Please don’t push your MINI too far …

Anyone driving a MINI knows that their handling is phenomenal.
I once had a conversation (I think with the manager of MINI Peabody) about whether DSC was useful – after all, with such great handling, DSC would be irrelevant!
His comment persuaded me to put DSC on GBMINI; he said that because you get used to the great handling, when the car does let go (due to exceeding the laws of physics – cue Scotty) it can be a major surprise. Having DSC in the background may help in that situation.
Tonight I saw a thread on MINI2, by Happy Hippo:
On my usual commute to work I succeeded in losing the backend of my car on a gentle bend, I think I then reacted by lifting off the throttle and breaking. This of course only made things worse and I then hit the grass verge, slid along it until I hit a concrete post and ditch, at which point the car rolled 3 times before landing upside down in a field
Of course the great news is that the owner is here to describe the event (luckily survived with relatively minor injuries) … but it is a cautionary tale for all MINI drivers.
The thread also discusses the possibility of worse handling due to recent tire rotation. MINI USA does not recommend that tires be rotated – perhaps there is a reason not to do so …
Finally, there is also a discussion about whether runflat tires are more likely to aquaplane in wet weather. I have definitely noticed worse aquaplaning in the MINI than in any previous car – but I recently switched to non-runflat tires so it will be interesting over time to see what (if any) improvements there are.
So far, there is less road noise (which is good), and a tendency for the car to try and steer itself (which is bad – the new tires are 205/50 instead of the stock 195/55 on the same 16″ wheels).