Anyone have steering trouble when their new SE arrived (Power Spoke wheels)?

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nowkent

nowkent

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We have tried a number of SE's and gas models, and loved the steering of all of them. So we ordered an SE with powerspoke wheels. When we drove it though, as a test drive before signing the final paperwork the steering wasn't as responsive/tight/user friendly as all of the other minis we have driven. We had tried out one at the same dealership with the Power spoke wheels and loved the way it handled as well. It was a more minor discrepancy though (although 3 of us tested it and all came to the conclusion something was wrong) but the sales staff didn't even recognize the difference, and the shop was unable to change it to act like the rest of the minis after checking to make sure it was within spec they just threw their hands up. I know those powerspoke wheels need a tool to balance them properly. They seemed to be aware of that (of course), and they checked alignment and tire pressure, but the whole experience was extremely frustrating. So....we ordered it again. lol It's so weird to be ordering a mini cooper while the one we want sits on the lot with some sort of mystery steering problem. I'm just wondering whether anyone had a similar experience.
 
nowkent said:
When we drove it though, as a test drive before signing the final paperwork the steering wasn't as responsive/tight/user friendly as all of the other minis we have driven.
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I'm not yet an owner, but, during your test drive was the MINI in Sport mode, or one of the other modes? I've read that steering is tightened up in Sport mode...
 
Qisl said:
I'm not yet an owner, but, during your test drive was the MINI in Sport mode, or one of the other modes? I've read that steering is tightened up in Sport mode...
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Thank you, it does tighten up in sport mode for sure, but we tried all the modes. It is kind of cool that depending on the setting the steering dynamics change on the SE's (and S's, and JCW's), but in this case there just seemed to be a problem with this specific car or wheels/tires.
 
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What do you mean by "not as user friendly"?

I have the power spoke wheels and the steering is very responsive as expected in all modes.

The balancing adapter should not have anything to do with the steering responsiveness unless you are talking about vibration which then could be attributed to wheel balancing.

Do you feel a lag as if you turn the steering wheel but the car steers in a bit of delay?
 
I'm a long-term MINI owner and have put over 50,000 miles on my SE (with Power Spoke wheels in the summer), and I have not experienced any handling issues. Maybe it's the tires you're feeling? I have Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 summer tires, but others have mentioned the Hankooks that often come on the SE have soft sidewalls. It seems to be random which tires come with any given SE.
 
No idea. There is certainly a difference between my 16 inch winter set and 17 inch summer set, but you're describing 17 inch.

The only other time I've had an issue with steering was temporary tire flat spotting from not driving enough in the winter.
 
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Yup I find my winter Nokian Hocktuey 16s wallow much more than the Eagle F1 17s, though they don’t feel smoother overall. But I have experienced that on every car I’ve ever owned, and it just makes the anticipation of switching back over to summer tires in April that much more sweet.
 
I’m surprised the dealership didn’t throw another wheel/tire combination on the car to see if it fixed the issue. If there’s a car on the lot that felt “good”, it’s easy enough to swap shoes just to check. Seems worth it if it helps complete a sale.
 
Swapping wheels and tyres can make a big difference in steering feel. My 16' kooks leave the steering a bit light for my tastes. I usually drive in sport mode. My winter Nokians feel even more sensitive. I'd love to find a way to reduce the steering assistance level, other than using sport mode.
 
Hmmm...thank you everyone. It had lag in the steering, and also some very minor wobble. We had tried other cars on the lot with the same exact wheels, and everything we liked had the same 17" wheel size. The tire pressure got double checked, It is possible it was a different type of tires on the same wheel than we tried out, but we tried so many other minis on the lot previous to this and on the same day, and after, and we liked the way all of them handled (including pretty fresh off the assembly line EV's on the lot) that it makes it less likely it was a tire issue (although maybe a combination of Power Spoke light wheels and a softer tire wall?). Our thought, though, was that maybe this particular car had had some sort of damage that affected its steering somewhere on the assembly line or on it's journey to the dealership.
 
teslarati97 said:
No idea. There is certainly a difference between my 16 inch winter set and 17 inch summer set, but you're describing 17 inch.

The only other time I've had an issue with steering was temporary tire flat spotting from not driving enough in the winter.
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True, although in this case all the ones we liked we're 17" (and the one we got).
 
Can you tell a difference between sport and mid modes? Sport mode should feel heavier to turn the wheel.

How did they check the alignment? Did they put actually check the alignment on a rack or just use the quick alignment check gimmicky thing?

I bet it just needs a real alignment.
 
A lag in steering response is the opposite of typical Mini behavior. I highly doubt any correlation to wheel design, just a one off issue with a different root cause.

I personally find the heft of sport mode kinda annoying, as it doesn't add ratio or feel. Response is the same regardless of mode.
 
JonR said:
Can you tell a difference between sport and mid modes? Sport mode should feel heavier to turn the wheel.

How did they check the alignment? Did they put actually check the alignment on a rack or just use the quick alignment check gimmicky thing?

I bet it just needs a real alignment.
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Sport mode did feel heavier.

I think they implied they put it on the rack, but I don't know for sure. That is an interesting question. Based on what I'm learning it does feel like a minor unresolved alignement issue, and I wonder if it was just checked with the tool, and that was it. We went ahead and reordered the same exact car from the same dealer. We'll see what happens. lol
 
Brawndo said:
A lag in steering response is the opposite of typical Mini behavior. I highly doubt any correlation to wheel design, just a one off issue with a different root cause.

I personally find the heft of sport mode kinda annoying, as it doesn't add ratio or feel. Response is the same regardless of mode.
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maybe so, we did have a similar issue with a fiat we had, and they corrected it by switching the left and right wheels, but since these are brand new tires I'm starting to think it is something to do with alignment. I don't know. lol
 
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