, but you have to work for it.

Good luck, and don't give up.

 

Take it to an autocross (scca.com solo2) and learn how it handles in a safe environment. Then you can trust it on the street.

 

Lots of sound statements here.
Take it to an autocross
Take a class
We don't know how good they are, as they are better than most of us.
Yes, inflation will effect handleing and balance. Primary tool. Going as far as 37 or 38 without a temperature gauge sounds like a big jump, but only temps will tell.
I have the Coti runflats. Predictable, but not real sticky. With stock alignment, it does need more rear bar. I will hold off judgment until I decamber it.

 

First thing I would recommend is to find some used 17" wheels, and get some 215/45-17 tires. That is what I run (Hankook Ventus V12 evo k110) on my '06 MCS and it goes where you point it. I am currently driving a 2010 MCS loaner car (mine is in the shop for the final service before the extended contract expires) with 195/55-16 tires on 16" wheels and it feels like I'm steering a boat when I go around corners.

 

Any front wheel drive car will always feel different then any rear wheel drive car. The front wheels want to pull you around a bend/corner and after you get used to the way it feels you will be fine. Your Porsche is rear wheel drive and will push you around a bend/corner and feel much different at speed. Either one will get you in trouble if you do not learn the characteristics of how a car handles in a high speed curve. My friend Randy has an all wheel drive 911 that even handles different then front or rear wheel drive cars. They are all good once you get used to the different characteristics of how each handles.

If your car has "RUNFLAT TIRES" you need to inflat them to 38psi. The problem with runflats running to little pressure is that at speed they will grow tall in the center and not fully contact the pavement. The stiff sidewalls are the culpret. I learned that when hot lapping my Corvette with runflats. A non-runflat tire has a softer sidewall and the contact patch is not effected the same way.

I personaly like front wheel drive. Of course I would like all wheel drive better but I can't afford a Porsche 911 GT-2 so I'm happy with my Mini JCW.

 

just to clarify you do NOT need 17 inch wheels for 225 wide tires, my brother runs 225/55/16 on a 6.5 inch wheel.

the mini should still handle well tires or not. i ditched my runflats because i wanted to autocross but driving at highway speeds you should have no problem going around sweepers on the interstates on the terrible runflats.

all i can say is meet up with some local mini people and take rides in their cars, if its about the same you know you dont have a problem. or have some fun and autocross it and learn what the limits are on those tires because i guarantee those runflats will surprise you on their lateral grip.

 

My 195/55X16 Bridgestone Potenza runflats have very poor lateral grip. They are so stiff that they have a tendency to scrub off the outside edges, and the sidewall stiffness seems to pull the contact patch away on the inside edge. I compared them to a set of 17 inch non/rfs and found that the latter transformed the car. I'd compare the RFs to truck tires, and by comparison, they make my car feel like a pickup truck with regard to their response to turn in and directional stability.

I'm still torn myself as to whether to upgrade to 17 inch wheels from my 16s (my seat-of-the-pants need for optimum cornering power is offset by a severe pain in the left hip near my the wallet which would come from spending the money to buy quality 17 inch wheels). But, there is no question in my mind as to whether or not I need to ditch the RFs. That's a given. Putting the 17 inch non-RFs on my car felt like I had tightened every single bolt and screw in the car -- and they tell me that 17s ride horribly compared to 16 inch RFs while having nearly the same cornering ability (205/55X16 vs 205/45/17 -- look at it carefully sometime, the contact patch is nearly identical).

Simply put, you will find great improvement in ditching the RFs, but it will not make a FWD Mini feel like a mid-engine Porsche any more than putting RFs on the Porsche would make it feel like a Mini. They are very different machines and they will always feel different.

 

It shouldn't because in steady state cornering it should take a set and stay there as long as your speed and steering inputs are constant (or nearly so). However, abrupt changes in either could make you feel that the car is doing something unpredictable.

 

Try the car without activating the Sport mode. Sport mode quickens the steering which takes some getting used to.

 

it doesnt plow like a pig...

in fact with dsc the car will turn neutral every time. even with out it these cars dont plow that hard. what i think the driver is feeling is just new car shakedown. Ive owned my 2010 S for about three months now and Im just getting use to it and I work on the damn cars. Minis are a different car. they push the plat for of what a fwd car can do. the turn in is rivaled by very few. however, you really need to push the car to get it to give you usable feed back. Im not joking. taking turns 9/10ths is easier then 5/10ths. the car just needs to be driven hard plain and simple.

If you dont belive me. get into your car... go find a nice sweeper. but nothing to big. say like a 4 or a 3. then enter the scare your self..... seriously. go scare your self just a bit and see if you dont come back and say that even though it was a bit terrifying the car spoke to you.

 

Mini understeers and is not neutral; whatever neutral means depends on the person. That is by design.

It handles good till you get close to the limits of the car. Then, like most cars, it starts to change its character and "misbehave".

 

it will push but its no econobox. Ive driven all the competitors the second the car gets close to a turn the nose pushes right threw the turn. MINI's dont they allow way more then just about any fwd out there

 

You described understeer and that is what the Mini does too. It is easy to induce.

 

You credibility is dubious since the cayman handles better than the 997

 

Just a quick update since the original post. I have installed the JCW strut tower brace and the next day installed 17" Mini Pace Spoke Rims (it came with RunFlats). On the first day when I only have the strut brace on, there was noticeable difference with front end stiffness I took the car to a back mountain road to test out, what I can feel is the stiffer front end cause the rear to come around on turns a little faster (no sure if I liked that). The next day I installed the wheels the car handling is getting better, the 45 series tires makes the car feel tighter but the suspension still needs work. The car is now really bumpy on the road and the pot holes on the Bay Area Freeways is going to mess up the wheels! I think a JCW suspension will complete the job and make it a decent handling car.

 

I can't see where he said otherwise. If I break down his statement it would appear he is saying the cayman handles better than the 997 too.

 

ever hear of the placebo effect? The MINIs front end is already so stiff the strut brace does little besides bling unless you are pushing it really hard. If you noticed it go from understeer to oversteer with just the strut brace changed, you are driving differently.

A rear sway bar on the other hand will do wonders.