How are minis in the snow?

[MiniCooperMax]

What are their handling characteristics in the snow like? Do they like to bring the tail around? Are they relatively stable? I was just thinking this the other day, and I don't know, because I'm not a mini owner yet.

[Mike Clarke]

If you do a search for "MINI Snow" then you should find lots of threads on this topic.

[GMINI]

and i've yet to hear a negative about the mini in the snow. 2 yrs + hereabouts and mini lovin.

oh. one minus. ground clearance. but streets are plowed such that i've not encountered a prob once on them.

seriously - do a search.

[justbob]

Yes and yes.

Yes--MINIs handle great in the snow.

Yes--The tail can come around. Enjoy it. Just don't hit any solid objects.

And Yes, there are lots of posts about this.

To make a long story short:

1. Just keep moving.

2. Remember, just because you can Go, doesn't mean you can Stop.

3. Don't become a snow plow in snow that is unplowed, i.e., 4-6 inches.

4. FWD--power takes you where you want to go, but it won't stop you there in all cases.

5. Feel free to pass pickup trucks and SUVs--just don't slide through the red lights. That makes all MIN drivers look stupid.

6. LOOK AT WHERE YOU WANT TO GO, not what you want to avoid.

7. Brakes? What Brakes?

8. Just keep moving.

9. And last but not least: ALWAYS park pointing downhill.

So, yep, the MIN is GREAT in the snow, and I've driven 4wD and AWD vehicles in the white stuff. My advice: find a big, snow-covered parking lot and find out what YOU can do!

[GMINI]

A1 compilation there, bob.

[MINNOW]

MINI's are very good in the snow with proper winter tires, the handling is very well balanced.
I find that with a build-up of snow cover over ice below, the car feels light and a little skittish, not as pinned down as a heavier car would be in the same situation. This is comparing our 500 lb heavier Volvo sedan on winter tires to the Cooper on same.
The tail comes out more so than on other FWD cars, but I think that is the intended factory set-up of the design.
I find judicious use of the e-brake helps straighten your line when you carry too much speed through a slippery corner and get inevitable understeer. Never used the e-brake for anything other than parking with previous vehicles, with the MINI it's another weapon in your arsenal to use against the elements.

[mini vanilli]

you use the EBRAKE while driving....are you nuts.

anyway, the mini does just fine in the snow. i agree that ground clearance is the only bad thing. i have been driving in a horrible cleveland winter on the performance tires and it has been great so far. i can imagine it would get alot better on snows.

[justbob]

I wonder if there's a thread on using the emergency brake for steering purposes? I guess I should do a search....

Yep, the e-brake works really well. I've found I can turn around much more quickly when using it, especially in the snow. Find a flat spot with no light posts and give it a whirl. It's mostly a balance/adhesion thing.

[GMINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by justbob

It's mostly a balance/adhesion thing.

You WILL wind up facing the way you came. 135 degrees is quite common. Pulling out of an over e-braked turn can be quite fun(/dangerous). Oh I love those empty icy parking lots!

[jwardell]

Back to the more simple question..

Yes the MINI is fine in the snow. Getting the DSC option is highly recommended. It will always keep you straight.

Of course, put snow tires on it if you are serious about using any car in the snow. But I've been surviving our blizzard with the allseason runflats, but they are not spectacular.

The only downside is ground clearance...more than 4" of unplowed snow on the road and you will get stuck if you stop.

[GMINI]

Some have found dsc to be a hinderance in snow. Just for the record.

[justbob]

I've tried driving on turf, sand, dirt, ice and snow with the DSC on and with the DSC off.

DSC on does provide better traction in most cases.

DSC Off, however, can be a lot more fun!

This is the first car I've ever owned with any kind of ABS or traction control, and I have to admit it works great. It's hard to adjust to the idea that my driving skills (honed by years of driving used beaters across some of the worst roads in the world) are being augmented by some sort of cyberbot built into my car. There's still a corner of my brain that makes me want to do it myself--and I have to admit that my DSC light hardly ever comes on, no matter how hard I'm driving on dry pavement. What does this mean?

[justbob]

Quote: Originally Posted by mini vanilli

you use the EBRAKE while driving....are you nuts.

anyway, the mini does just fine in the snow. i agree that ground clearance is the only bad thing. i have been driving in a horrible cleveland winter on the performance tires and it has been great so far. i can imagine it would get alot better on snows.

I think one of the secrets to using the e-brake while driving is to remember to MODULATE your use of it. That is, you don't just pull up the lever and leave it on, you keep your thumb on the ratchet button and vary the pressure you are exerting dependent on the effect the braking is having on the attitude of your car.

For example, you've entered a snow-covered round-about (traffic circle). As you transition from entering the circle to turn to go around it, your lift off the accelerator and the car begins to understeer (that is, the wheels are turned in one direction by you are actually plowing straight ahead and are about to exit the circle at an unintended point).

So, you have two choices: pop back on the accelerator, and the FWD traction will pull you around, with the possibility that the rear wheels also might come around and you will be oversteering, i.e., hanging your rear end out on the edge and possibly spinning.

OR, you can pop up the e-brake briefly, which has the effect of slowing the car, giving more traction to the front wheels, which then bite and take you around the curve. Of course, you have the potential to keep going right around here, too, if you don't modulate the use of the brake.

Of course DSC might have kicked in by now and your okay and don't have to do any of this, or Sir Isaac Newton has taken over and your off the roundabout and out in someone's field.

At any rate, I'm not a professional driver and I am not advocating any of these techniques. I just read about them in books and see them used in movies.... They do sound fun, though....

[GMINI]

Quote: Originally Posted by justbob

At any rate, I'm not a professional driver and I am not advocating any of these techniques. I just read about them in books and see them used in movies.... They do sound fun, though....

(nor has he ever driven a roundabout)

[Windshadow]

2inches of snow with the 17" Dunlop performance 9000 run flats and My MINI was exciting to put it mildly
the 16" Dunlop M3 Runflat snow tires though are fantastic I had to plow 6" snow to get to the shooting rang the other day an had no problems I would rate the MINI on these M3s as good as any other car and netter than most all of them.... only edged by the 89 Range Rover I sold to buy it in realy deep snow