I was always getting about 18-19 with my Stage2 Protuned, in winter, too much fun in the snow I guess.
I still can't get used to this FWD nonsense :(

you have to re-learn how to drive after AWD, that's for sure. Especially in a MINI. I don't recall any 4cyl Honda I owned being this bad in the snow but then again, the Honda's 108hp is right about perfect for low-traction conditions

Two off-topic comments/questions:

1. To the OP - your R53 is beautiful.
2. PGT - did you get the new sti or the old one?

mb

new

Thanks! Your's too! Always liked the Red/Black .... more of a bad boy look with the black vs White, I had no choice with my edition and the wife likes the white better

Well, after this i hate you a little less

don't like teh new ones? It's a good combo of a GD and the BL/BP I owned

A friend of mine just ordered a set Hakk 5 185/65/15's for her R53 Fully studded. My Wheel and Tire guy says the Hakk 5 use a different type of stud, and that they need to be ordered with the studs if you want them.
The Studs apparently are tipped with a cross pattern, and have a cusion under them to help with road noise.
She should have them on Tues. She just bought the car a month ago and we somehow missed that it had a set of Summer ONLY tires. (Ouch!)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....=SP+Sport+9000

I put a set of studded Hakks on my Fiero a few years back. They definitely made it driveable, in fact enjoyable. I'll probably order a set for mine after my R56 arrives this week. I'm anxious to to try the DTC on the All-Seasons though, then compare that to the Hakks. $125Ea Mounted and Balanced.

I have the same Nokians 215/45/17 on s-lites - Vancouver in a state of emergency with that much snow?

yaya I know we still have more of the white stuff! and the temp . . . -33 c or -27.4 f burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

enjoy those tires they have served me well!

I love my Hakkapeliitta 2 tires with the factory studs. I use 185/65R15s mounted on MINI Cooper 7-hole wheels. Absolutely the best snow tire I have ever used. With the studs they are a bit noisy on dry roads but in a way it serves as a bit of an early warning system. When the noise goes away you are on something slippery.

In general, for snow tires the narrower a tire you can mount the better the snow and ice traction will be.

Well needless to say 225mm wide WR's, despite being almost snow tires do not do well on packed snow (as I found out today).

Are studs even legal? My dad insists that they are not, but then this is the same person that said you want a wide snow tire.

not in general, always. check out these skinny things

You'll have to look into your local laws. Some areas allow studded tires and/or chains during certain times of the year (like where I live), some areas only allow studs of a certain type of material (ie: aluminum), and some areas don't allow studs at all.

And no - you want the narrowest tire you can get, more pressure per unit of surface area.

For those of you that are looking for the Hakkapeliitta's, try Tirerack and the
General Altimax Arctic http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Altimax+Arctic,

You will not be disappointed with these in the snow

Actually, I have these and while they're decent, they're not really fabulous. Just a good bang for your buck as this the cheapest winter tire you can find.

Nothing to brag about, we have about 5-8 inches now, still coming down which is a lot for us with record lows of -10c to -15c =, I know I know

Has anyone elses Tire pressure monitor light come on as the snow builds in the wheel wells etc. Once parked I reset, it doesn't come on every time. Anyone?

quite possible - the old system works off the ABS speed sensors...as snow builds up, it's possible that the speeds on wheels are slightly different (enough to simulate 3psi drop in one tire on the axle)

I have an 04 MCS my Tire pressure light came on Friday and was Flashing on and off for about 20 Minutes while I was driving in deep snow. When I arrived at work I checked all 4 tires and they seemed fine no leaks and or holes in them. 5 Hours later when I started the car for the ride home, again it was flashing, I pushed the reset button and it stoped flashing and has been fine since.

Went out and picked up lunch for the guys at work today there's approx 6 inches of snow on the ground and no one wanted to head out, with the DSC off the Hakka's all round we're digging like a tractor, the guys couldn't believe how quickly I got back, the Mini impresses yet again!!!

Havin' a ball in the snow!... The braking is very impressive too

Spoke to a few tire dealers locally and one fella in particular perked my interest. He's been a Nokian dealer for the past 20 years(he found a need to throw that fact in) and mentioned that the Hakka 2's were the best in the line, with 3, 4 and 5 being steps backwards. Any input from you guys?

He also recommended the Gislaved Nordic Frosts(made in Germany) instead of the Hakka 5's.

Hakka's 2's?? There's a Nordman 2? Unless he's talking about the Hakka R apparently that's a one up from the RSI. The Hakka 4 & 5 are studded I believe, here's the Nokian link, hope it helps :

http://www.nokiantires.com/product-group?group=1.01

I think he meant the previous generation of Hakka's(before Hakka 3, 4 and 5's were made).

I went to get a set of Hakk 5's for a friend, the tire wharehouse messed up and we couldn't get them. Snow was coming and the MINI was undriveable on the summer tires she had.

We got a set of General Arctics (Studded) instead and they do seem to perform pretty well. They were also $125 less. Still kinda bummed we couldn't get the Hakks instead.

I'm probably going to splurge for the Hakk 5's when I get my MINI, I'm not in the same crunch she was in.

Anyone gone narrower than 185/65/R15?

You can but there is about only 2 tires in 175/65/15. Go for WS60 if you're going to do the stock tire size. I would, but didn't want to pay more so went with the General Tire (Continental tire pretty much as they are owned by Continental and the tire is manufactured in Germany) but that's 185/60/15. Not bad tire.

Anyone else learn that the reason for the Winter/Snow Tire shortage is due to a new Canadian Regulation requiring Winter/Snow Tires in Canada and so the majority of the allotment of tires manufactured for this season went to Canada. We were told this by a Local Tire Store employee, just checking to see if anyone else had heard anything like this??