[minky]

Anyone crash their MINI over these past two days in the arctic conditions?

[minky]

Went out during lunch yesterday and just outside the office, saw Van slaming into the back of cars, a woman driver who slid all over the shop and hit a tree, and down the road a 21 car pile up! A pregnant lady had to be air lifted to hospital! man a little snow ....

[ToreB]

Hehe, no knowledge of how to operate a car in slippery conditions?
Come to winter Norway! Here we have these conditions four months of the year.

(and don't trust the guy who told us that DSC eliminates the need for winter tyres)

Happy Mini'ing!
Regards,
Tore

[minky]

toreB,

Haha, yes Norway is a bit slippery, myself and missus went to Bergen from Newcastle a couple of months ago, and it was FREEEEEEZing......

SO why are snow tyres better than DSC????

[ToreB]

I cannot discuss the usage and pro's and con's of winter tyres here. This is not the topic of this forum.

However, how can DSC overcome the physical problem of loss of grip on slippery conditions???
DSC may help you not spinning, but DSC has no means of stopping the car. The tyres have to do that, nothing else.
If you don't believe that, come to me, I can take you on a spin on summer tyres. (if you dare)
Bring lots of warm clothes, it's -20 celcius her now!
Regards
Tore.

[Paul]

Quote:

Originally posted by minky
Anyone crash their MINI over these past two days in the arctic conditions?

Ever heard the term 'morbid fascination'?

Reminds me of a few years back now, we had quite heavy snow, and I went out to get a chinese meal in my classic mini (madness, I know).

Anyway, I was taking it easy in the snow (very easy), and saw about 4 or 5 other cars slowly spinning all over the place losing control, on a VERY short trip across town!

I think sometimes people sit in their nice spacious warm cars, and forget about the outside conditions, and the physics of wheels and tyres on snow!

Paul

[Tony Craggs]

Got to work yesterday after a 3 mile trip across town but as soon as I tried to turn into the car park (newly laid tarmac covered in snow/ice) there was no grip and I slid into the kerb.

Fortunatley I was only going slow and it was the tyre that hit the kerb so I don't think any damage was done.

Keep safe

[mainlinemenace]

Quote:

Originally posted by minky
Anyone crash their MINI over these past two days in the arctic conditions?

errrr, correct me if im wrong but this is winter, what do you expect?

Honestly, all you southeners make such a fuss about 2" of snow and a bit of ice

[minky]

haha, OOOooor this is the north south divide coming up now!

ToreB.... love to take my MINI across to Norway starting from Bergen and take a little summer tour around the Fjords.... any suggestions where to go??

[ToreB]

I'd love to make suggestions on where to go in Norway with your Mini, I myself think a trip to UK would be interesting...
Hmm... let me see, a quick tour in southern Norway from Bergen? Have to check that more thoroughly, but maybe this for a start:
There's a "Coast Highway" following the western coast all the way up north. "Highway" is a bit far fetched, the route is filled with small ferry trips and exiting sightseeing opportunities.
Only time limits the ability to explore this, but follow it to Ålesund or Kristiansund. Make several peeks into the fjords along the route, and maybe return inland over Geiranger/Trollstigen across Dovrefjell mountain (E6) to Oslo. Ferries to Denmark and Germany is available from Oslo.
Also Lofoten in northern Norway is a very special experience. (I grew up in Narvik)
I could do this more thoroughly later if any interest. Find a map and look yourself first.
Also, do pop in at my premises in Oslo if you go by!
Regards, Tore

[HarryHBMCC]

DSC, ASC+T, ABS, etc. can only deal with the traction that you have. If you have no traction then you are SOL. Snow tires give you traction under winter contitions. "all-seasons" don't give you much as their rubber compounds become hard as rocks when it gets cold and they don't have appropriate siping or tread patterns for snow and ice. All you need for an all-season designation is a sufficiently empty tread pattern -- it must pass no test at all. Winter tires must pass an actual severe weather test to get the rating.

Traction control will cut in earlier with poor tires but once you manage to get yourself moving there is nothing that DSC can do to pull your irons out of the fire. It can try to apply brakes to correct for skids and spins but if you have no traction, there is nothing that it can do. Having good traction in the first place can prevent you from getting into a skid or spin in the first place. With no traction, nothing will stop you no matter what electronic gizmos you have.

Don't go cheap! Get snow tires if it snows in your area. Canadians and Scandinavians know...

Harry

[minky]

Quote:

Originally posted by ToreB
I'd love to make suggestions on where to go in Norway with your Mini, I myself think a trip to UK would be interesting...
Hmm... let me see, a quick tour in southern Norway from Bergen? Have to check that more thoroughly, but maybe this for a start:
There's a "Coast Highway" following the western coast all the way up north. "Highway" is a bit far fetched, the route is filled with small ferry trips and exiting sightseeing opportunities.
Only time limits the ability to explore this, but follow it to Ålesund or Kristiansund. Make several peeks into the fjords along the route, and maybe return inland over Geiranger/Trollstigen across Dovrefjell mountain (E6) to Oslo. Ferries to Denmark and Germany is available from Oslo.
Also Lofoten in northern Norway is a very special experience. (I grew up in Narvik)
I could do this more thoroughly later if any interest. Find a map and look yourself first.
Also, do pop in at my premises in Oslo if you go by!
Regards, Tore

Excellent, may well have to pop by to see a fellow MINI2'er wher and whats your premises????

If you ever want a lovely route from newcastle, I suggest West Higlands of Scotland.... beautiful place!

[minky]

Quote:

Originally posted by HarryIndiBlue
DSC, ASC+T, ABS, etc. can only deal with the traction that you have. If you have no traction then you are SOL. Snow tires give you traction under winter contitions. "all-seasons" don't give you much as their rubber compounds become hard as rocks when it gets cold and they don't have appropriate siping or tread patterns for snow and ice. All you need for an all-season designation is a sufficiently empty tread pattern -- it must pass no test at all. Winter tires must pass an actual severe weather test to get the rating.

Traction control will cut in earlier with poor tires but once you manage to get yourself moving there is nothing that DSC can do to pull your irons out of the fire. It can try to apply brakes to correct for skids and spins but if you have no traction, there is nothing that it can do. Having good traction in the first place can prevent you from getting into a skid or spin in the first place. With no traction, nothing will stop you no matter what electronic gizmos you have.

Don't go cheap! Get snow tires if it snows in your area. Canadians and Scandinavians know...

Harry

So how much does a set of snow tyres for the MINI cost??
and would snow tyre work fin on dry \wet roads????

[HarryHBMCC]

I'm not sure how much they cost in the UK.

My Dunlop SP WinterSport M3 DSST winter tires are 195/55R16H. They are H rated so there is no problem going over 100MPH on them. They handle great. Their grip on dry roads isn't as good as the summer performance rubber but it is still quite good. On wet roads they are better than my summers, Goodyear Eagle NCT5 EMTs in the same size (I'll be looking for better rain performance when I wear out the Eagles).

Q rated snow tires are generally not as good in dry and don't handle as well but if you live in severe areas where you get snow and ice covering the roads all the time then these sticky tires with or without studs (where permitted) will do you better than the T and H rated variety.

If you drive on some snow and ice daily through a 4-6 month season then winter tires are a good investment. If you drive on ice covered roads daily then you may want Q rated, but if your roads are mostly partially covered snow and ice then T or H rated should suffice. If you just get a half-dozen or less snowy days then you can probably just go slow on your all-seasons when necessary or stay home.

Harry

[ToreB]

Uhuu! Don't ask about the prices here in Norway, you'll end up feeling very lucky.
I paid approx. 11000 Norwegian kroner for a complete set of tyres with alu wheels. That's €1500....

Snow tyres comes in two "versions": with or without dubs. The latter doesn't give maximum grip on bare roads, but most drivers of course adjust speed and driving pattern in winter time.
Anyway, the rubber quality in the tyre is made especially for winter temperatures, you cannot expect max grip in summer time with these. (also, summer tyres are not optimal in -20C even on bare roads)
No-dub tyres are popular in the Oslo area because of goverment actions to reduce dust pollution. There even was a special tax for driving with dybbed tyres.

Also, the roads in Oslo are frequently sprayed with salt to dissolve any freezing snow.
Don't ask what I think of this, salty roads are not good at all for my Mini!
Rgds, Tore

[minky]

Cheers guys!!!

Yeah went Bergen on one of those short cruises, and wow was everything expensive, except for the Hot Dogs.... man do you guys do some FANTASTIC hotdogs.... really cheap too... which is suprising.

But went to FiskerRogen and that wasn't cheap! Costs three times less in Newcastle! But still very nice.

Funny thing was seeing all the Norwiegens come on the return ferry to Newcastle to go shopping
Apparantly its so much cheaper here (specially the booze) including the travel fare than buying outright in Norway! bummer man! But a beutiful country... and you all speak English