[Benny No.1]

MINI's in the wet, fun or just down right scary? I had an incident when the rear end of my cooper just let go and going side ways round a corner isn't fun! especially in the wet when you don't expect it. luckily it was on an old airfield with lots of space its not really the fact it let go because the speed I was going I was expecting to under steer but that never happened. no warning it just went! Scary!

[nickworld]

Sideways should ALWAYS be fun - even the slight frisson of fear you get when it catches you off guard. The steering and weighting of the car should really have been letting you know where things stood though... You hit some grease on the tarmac?

Aeroplanes are always spewing out evil slippery substances, oil, fuel etc so that might have been the case. Or aquaplaning perhaps?

Your Cooper really shouldn't have just let go!

[Benny No.1]

Spose i would if i had traction control! The thought passed through my mind that if it would of happened on a public road, If I was just pushing too hard it could all end in tears! Tits up you might say.

On the other point about it shouldn't really let go. in the dry it stays ballanced, but in the wet it only takes a small loss of grip at the rear to unbalance the car. If you know what your waiting for its fine but as it was the first time i had thrown the cooper around in the wet i was assuming (assumption i know now is not the greatest thing) for the front to stray wide! i think it was a fact of where the front wheels go the rear couldn't follow!

Darn the British damp.

[Kev'sCoop]

Yep i got into a whole lot of trouble in the demo s mines never acted like this but the demo lost it in the wet back end sliding car bouncing side to side on public two lane road not proud was driving like a muppet but held it and controlled this was with asc dsc makes a difference. Thought i was going to smash it lucky escape or just good driver not sure. Watch the car it can be a little temperamental.
kev

[Hat]

i think this is also down to the fact that the car gives you the confidence to push harder than you normally would in another car.

i had to drive a vectra hire car back from manchester airport last friday night in the rain & it felt like trying to steer a barge down a canal

[homerweena]

Yeah, the MINI can certainly throw you in the wet!! I've had a couple of incidents on wet roads which have certainly set my heart rate up a couple of beats. Having said that I've got no ASC or DSC on mine so I assume that probably woulda corrected the slides I had if I had them. I always take a bit more care now on wet roads as the MINI certainly doesn't feel like its "stuck" to the road as normal. This seems to be enhanced by the fact that the Pirelli P3000's I have seem to be quite a hard tyre. One saving grace I spose is the fact that the MINI is front wheel drive and takes a lot more to lose it than a rear wheel drive car.

[MINIALEX]

My only complaint of the MINI's handling is that is has severe lift off oversteer - It happened to me when I swerved to miss a fox ( In was going quite fast ) I lifted off as I swerved, span and ended up upside down in a ditch - I did buy another one though!

[GordonD]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hat
i think this is also down to the fact that the car gives you the confidence to push harder than you normally would in another car.

This probably a factor - in canada we see many 4wd vehicles in the ditch all winter as the owners don't understand that better traction means more speed not more braking or turning power.

[Humourl3ss]

I've found them to be quite fun in the wet. In extreme snow conditions (more than 6 to 7") they can be a bit of a handful, but in the rain I find a MINI to be quite capable. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best wet-weather cars I've owned.

-CW

[Benny No.1]

that i agree it is capable but as was said before compared to the handling in the dry. my confidence in the wet isn't half of what it is in the dry.

[HarryHBMCC]

Sounds like some people should have got some of the traction/stability control options. For those that got replacements, did they opt for it on the replacement?

Harry

[jasonve]

Quote:

Originally posted by Humourl3ss
I've found them to be quite fun in the wet. In extreme snow conditions (more than 6 to 7") they can be a bit of a handful, but in the rain I find a MINI to be quite capable. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best wet-weather cars I've owned.

-CW

I totaly agree... very composed in the wet (I am on 15s with all season continentals) no DCS stuff on mine either.

[Dark Silver S]

Just like the big boys, it's all in the tires. My second wife had a Trans-Am that was fun in the dry, but not worth snot in the wet. Performance tires do not do well in the wet. I suppose we need multiple sets - hard, soft, intermediate, and rain.

[MINIALEX]

I did go for ASC + T on my replacement- I am also far happier with my tyres, I know have 17" Pirelli but before I had Goodyear NCTs and wasn't impressed

[RedUn]

Benny No.1 when your back end slid out did u let off or touch the brakes??
My Mini seems quite gradual when cornering wet or dry, are your tire pressure correct??

[Red & White Cooper 2]

Was there any standing water? Those 17" tyres are wide and the Mini's weight distribution quite nose heavy - it could have aquaplaned at the back, but surprising if your tread is deep.

[Bino]

Getting a bit sideways in mid-turn is a lot less dicey with FWD than RWD. IMHO, the back end of a FWD car is there merely to hold up the rear bumper. So long as the front tires still have some grip and so long as you keep your foot down on the gas, you can use power and steering to point the car pretty much where you want it to go, despite the rear end's wanderings. Of course, your mileage may vary.