This will be my first winter with my Mini and after the kind of winter we had in Chicago last year, I'm already about this coming year. Last winter before buying my Mini, I had a Grand Am GT with Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires and they handled great!

I did a search on this but didn't quite get my question answered....

For a basic Cooper- NON S, how is it in the snow? I have the factory Continental All Season Tires on there now. Thanks!

 

That's a tough question to answer. IMO any Mini on anything short of snows will be dissapointing in the snow. Stopping distances will be long, ABS will go nuts, understeer will be greater. If you have storage for a second set of wheels and tires snows are a great investment. If you live in an area where the roads are well maintained and you can use mass transit (or stay home) on the worst days then you can get by with all seasons.

Snows and wheels are about $1k, the same cost as the deductable after hitting something.

 

Why would a MINI be different than any other front wheel car? I have found that a front wheel drive car regardless of the brand works very well in snow. Yea it slick and dangerous but 10 times better than any rear wheel drive car. I had a Toyota Corolla and currently have a Mazda 3 that of course are both front wheel drive and they go just fine in snow with all seasons. Bear in mind that I am comparing a front drive car to most any rear wheel drive car. If there is any hint of snow my GTO stays in the garage and I drive the Mazda. Works great. So I really think it depends on the comparison and of course the driver. Some folks can't drive in snow regardless of the vehicle in question.

Regards,

Pat

 

While it is true that a fwd car is better in the snow than a rear drive car, if that rear drive car has snow tires it will drive rings around the fwd with all seasons. If a person can drive in the snow well, they may get by with all seasons. There is much more to winter driving than just getting moving forward on the snow. One has to steer & brake also. With snow tires ones ability to avoid trouble around them is the biggest asset.

Like has been said a set of snow tires on dedicated wheels may cost you less than ones insurance deductible. Using them will also keep miles off the regular tires making them last longer. Saving some money there.

I'm a believer in winter tires. Once you drive in winter conditions with them you will be a believer too. No way I'll ever drive a car in the winter without them. There you have it my .02 worth.

 

My first car was a Dodge Dart-rear wheel. I live in Colorado and lived in the mountains at the time. I had to have snow tires and it still wasn't the best situation. My next car was a Toyota Tercel, front wheel drive, that I've had for 17 years. I've always had all season's on it and never had any problems driving anywhere, so my new MINI will have all season's on her when I pick her up next month. That's just my experience though.

 

I'd say a person who cut their teeth driving in Colorado with a Dodge Dart qualifies as an expert snow driver. You will not win the Darwin award for winter driving.

That being said, if you put a set of modern snows on your MINI even you will be impressed.

 

Here's a few more answers for ya...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=140944

 

My justacooper did OK last year in the snow with all seasons here in Ohio. But since my first car was a 71 VW bug with snow tires anything since then has been pretty wimpy. At least I have a heater now.

 

Sorry, not sure where you got that? Any car without proper tires will have terrible braking distances on snowy roads. The short wheelbase of Mini's won't help confidence on slick roads either.

Sure you can get by without snows, I drove an MR2 through winter on very worn tires, but that doesn't make it a good idea. Snows for the MCS were ordered from Alex on Saturday.

 

I was comparing a FWD with a RWD car. While snow tires certainly make any car handle better in snow, I have found that a FWD car with all season tires handles markedly better than any RWD car reagredless of the tires. (Except maybe studs.)

Our FWD cars work splendidly in snow using all season radials. Would it handle better with snow tires, without a doubt. I will won't move my Goat regardless of tires when there is snow on the ground.

Pat

 

I'll have to disagree with you Pat. Put 4 snows on a RWD car & it will run rings around a FWD all season equipped one.

I would think your goad would have wonderful traction. Mountain goats do.


Good luck with your all seasons.

 

I'll remember that the next time I see a RWD in the ditch because the hill he or she was going up or down didn't work so well.

Many many hills in this part of the country pardner and most RWD cars with or without snow tires have a very very difficult time getting around. Flat ground is for pikers.

Pat

 

In a FWD car the weight is transfered to the rear when going up a hill. In a RWD car the same happens, but that puts more weight on the drive wheels. I have a fair bit of RWD experience & I'll take the RWD with proper snows any day over those all seasons on a FWD. I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

Pike on...

 

This is the first winter for me as well. We really haven't gotten any snow yet. I bought some used wheels from this forum that look great. I got some Michelin X-Ices in the same size as the original summer tires, also Michelin. I think Consumer Reports like them. I like Michelins. They have lighter steering like the other cars I've had, which probably means there is not as much traction on dry pavement as the summer tires.

 

I agree to disagree, but I also think because of the geometry of the MINI front end and the front wheel drive in general even going up a hill there is not enough weight transfer to the rear wheels to make a hoot of difference. In most cases the engine is over the front wheels so weight transfer is really not an issue. It's exactly what gives FWD such good traction in poor conditions. In fact in looking at my Mazda the eingine is almost exactly over the front wheels. How can there be weight transfer?

Thanks for the discussion though. It's fun to debate the issues.

Pat

 

My Cooper did fine last year and only got stuck once at the end of my driveway in that icy, slush stuff the snow plow dredges up from the road. Other then that it wasn't bad. This winter though it's not good as my tires are quite worn, I need some new ones which is going to be happening soon. I wouldn't mind winter tires but spending a bunch of money on winter and summer tires isn't something I can really afford right now. I'm just going to get a good set of all seasons and just drive sensible in the snow.

I also have an S-10 that I can drive if the weather turns to nasty but the MINI actually works better since there is weight over the drive wheels.

 

Well I'm guessing you've found out how it is already! I thought mine handled GREAT (though I'm still RWD at heart). A good handling car is still good handling in the snow. And the 175mm All-seasons are perfect. You want a narrow tire in winter and in my opinion, snow tires aren't necessary in the Chicago area. At least not vs. good all-seasons. It is usually just wet more than anything. The roads are cleared too fast to worry about snow tires. Unless you are running summer tires, in which case you don't want to use them in winter under any circumstance. I'm actually planning to use my stock 15" wheels w/ the 175mm all seasons for winter only, they're perfect...and get new rims and summer tires for the rest of the year. You have a great car and tire combo for the chicago winters! Don't worry.
Yes snow tires blow away any all-season in the snow...I've tried them in my BMW. But, usually sacrifice dry and wet handling. Not worth it for this area.

 

So far so good! In fact, I was quite pleased at the traction I was getting in the snow. We'll see what happens when we get our first big snow.

 

I just picked up my MC a few days ago. It came with the stock all seasons. It snowed about 4 inches last night and I had to drive my hubby to work at 7:30am. It was really, really icy out but the car did fine. Had a couple instances when I slid a bit but no biggie.

 

Living in the DC area, we really don't get enough snow for snow tires. So I use these... http://www.spikes-spiders.com/comparison/ They are the Spikes Spider Compact. For light snowy roads with ice, they worked really well in the MINI. The only catch is a top speed of 30mph, but realistically, why would one try to go faster than that on mountain roads in snow??

 

You guys i live on the border of wiscon and Ill. Where i live, there are alot of hills. This subdivision is not at all maintained (especially now because they are trying to save money on salt) And i can't get anywhere with my mini. Its so dissapointing. I cried twice. I couldn't get up the darn hills. They weren't plowed or salted, and there is ice build up. But what i get upset about is, every other car is zooming past me, (cars as small as mine's) and of course the famous 4X4's. I'm stuck in this hill and can't go any further. I had to back down. Now im trying to figure out how i wil lget to work tommorow? IT's the only car i have. Im so dissapointed. What am i doing wrong? Do you guys have the same problems?

 

Sorry don't have the same problem, in fact this is probably the best 2wd car I've driven in snow. Are your tires worn?

Well it's too late to buy tire chains. So there are two things you could try: turn off DSC/traction control. In some severe situations you may benefit from some wheel spin. Also let the air out of your tires to about 20psi. This one will help a lot, just remember to refill when the roads dry.

Good luck.

Oh also don't forget to use momentum in your favor, in other words...don't stop. If you are coming to a stop and you think you will get stuck starting off...don't come to a stop...if there is other cars slow down ahead of time so they have left the intersection before you get there and you don't have to stop. If you are coming toward a hill...speed up while you can before you get to it.

 

I'm not very far away from you; there are plenty of hills here in the "Iowa Alps" and I never have a problem. In fact, I'm often out-performing the other cars in the area--large and small. I actually prefer a hard packed snow-covered road over the slushy mess that get created when they salt and sand the intersections (my boot stays cleaner longer ).

I can't over emphasize the importance of snow tires in our area. It's not just the more aggressive tread design. The rubber compound is softer and grips much better on icy roads. My guess is that you still have the OEM run-flats on, and they're not the best for serious winter driving. Get yourself some decent winter tires to have on the MINI between Thanksgiving and Easter. I guarantee you'll be climbing those hills in no time.

 

You have the wrong tires on your car. Buy snow tires.

 

Wow. So since the engine is over the front wheels you won't have weight transfer when accelerating? Good luck with that.

As others have mentioned a rwd car with snows will run circles around a Mini on all seasons. Come on out to any of the ice race events held around the NE to see this in action. The Boston BMWCCA events have a lot of rwd cars and often a number of Mini's. You can see the mystical weight transfer in action.