Hi everyone,

I am moving from Oregon to Cooperstown, NY this summer for 2 years and am wondering if anyone has any experience driving their MINI in snow? They plow the roads but I'm unsure how it will all go since Oregon rarely gets snow.

Any gadgets/ tires/ advice?

I have a 2005 MINI Cooper with about 50,000 miles.

Any advice/ experience is greatly appreciated!!

Elizabeth

 

I just moved from NY/NE PA Pocono mountains area in February . Yes the roads are horrible. Be prepared for lots of potholes. My best advise is get a set of Continental DWS tires as they are the highest rated all season tire. These worked for me for years and I have bought several sets. they went thru the snow fairly well as long as the snow was not too deep. The other thing to do is get dedicated snow tires if you have a second set of wheels or you can just swap them yearly with your summer tire.

 

My previous mini had to be driven in snow as it was my only car. I hated driving it in the snow. Anything over 4 inches was a real problem and ruts of snow / ice pulled the car all over. Tires were continental extreme contact all-seasons.

 

With a set of snow tires on all four corners (Blizzak WS70's are my favorite by far), Mini is a very competent winter/snow daily driver. Up or down hill. Snow or ice. Up to about 10" of powder, at which point the airdam becomes a snow plow

If your car has the optional limited slip differential, then coupled with snow tiers Mini is unstoppable. W/out LSD, you traction control will be going crazy controlling limited traction and slowing down on seriously snow/ice covered mountains, but the car should still make it.

However, I would not want to attempt driving on (suck in-) all-season tires. I had a set on the OEM wheels, and they were pretty useless in the snow, and downright dangerous on ice.

HTH,
a

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....l=Blizzak+WS70

 

Agree with this completely. Anything over a couple of inches of snow on the road and I found my MINI to be fairly not good with the factory all-season run-craps. I did have a set of Blizzaks on an earlier car, and they were absolutely phenomenal on snow and ice. I wish I had had a set for the MINI.

 

I have not driven my MINI yet in the snow but would like to chime in and say I've always owned a set of Blizzaks and they have been the absolute best set to have for snow tires and would recommend having a dedicated snow tire set if $ allows for it!

 

Blizzaks. Anchorage, AK. Questions?

 

Continental Extreme Contact DWS are fine in a couple of inches of snow. If you need to drive in deeper snow get an extra set of rims with Blizzaks. The Blizzaks have softer rubber so don't use them in the late spring, summer, or fall or they will wear out fast. Also, road salt can be harsh on rims especially chrome.

 

Oh good golly folks. On winter tires the Mini is an extremely competent winter vehicle as cars go. All-seasons, with all due respect, are NOT winter tires. Some all-seasons perform less worse than others, however.

At this point, several people will chime in with arguments beginning with "I live in (insert wintry city here) and I've only driven on (insert all-season tire name here) and I've never/rarely/not-very-often had any problems except in (insert nasty winter storm here) where (insert number of trees that fell and how long power was out)."

"In God we trust, all others bring data".

In PittStopMINI Club winter testing, identically-prepared Mini Coopers on the same ugly winter-conditions track with the same set of drivers, snow tires covered the course in ~30 seconds. The best driver on the best all-seasons could only manage about a 45 second run. Doesn't sound like much difference on a short course but that's a FIFTY PERCENT loss in traction. The loss in control from behind the wheel was very noticeable. The difference on ice was larger (we didn't measure that, however).

Winter tires work. Note, however, we're driving cars, and small ones with low ground clearance at that. If we expect to be able to go where a Subaru Outback on snows can go, we'll be disappointed. We will, however, outmaneuver most other vehicles when it comes to typical, packed/icy/slushy roads.

Hints:
- On starts, turn OFF the traction control and learn to modulate the throttle so you don't bog down - the electronic "nannies" are quite intrusive on the R50/53 cars (the R56's are a little better).
- Without a Limited Slip Diff, you'll have slightly less start-up traction, but it'll still be quite usable in snow.
- Winter tires only increase safety if the additional traction is used responsibly! Don't negate the good effects of winter tires by driving crazy, since your net risk will be the same.
- If you're REALLY stuck (perhaps on an uphill where starting in ANY FWD car will be difficult), don't be afraid to use reverse - if it's safe to do so (like on a driveway).

While snow tires won't make every car into a snowmobile, they certainly work well on ours.

Brands used by Club members with good experiences and very little compromises in wet/dry traction:
- Blizzak (both the standard and performance versions)
- Dunlop Wintersport 3's (a personal favorite) and 3D's
- Hankook iPike (Ran these last winter)
- General Arctimax (Ran these on 2 other vehicles)

Some (including but not limited to me) have reported the Winterforce and the "less expensive" brands to be quite squishy in the dry and wet, which makes them more of a compromise.

Hope this helps!

 

Oh good golly folks. On winter tires the Mini is an extremely competent winter vehicle as cars go. All-seasons, with all due respect, are NOT winter tires. Some all-seasons perform less worse than others, however.

At this point, several people will chime in with arguments beginning with "I live in (insert wintry city here) and I've only driven on (insert all-season tire name here) and I've never/rarely/not-very-often had any problems except in (insert nasty winter storm here) where (insert number of trees that fell and how long power was out)."

"In God we trust, all others bring data".

In PittStopMINI Club winter testing, identically-prepared Mini Coopers on the same ugly winter-conditions track with the same set of drivers, snow tires covered the course in ~30 seconds. The best driver on the best all-seasons could only manage about a 45 second run. Doesn't sound like much difference on a short course but that's a FIFTY PERCENT loss in traction. The loss in control from behind the wheel was very noticeable. The difference on ice was larger (we didn't measure that, however).

Winter tires work. Note, however, we're driving cars, and small ones with low ground clearance at that. If we expect to be able to go where a Subaru Outback on snows can go, we'll be disappointed. We will, however, outmaneuver most other vehicles when it comes to typical, packed/icy/slushy roads.

Hints:
- On starts, turn OFF the traction control and learn to modulate the throttle so you don't bog down - the electronic "nannies" are quite intrusive on the R50/53 cars (the R56's are a little better).
- Without a Limited Slip Diff, you'll have slightly less start-up traction, but it'll still be quite usable in snow.
- Winter tires only increase safety if the additional traction is used responsibly! Don't negate the good effects of winter tires by driving crazy, since your net risk will be the same.
- If you're REALLY stuck (perhaps on an uphill where starting in ANY FWD car will be difficult), don't be afraid to use reverse - if it's safe to do so (like on a driveway).

OH - and the biggest tip of all: If it's really nasty, DON'T GO OUT! There's not much that's worth your life or the life of others on the road.

While snow tires won't make every car into a snowmobile, they certainly work well on ours.

Brands used by Club members with good experiences and very little compromises in wet/dry traction:
- Blizzak (both the standard and performance versions)
- Dunlop Wintersport 3's (a personal favorite) and 3D's
- Hankook iPike (Ran these last winter)
- General Arctimax (Ran these on 2 other vehicles)

Some (including but not limited to me) have reported the Winterforce and the "less expensive" brands to be quite squishy in the dry and wet, which makes them more of a compromise.

Hope this helps!

 

BTW, I will be putting my set of 16" Mini wheels and WS60 Blizzaks for sale as soon as I can take proper pictures (MCS is going on sale as well). If anyone is interested, folks reading this thread get first dibs.

Particulars:
- 4 16" Mini Sidwinder wheels with center caps. Everything in perfect shape (no curb rash, damage, perfectly round).
- 4 Blizzak WS60 195/55R-16 winter tires on the wheels with ~2K miles on them (1.5 winters). Blizzaks are usually good for ~10K winter miles by which point Tube Multicell compound is worn down and they turn into rain tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....l=Blizzak+WS60
- 4 '08 year compatible (second gen) TPMS sensors in working order

Asking price: $1,000 + shipping, OBO.

a

 

As others have stated, with winter tires a MINI is quite good in the snow unless it's too deep for the low front of the car. Drove my old 02 MCS a couple winters and now an 08 Clubman in winters. All seasons are decent if new, but after a year or so get dicey. Dedicated winter tires and you are good to go.

 

These won't fit over a GP2 brakes? I'm located in LES Manhattan

 

Sorry, I don't think so.
JCWs and GP cars need at least 17" (I think?) wheels to clear the brakes.

a

 

Like everybody else has said here already. Snowtires all around, as high a profile tire as you can fit, and narrow tread pattern as possible. The snowtires should give you enough grip to stop and go and MINIs have all the electronic nannies to help keep you out of trouble. Then drive carefully and be aware of other cars around you.

 

I agree with all of the above, I have never been stuck in my mini, and I go to work 35 miles away in the dead of night when nothing is plowed, my house is also 1000 feet above sea level with a very steep driveway, I have never been stuck. The one thing I do also is turn off the traction control while going up a hill from a dead start, once you get moving you can turn back on if you want.

 

We live in Nebraska and decided to put Blizzaks on. They were amazing! No problems.

 

LOVE LOVE LOVE the way you folks make a big deal about driving a MINI in winter conditions. It's a FWD car people. Just make sure you have good all seasons or winter tires and you're set.

 

THEN come to Pittsburgh in February for our Wintry Driving Refresher winter-driving course... great big snowy fun. Pics from previous years...

 

^+1!

 

I got a set of Dunlop sp wintersport 3d's mounted on a 2nd set of wheels. They handle great in the snow and I think the best part is they grip like crazy in the cold.

Remember, all seasons are a good compromise, but once you drop below that 40 degree mark, they become less and less effective.

 

.... the same statement holds for when the temps rise about the 40 degree mark as well. All seasons just aren't very good in all four seasons

As to Dunlop SP 3Ds - I have them on my 335IX. They are tiny step lower in pure snow traction from Blizzak WS70s, but a bit more stable on dry cold asphalt.

Both would be a VAST improvement over all-season tires.
Assuming you can afford a dedicated set of winter wheels/tires, please consider doing just that if you are drive anywhere near me (NY/NJ).

Thanks in advance,
a

 

As for the "cost" thing, consider that the time the winter tires are on the car, you're not putting miles on your other set. The cost is basically a wash, and winter tires are likely cheaper than the insurance deductible...

 

I ran WS70s on my MCCS this past winter and found the car to be great in the snow. I haven't owned a set of all season tires in at least 5 years, so I can't comment on how they might be. Mine was ordered with summers (the RE050a tires suck btw), and switched straight to 16s and snows when the temp was consistently in the 40s. afadeev's post pretty much mirrors my sentiments. If you live in an area that gets heavy snow, all season tires are a waste of time. I've not driven on a set that's even anywhere near the worst winter tires I've had in the snow.

--Matt

 

+1, if the winter tires save you just one fender bender they have paid for themselves