Driving Through Standing Water, How Well Does Your Car Do?

[dieselman]

Splashing through puddles is a great way to clean the underside of the car.

and people standing at the bus stop.

for best effect do it in an S-class..

 

[as400]

It won't be the tracking as if it was far enough out to pull the car it would be shredding tyres in a few hundred miles at best. A quick look at the tread wear pattern will show if this is the problem.

What's happening with your car is that due to the wide(ish) tyres a wedge of water builds up in front of the tyre. Eventually the front tyres lift off the road surface. As it's a RWD car the wheels then rapidly slow down so building more water in front and steerage is lost, but the rear wheels continue to push the car along.
The pushing from the rear combined with the front wheels losing traction makes the car skew.

Other cars may fair better due to having narrower tyres and being FWD, because the tyres bite through the water better, and as they are driven wheels they resist the wedge of water until a higher speed is reached, because they then spin quicker so continue to remove water instead of building a wedge.

What you are experiencing is just a characteristic of RWD cars with wide tyres.

Sorry for being ratty earlier, I was indeed having fun at your expense.

Thanks for that, very helpful as are 99.9% of your posts! :lol:

Cheers.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

My advice, take it easy, powerful RWD cars with wide tyres (245) are not so good in the rain, amusing yes.

Good point Steve. I well remember enjoying a bit of aquaplaning in my S**B 99. With front wheel drive, the only clues to the fact that you were indeed aquaplaning were the increased deflection on the rev counter and speedometer, and the fact that it would not answer the helm. It would carry on straight as a die, however. The passenger seldom noticed.

 

[st4]

Good point Steve. I well remember enjoying a bit of aquaplaning in my S**B 99. With front wheel drive, the only clues to the fact that you were indeed aquaplaning were the increased deflection on the rev counter and speedometer, and the fact that it would not answer the helm. It would carry on straight as a die, however. The passenger seldom noticed.

It would track straight but if there was a bend not quite so good.

Tyre tread has a lot to do with it. tread is purely there to disperse water, the more worn the tread, the less water that can be dispaced, so you have to go slower.

Rubber compound also plays a role, but more with light water covering. I have some cheapo tyres on the back, and the rear is very lively. Funny yes when you want to show off, not so good when it slides or begins to lose traction.

Take it easy folks, better 5mins late in this life, than 5mins early into the next life...

 

[giuseppe]

just bought a set of Nokian Z G2, which are supposed to be good in aquaplaning conditions, I to was travelling to fast so as not to miss the 7am ferry from Portsmouth to Caen, hit a few puddles on the M27 and seem to handle them well, but you still feel the car dragging a little, and great for washing the underside of the car

 

[tjamesbo]

No tyres in the world can prevent aquaplaning at 70mph through pools of water.

What about F1 wets ???? even in the rain they dont seem to drop below 70
Aeroplane Landing Gear Tyres?? I'm sure they dont aquaplane
Big very deep grooves seem to be the answer

 

[Developer]

What about F1 wets ???? even in the rain they dont seem to drop below 70
Aeroplane Landing Gear Tyres?? I'm sure they dont aquaplane
Big very deep grooves seem to be the answer

Not much deep standing water on the average F1 circuit or airport.

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

The original question was, if I understand it, when you go down the motorway, perhaps a tad faster than would be idea, and hit a patch of standing water, does the car track straight or if it doesn't, do you have a fault?
Fair question.

I get a bit tired of the holier than thou attitude we sometimes get on this forum. Yes I am aware of the condition and yes I slow down in poor conditions, but have I ever been a bit late and pressed on a bit harder than I may have liked? Yes I have, and so has everyone else on this thread who has a driving licence and uses the road network to get to meetings, airports, job interviews, childrens birthday parties and other time sensitive locations. Sorry, we're human and as great as we are, none of us maintains a 100% perfection record 100% of the time, so lets get off our pedestals.

On the question, there are 2 factors at play here. As has been said, the affected wheel is almost certainly aquaplaning but assuming the other 3 tyres are holding their own, this is no reason to worry unnecesarily, unless you're cornering at the same time. At 70, you're through the pool in less than a second and the traction of the other 3 wheels won't let you slip off the road. The second factor is more of a concern. hitting standing water at that speed causes severe drag on that wheel as it goes in. It's effectively like stamping on the brake on that wheel alone. This is what you feel and why the car will twitch and the steering wheel will twitch. The concern is that if the other 3 tyres were on the limit of grip at that moment, that yaw effect could steer the car. I have seen the traction light flicker (well I think I did, my attention was on the road but something amber flickered in the corner of my eye) at such a moment which tells me that without ESP I may have been in trouble and perhaps I should be backing off a bit more than I already had.
Anyway - if the above sounds like what you're feeling, then its probably normal. As has been said, new tyres will always help with water dispersal (raising the level where the other 3 tyres would give up) but the affected tyre, no matter how new, is probably without grip for that moment. Tracking issues don't really come into it (less relevant on a wet road) so theres no point having this adjusted if its happy on a dry road.

On the 'argument', speaking as a mod, I don't approve of people quoting others and changing their comments in the process for humerous effect. As mates, do whatever you like to each other, but only with tacit consent, doing it to people you don't know will only result in bad feeling. A quote should be a literal quote (or its not a quote).

Well said that man

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

Sorry for being ratty earlier, I was indeed having fun at your expense.

Got to admit it was kinda funny though:lol:

 

[Xtractorfan]

Saw a wrecked Vauxhall last weekend because of aquaplaning on a stretch of dual carriageway..... Hit the same patch of water myself yesterday..No rain at the time so must have been an earlier downpour..Now no cars near me and slowed to 50...didn't aquaplane, but was driving blind and disorientated for a few seconds with the amount of water that engulfed the Jeep (driving the X5)..so almost as dangerous in my opinion....
Dont mind driving thru water with the jeep..but with cars. you need to be careful as some have the air intake low down alongside the radiator..

 

[Naraic]

Chrysler have low intakes in their people carriers. Enough to stop the engine in a deep puddle/flood.

 

[dieselman]

Got to admit it was kinda funny though:lol:

Now you say it....

 

[QBSBear]

As long as its not this deep :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soVYb5IqFwo

Or .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr8eEWyKQHM&feature=more_related

 

[Mercedes-2010]

Often the water is deeper on one side of the road more than the other and this will pull the car.
Ignore those going past you on those conditions, you get the same lunatics in fog, sadly lacking any sense or understanding of these things

Sorry to just dive in here, but, Firstly, Yes! SLOW DOWN!!!

On the subject of fog, back in the early 80's I had a bit of a rant with a trucker who came to the place I worked at the time,

There had been a few folks killed in thick pea soup fog that week, we were just getting lots of fog at that very time, maybe that's why Maggie closed the pits... Anyway, this t055er made the fatal mistake of saying that "Because my truck windscreen is high from the road, I can see over the low lying fog, therefore I can go faster!"

My reply was to the nature of "You inconsiderate t055er, you can only go as fast as the vehicle in front, which may be a low sports car who can't see through the fog, therefore, you'll kill someone, won't you now?"

It went rather quiet, then he went to sit in his cab out of the way!

Sometimes 18 year olds do know best :neutral:

DC (Prophet to the Truckers) :lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[Boogs]

As wheels and tyres have become wider and wider over recent decades the problem has heightened.....narrower tyres ''cut through'' standing water much more effectively than wider tyres.
My old Volvo is much easier to handle in such adverse conditions than my SL.

Mic

Absolutely agree, although the energy efficient cars are now returning to narrower widths, so the issue should lessen.

I drive to the alps each year for a touch of Skiing. Took the Saab last year 235/40/17s and we just ground to a halt and had to put the chains on. Meanwhile being passed by all the 106's etc that the locals drive (accept they were probably winter tyres tyres) and other less well shod UK cars.

The other thing is weight. My old Lotus was a nightmare in standing water, it'd literally take a step 18 inches to the left/right even when driving cautiously, one of the reasons I rarely took it out in the rain.

 

[Blobcat]

Anyone watched Mythbusters on the weekend? They were testing to see if driving faster in the rain in a convertible would keep them dryer than slowing down and putting the top up. They were using a 911 Carrera S and drove through a rain maker at 120mph, they were concerned about aquaplaning so had a police instructor to do the first 120mph test. The Porsche drove perfectly through the rain and spray until he turned and braked (on purpose if you ask me) he then did a few spins.

I think they put that into the show to stop people using the go faster in the rain approach, however I do believe that he only lost control because of the steering and braking. This doesn't of course mean you should drive fast when there's standing water because you may have to react and you just don't have the same amount of grip.

We had just over 6" of water at the end of our lane yesterday, funny to watch the BMW accelerate up to it then lose his bottle at the last minute.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

They were testing to see if driving faster in the rain in a convertible would keep them dryer than slowing down and putting the top up. .

It does work Russ, but you don't need to drive quickly to get the effect. I have driven the SL with the top down through some very determined rain (not safe to stop to put hood up) and to my delight found that I did not begin to get wet until I was doing rather less than 15 mph. At cruising speeds, you remain bone dry.

 

[Blobcat]

It does work Russ, but you don't need to drive quickly to get the effect. I have driven the SL with the top down through some very determined rain (not safe to stop to put hood up) and to my delight found that I did not begin to get wet until I was doing rather less than 15 mph. At cruising speeds, you remain bone dry.

I could have told them that as well, I just think they wanted to drive around in a 911

 

[Matt45]

I believe that most problems are caused by the drag effect of the water. This is what pulls a car off line. Aquaplaning is slightly different in that the tyre rides up on the water as it can't displace the water fast enough. Regardless of tyre type or tread pattern aquaplaning occurs at 9xthe square root of the tyre pressure so on an average tyre that's about 45-50 mph. Aircraft do aquaplane often but are usually held more stable by the flying surfaces as they transition from being airborne to being totally supported by the undercarrage. They also have much higher tyre pressures.

 

[NormanC]

I believe that most problems are caused by the drag effect of the water. This is what pulls a car off line. Aquaplaning is slightly different in that the tyre rides up on the water as it can't displace the water fast enough. Regardless of tyre type or tread pattern aquaplaning occurs at 9xthe square root of the tyre pressure so on an average tyre that's about 45-50 mph. Aircraft do aquaplane often but are usually held more stable by the flying surfaces as they transition from being airborne to being totally supported by the undercarrage. They also have much higher tyre pressures.

I'm sorry but you haven't thought this through.

If tread doesn't make any difference then why do F1 cars go to treaded tyres in the rain? What research supports your claim that tread makes no difference?

You have completely ignored units in your "9 times the square root". You're saying that if I run my tyres at 2 bar (where the square root of 2 is approx. 1.414) then I will aquaplane at approx 12.7 mph or kph or ft/sec or m/s or even 12.7 times the speed of light!!

I do think you need to think again.