Are Mini's rubbish in snow??

[sony]

Quote: Originally Posted by BRG/Blk Cooper S (original)

?[url=http://www.autosock.co.uk/]AutoSock/Auto Sock.

How do you find this? With it being so rare that snow covers tarmac 100% of the time I am a bit concerned. Seems like when they touch tarmac they wear badly?

[Putte]

As long as you have snowtyres for this weather it shouldn't be any big problem. As long as you don't drive like an idiot...

[englebert]

That autosock sounds interesting, is it legal in the UK though? I'm pretty sure chains aren't. If you go on RealOEM.com, you can see that on the Mini parts system there are some winter wheel/tyre packages. They aren't UK market, but you may be able to obtain.

Last week i did some research on winter tyres, getting prices from MyTyres and searching the web for reviews. Here are the best:

Bridgestone Blizzak 195/55R16
£91.90
Epinions.com - Search Results: Bri... Tire 44824164
http://www.1010tires.com/tirereviews...e_reviews.html

Dunlop Winter Sport 195/55R16
£85.10
http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Revie...inter+Sport+3D
http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_winterre..._3d/index.html

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 195/55R16
£104.10
http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Revie...r/Ultra+Grip+7
http://www.tirestest.com/pkw_winterr...p_7/index.html

Continental WinterContact 195/55R16
£97.50
http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_winterre...ssr/index.html
ÑÒÐÀÍÈÖÀ ÍÅ ÎÁÍÀÐÓÆÅÍÀ

I plan to get some xlites and one of the above after Christmas ready for February when it will get bad again. Last year i used my mum's Mercedes and had to abandon it!

[englebert]

Quote: Originally Posted by BRG/Blk Cooper S (original)

Good example of when any sort of traction control would have helped...

Also a good example of how the MINI is vastly superior in engineering and technology to cars such as the Megane (more like an appliance than a car IMO....toaster anyone)...........although us MINI owners know that already

Exactly how is the Mini more advanced? A little biased perhaps?

You can get an LSD on the Megane R26 and the R26R (like the Mini GP, but better) comes as standard with one.

[ran-o-matic]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul (original)

In a word. No.



That's me btw. ^^^

MINI Cooper Convertible

But, to counter that, perhaps not always ideal...





Photo from Reuters Pictures - A Mini Cooper car is buried under snow in Great Falls News, photos, topics, and quotes

I live a little west of Great Falls. A snow plow got stuck in my drive on Sunday.

If I had an AWD MINI, it would have been just as stuck. On the other hand it would have allowed me to spin all four wheels rather than just the fronts. Once the snow was plowed, the car doesn't bottom out any more, and the MINI goes just fine.

[BRG/Blk Cooper S]

Quote: Originally Posted by englebert (original)

Exactly how is the Mini more advanced? A little biased perhaps? .

It won't fall apart.......and when you get in and close the door you hear a solid "thud" as opposed to the sound of a tin can being thrown down an empty well....

Renault? I'll walk thanks..

[BRG/Blk Cooper S]

Quote: Originally Posted by sony (original)

How do you find this? With it being so rare that snow covers tarmac 100% of the time I am a bit concerned. Seems like when they touch tarmac they wear badly?

??? who cares if they wear a little......you aren't going to drive 500 miles in them and they cost £60........vs. losing control and hitting something..

Have had mine for 4 years, used them for the first time yesterday......drove on a section of fairly clean tarmac......are they shagged?....no..

[BRG/Blk Cooper S]

Quote: Originally Posted by englebert (original)

That autosock sounds interesting, is it legal in the UK though? I'm pretty sure chains aren't. If you go on RealOEM.com, you can see that on the Mini parts system there are some winter wheel/tyre packages. They aren't UK market, but you may be able to obtain.

Last week i did some research on winter tyres, getting prices from MyTyres and searching the web for reviews. Here are the best:

Bridgestone Blizzak 195/55R16
£91.90
Epinions.com - Search Results: Bri... Tire 44824164
http://www.1010tires.com/tirereviews...e_reviews.html

Dunlop Winter Sport 195/55R16
£85.10
http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Revie...inter+Sport+3D
http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_winterre..._3d/index.html

Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip 195/55R16
£104.10
http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Revie...r/Ultra+Grip+7
http://www.tirestest.com/pkw_winterr...p_7/index.html

Continental WinterContact 195/55R16
£97.50
http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_winterre...ssr/index.html
ÑÒÐÀÍÈÖÀ ÍÅ ÎÁÍÀÐÓÆÅÍÀ

I plan to get some xlites and one of the above after Christmas ready for February when it will get bad again. Last year i used my mum's Mercedes and had to abandon it!

Autosocks are perfectly legal as they don't damage the tarmac.

X-lites, excellent choice, best OEM wheel, run them on my S........£70 +vat each brand new from the dealership.....bargain!!

Forget about all of the above tires and get a set of Vredesteins.....winning all the awards (inc best winter tire in Europe).....the tires are amazing, I have Sportrac 3's, best tires I've ever had and the design of the "lip" is such that with X-lites the rim edge is so well protected you'd have to be a complete and utter numpty and literally crash into the curb to scrape your alloys.....

Best place to by them: Tyremen - 195/55R16 (87H) Vredestein Snowtrac 3

[eenemini]

Haven't driven in snow yet, but I would sxpect my Mini do do as well as the front wheel drive Honda Civic I once owned, as it was great in the snow. All of this is subjective, though, depending on how much black ice there is under there.

[sad61t]

The socks are available from Mini at £46.95
Go to the accessories.mini.com site and select Exterior Design / Traction Aid.

They are for "195/55 R16 and 205/45 R17 tyres" so not sure if they'll fit my 15s.

Of course, whether they have any in stock after this week is another matter.

[Rincewind]

Not had any problems with my MCS JCW as yet and I've quite enjoyed being in the snow with in places - I left a goon in Mitsubishi Shogun behind today who was faffing about like a proper idiot.

I'm considering the winter tyre thing as I know they will make a vast improvement and given the current conditions, they would be a good choice. In these ambient conditions with wet/icy roads and cold conditions, they will last very well. The killer for winter tyres are dry warm roads, then they give up.

Having said that, I don't have too many problems as I test vehicles for a living so hooning about on snow, ice and low grip surfaces is part of the sign off procedures I have to do for ABS systems and so on - so it's just "normal" for me.

I find turning off the stability control helps as I can drive the car, not the car trying to drive for me.

[BEENA52]

Quote: Originally Posted by Electric Sheep (original)

I find a lack of grip from the tyres (17" runflats) to the worst thing about my Mini in the slow. Last year I found myself going around a roundabout at a most peculiar angle on one occasion, and even when there's just been a frost, I have to tip-toe around certain corners. Of course, if local councils gritted all the roads, as opposed to just the major ones, it would be less of a problem.

On Sunday last, I awoke to find that my car had decided to open its windows all on its own, meaning that the inside was drenched. I took it for a drive for an hour or so, with aircon, heated seats and heating all on at full blast, got to within five metres of my drive and skidded on some ice and whacked the kerb with my front left wheel. There doesn't look to be much damage aside from the alloy (which needed doing up anyway), fortunately.

I did the same on Monday and when i get to about 30-40mph my car makes a noise like something is grinding on my front left tyre, and when i turn right at at 30mph the same noise happens??

[Leedz]

My One just has standard 15" Continentals and its fine in the snow, no better or worse than I expect having always had front wheel drive.
I think so much of it is down to driving technique and common sense though.

[Putte]

Quote: Originally Posted by BEENA52 (original)

I did the same on Monday and when i get to about 30-40mph my car makes a noise like something is grinding on my front left tyre, and when i turn right at at 30mph the same noise happens??

It's probably snow that is stuck between the tyre and the wheel arch. Or in the suspension...

["red"]

I live on a hill in a village with unsalted roads. Yellow salt box at the bottom seems to be used for people's driveways more than roads. Don't blame them for a narrow path, but not the whole drive. No salt left for the hill.

Did not go out in the worst of it, having only recieved my Mini two days before. My old 13 year old car had terrible brakes, wanted to get used to the better brakes before I went on ice. Still, got up the hill better than most 2WD's, going as slow as possible in first gear.