Wading Depth

[ScottD3]

Bit of random one but I guess its relevant to to days weather.

Does any one know what the wading depth of a B5 is?

Not trying to incourige people to go wading in there B5, quattro or not but it would be nice to know I think.

I assume it would be top of the bumper or there abouts cause several inches more and you are at the slam panel and the air in take.
But apart from that, is there any thing below the top of the arches that could be effected by going through a puddle/flood at a sensible speed?

 

[Artimus]

Thermal Shock for hot engine parts! I prefer to stay out of water above the wheel centre cap! but then there's not that many flood points where I live and there's always another, drier route if it's deeper.

 

[ctd]

leave the car at home take a KTM, had a fantastic ride home tonight going past drivers that wouldn't go through the floods, exeter street, stuart road pennycomequick and tothill road, loads of fun

 

[ScottD3]

leave the car at home take a KTM, had a fantastic ride home tonight going past drivers that wouldn't go through the floods, exeter street, stuart road pennycomequick and tothill road, loads of fun

Nice.

I miss my land rover.
On nights like this, me and the misses use to go flood hunting.
Great fun, till it rusted out and fell apart. lol

Budhead road is floaded, so it the road from camels head to the ferry.

 

[CHEZ]

as a rule of thumb scott, dont go in past your nuts mate! your wheel nuts!

 

[ctd]

this is becoming the norm now maybe going back to a 4x4 is the way forward.........

 

[ScottD3]

as a rule of thumb scott, dont go in past your nuts mate! your wheel nuts!

I always go past my nuts in a 4x4 but I wont in a car.

this is becoming the norm now maybe going back to a 4x4 is the way forward.........

I miss mine.

 

[PAULF]

The problem is not just the water ingress, by the time you get that deep, any current has tremendous force and WILL move your car.......

........as matey boy in Somerset found out to his unfortunate cost.

Standing water you can go quite deep - but flood water is usually moving away, so hubs would be about as deep as I'd go.

'course, I live on top of a hill

 

[aragorn]

TBH i wouldnt be going any higher than the sills in a car.

Bear in mind that the diff and gearbox are open vented, and the cooling effect of plunging them into water has the side effect that it draws air in, along with water if theres lots splashing around. Landrovers have extended breather hoses raised up high to avoid this.

A factory standard landrover has a wading limit of 500mm, which is roughly the top of the wheel RIM (not the top of the tyre). But then all the running gear etc in a landrover sits much higher up than it does in a car.

The other issue you get is that even if the water is only upto your wheel nuts or hub centre cap, moving forwards through it creates a bow wave infront of the car, which could easily see the water level rising high enough to enter the air intake. Also the timing belt etc on your typical car engine isnt particularly well sealed, and you have to ask yourself if you really want ****ty gritty water etc entering the timing belt area?

 

[olds_kool]

I went through a road closed due to flooding sign on the way to work this morning
Water came to mid way up the wheels
No harm done but did collect some leaves in my bumper grills

 

[Blue_Thunder]

As Aragorn mentions, the gearboxes are open vented. One of the peeps on AudiSRS warped his clutch when driving through a ford that was deeper than he expected!

 

[spartacus 68]

this is becoming the norm now maybe going back to a 4x4 is the way forward.........

Not with diesel at £1.39 a litre... and don't get me started on road tax!

 

[ctd]

Not with diesel at £1.39 a litre... and don't get me started on road tax!

i know, used to have a pajero for a tow car for my zx10r, 50/50 reclaimed chipfat/deisel mix 17mpg, had to sell it coz the bike was getting slower with all the weight i put on eating extra chip coz of the smell of the exhaust

 

[Tom_B]

Aragorn spot on - (and I have some bitter experience on this question) when the water is up to the sills (and when it is up to the sills it will start to come into the cabin) almost any forward motion creates a bow wave -- and easy to get water into the air intake. When I thought long and hard about replacing the engine I concluded that while no fault codes were coming up post drowning, there was no way I coudl judge any other possible damage that would start to cost and cost. Lesson I learnt was: Dont go in any water when you dont know how deep it is & staying at the pub overnight until the rainstorm was over would have been much cheaper than buying a new car.