Are Mini's rubbish in snow??

[canned_heat]

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

That seems like a a case of one driven wheel though......which is odd as I thought the Megane was fwd?
Unless one wheel was effectively completely stuck in the ice/snow and all the power was being diverted to the spinning wheel while the torque wasn't enough to free the opposing "stationary"wheel.

On the MINI both wheels are driven, the LSD and indeed DSC or ASC+T will just help in distributing the balance and power more effectively between the two "driving" wheels. I think just having DSC or ASC+T would probably help more than LSD, just my opinion though.

The Megane would have an open diff meaning that the torque would just end up going to the wheel with the least grip.

With the LSD in the MINI, if one wheel is on ice and the other is on tarmac, although the wheel on ice will still spin, some of the torque will be channelled to the wheel on tarmac.

Of course, if both wheels are on ice/snow, then the LSD will probably not help at all.

I've been finding that my LSD makes the car do wierd things on ice/snow. As the LSD makes both wheels spin up, the car slips sideways quite often and makes peculiar groaning/ticking noises.

[Lawrothegreat]

Quote: Originally Posted by stainless-steelius (original)

utter bunch of women.... turn off the T.C and bar it everywhere... The mini loves it and will go absolutely anywhere!!

Honestly, i have the dunlop spo1 runflats, and compared to everybody else's cars i have been in, my car is much better!

I think some people do need to 'man up'... and learn some driving skill! I have much better traction control in my right foot than the over-reactive system on the car.

Do you have an R50/R53 1st generation MINI or R56 2nd generation MINI? I've found the 2nd generation car to behave much better. You can use full throttle in 1st or 2nd gear on snowy inclines, and the system only feeds enough power that the car can handle, and allows it to progressively accelerate with no problems. While yes arguably one's talented foot may be good in this weather, some traction control systems are better than others and work very well on FWD cars. Just learn how to brake properly!

[Angib]

I reckon there's an age issue at work here - old farts like me generally forget that the 'kids' has very little experience of driving on snow.

When I moved up to the North East from 'doon sooth' nearly 30 years ago, a fortnight of snow lying on the ground was completely normal but there's a generation of drivers who've grown up without that, thanks to global warming.

It's amazing how many drivers think that if the driving wheels are slipping on snow or ice, flooring the throttle is the right response!

But it ain't all age by any means - a neighbour hasn't used his BMW X3 4x4 because "the roads are too dangerous, why risk it?"....

Andrew

[robgratton]

iv got a tuned cooper s with the works wheels and yokohama s drive tyres in sheffield 6inches on snow and had less trouble that 4x4s u just had to turn traction control off if u see a hill coming build ur speed up before so u dnt loose momentum n just end up polishing the ice! i even went out yesterday to the peaks to find snow covered roads to do abit of handbrake drifting didnt get stuck once n these road where hairy

[edders70]

having had cars for many years, i cant really say any of them have been too good in the snow (not that we usually get snow ) when on normal tyres however, i did find the mini (sidewalk convertible) to be relatively good on packed snow.

I have never had Winter Tyres but if this snowy weather persists, then maybe this is the solution.

[Lawrothegreat]

Quote: Originally Posted by Angib (original)

It's amazing how many drivers think that if the driving wheels are slipping on snow or ice, flooring the throttle is the right response!

If you're referring to my post, you've missed the point. Of course full throttle is completely inappropriate in these conditions; the point is, however, traction control systems are continually improving - feeding just enough power to match available grip, full throttle in slippery conditions being the casing point. The problem with modern cars is that they feel falsely secure. e.g. people don't know how to brake on ice (ABS won't help you).

[Angib]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lawrothegreat (original)

If you're referring to my post, you've missed the point.

No, not at all - I was mostly thinking of a lad in a Corsa that took a couple of minutes to get out of my way this week - maybe he'd seen some rally video, as on deeply treaded tyres on soft ground, I think max wheelspin and power is actually the right way to go, as long as you're still moving. I ain't gonna argue with the leading Dakar guys, who all seem to deal with soft sand this way.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lawrothegreat (original)

The problem with modern cars is that they feel falsely secure. e.g. people don't know how to brake on ice (ABS won't help you).

I read a Prodrive chassis engineer's fascinating understanding of the driving habits of the general public. For example, many drivers never drive outside the linear range of their vehicle - ie, if I want to turn a bit sharper, I turn the wheel a bit more, etc - and if they ever go past the linear range, they deduce that their vehicle is broken as it doesn't respond correctly. Amazingly many of these drivers then just wait for the crash - after all the controls no longer work properly, so why use them? In some cases, they even go so far as to take their hands off the steering wheel. There is a wonderful term for this which I will never forget: "control abdication".

And this is who we share the roads with.....

Andrew

[silverous]

I've found the mini to be infinitely better than my old 335d and our S-Max which both had real trouble in snow.

[Patricks]

Quote: Originally Posted by Roadrunner_1 (original)

I drive a Mini Cooper S Works and live in the countryside in South-East England. The traction i get from my mini is aweful...just too much power, tried driving in 3rd and still hopeless.

Any one else having the same problems?

south-east england countryside + mini works = fail.

haha glad i'm not the only one.

[G17RDY]

I have to say, my Cooper (R50) is the best car i have had for the snow.

Running on 17"s with run flats and it hasn't missed a beat in the snow - And i absolutely hate driving in snow.

Only problem is, i seem to be the lowest car around my area, as i continually scrape the middle mound (between the tyre ruts) of snow flat - and the car's not even lowered!!!!

[MINIcharged]

Quote: Originally Posted by G17RDY (original)

Only problem is, i seem to be the lowest car around my area, as i continually scrape the middle mound (between the tyre ruts) of snow flat - and the car's not even lowered!!!!

I hate that! It's the main thing putting me off driving... I keep thinking I'm gonna get a hard bit of ice and cause some damage.