car died in flash flood

[choq]

sorry to hear that bro...hope things will be not as bad as we thought..


choq

 

[racheltoh]

i was told if driving thru flood...never hit the brakes.

 

[imrao]

Yes especially Persiaran Surian near 1 Utama. It can be a nightmare when it rains heavily at this place. Got caught there several times already!! Sorry to hear about your ride, bro. Hope its nothing serious.

the problem is that our bmw's air intake inlet is low compared to the japs'. so a relatively low flood would also be a problem, despite smaller cars being able to go thru.

furthermore, flash floods are unpredictable and unexpected. by the time it happens, its too late to back out. Best to not even go out if its raining very very heavily.

 

[Schwepps]

i was told if driving thru flood...never hit the brakes.

Best not to drive through a flood at all. And never when the water is moving, or you'll be swept away like the gung-ho but silly lad in the NZ video. Do a U or park the car and wait.

If there's absolutely no choice, put it in manual mode, keep it in 1st gear, and keep the revs high and exhaust blowing out hard as you motor through. That keeps your engine from stalling because of resistance in higher gear or water blocking the exhaust pipe. That's also why you shouldn't brake, because then you're taking your foot off the gas and you may stall. There's no hope then - just take off your shoes, and wade out

 

[MSport]

Best not to drive through a flood at all. And never when the water is moving, or you'll be swept away like the gung-ho but silly lad in the NZ video. Do a U or park the car and wait.

If there's absolutely no choice, put it in manual mode, keep it in 1st gear, and keep the revs high and exhaust blowing out hard as you motor through. That keeps your engine from stalling because of resistance in higher gear or water blocking the exhaust pipe. That's also why you shouldn't brake, because then you're taking your foot off the gas and you may stall. There's no hope then - just take off your shoes, and wade out

That's right! If you hear you're going to stall, keep pressing the pedal. But what if the car wants to lurch forward and the front car a bit slow..... do you press on the brakes and accelerator too?

 

[r37720]

it happened to me twice.

1st time i keep on cranking the engine till the rackshaft bent. Cost me RM24K
2nd time i did not crank the engine. Cost me RM4K

The cold air intake for NMW is too low. Now i am too phobia driving on ry day...hehehe

 

[Schwepps]

That's why, park the car and wait. Nobody can force you to drive through even if you're blocking them. Let others be the fools. :wink:

 

[mikeyC]

i was told if driving thru flood...never hit the brakes.

yup heard that b4 until almost drive into huge longkang, 1 wheel already in longkang that was a close call. now never drive thru flood again.

 

[viewfinder]

bimmerdude, sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident.

Where's the e90 air intake? Isn't it near the front bonnet opening latch area? Honestly I have not paid attention to that, yet.

I was told that Mini's air intake is about the same level as fog lamps! That's asking for trouble. Air at ground level isn't denser than that at bonnet level. What was the designer thinking!

 

[E46Fanatic]

Best not to drive through a flood at all. And never when the water is moving, or you'll be swept away like the gung-ho but silly lad in the NZ video. Do a U or park the car and wait.

If there's absolutely no choice, put it in manual mode, keep it in 1st gear, and keep the revs high and exhaust blowing out hard as you motor through. That keeps your engine from stalling because of resistance in higher gear or water blocking the exhaust pipe. That's also why you shouldn't brake, because then you're taking your foot off the gas and you may stall. There's no hope then - just take off your shoes, and wade out

Actually, hydrolock happens when water gets into the engine through the intake. Water will never reach the engine through the tail pipe. Driving fast increases your chance of water making it way to the intake on top of the kidney grill and destroying the engine. If you have to drive through, put to first, but go SLOWLY keeping revs below 3k rpms. Water will have less chance to flow over the front hood choking the intake behind the kidney grills when you drive slowly.

Agree that best not to even try. Just not worth it.

 

[Schwepps]

I know bro, I was talking about the exhaust being underwater which would also cause a stall from which there is no return. You can't go fast in 1st gear and I'm not talking about red-lining it - even 3k would be a bit high.

Frankly if the water is up to the kidney grill, the engine is sure to be crocked. And you can't see the edge of the road, any obstructions and potholes, and how deep the water really is in the middle. And most flash floods are flowing water, which means the car will be lifted and swept towards the lower (and deeper) parts. So best not to be a hero in the first place.

 

[E46Fanatic]

As long as the engine is running, a submerged exhaust pipe shouldn't stall the engine. Its like blowing through a straw. Exhaust gases will find their way out from the exhaust as exhaust bubbles whether the engine is at 1k rpm or 6k rpm

Again this is theory only la. Never tested in real world tho.

 

[deep3102]

Sorry to hear about this mishap bimmerdude, any updates from IA? This should be a lesson for all of us, especially with the gila rainy evenings these past few days.

 

[Schwepps]

The exhaust will be okay so long as you're moving and the revs are kept up. Actually it's more than theory. Off-roaders regularly ford streams and fit snorkels and extended pipes for that purpose. But Mini and 3-er designers would have thought: I'm designing a sporty car for fast drivers, not a 4X4 off-roader...or jet ski

 

[ALBundy]

Had the same mishap more than 12 years ago, when my brother and I was in a Satria then. He droved a little too fast trying into the flood area, its akin to hitting a wall, engine RPM dropped, water got sucked into the engine via the exhaust pipe --> extractor --> combustion chamber and rest is history.

Anyway those days, the caburetted 1.3 engine can be bought for RM350 from the corner chop shop at Chan Sow Lin, before taxi drivers started buying them, now more than 1.2k i was told.

 

[jarance]

As long as the engine is running, a submerged exhaust pipe shouldn't stall the engine. Its like blowing through a straw. Exhaust gases will find their way out from the exhaust as exhaust bubbles whether the engine is at 1k rpm or 6k rpm

Again this is theory only la. Never tested in real world tho.

You are most probably right. That why sometime you see 4WD have a extended pipe as shown below to go over river without stalling.

 

[E46Fanatic]

The exhaust will be okay so long as you're moving and the revs are kept up. Actually it's more than theory. Off-roaders regularly ford streams and fit snorkels and extended pipes for that purpose. But Mini and 3-er designers would have thought: I'm designing a sporty car for fast drivers, not a 4X4 off-roader...or jet ski

I think those snorkles are actually intake snorkles rather than exhaust snorkles. Most of the time they are also made of some plastic material

 

[Schwepps]

Of course a snorkel is for intakes lar! I used to dabble in 4x4 before going back to saloons and had fully-kitted Jeeps and Hiluxes. Done the basic off-road stuff like FORDING. I'm not talking about this from just surfing the web.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Had the same mishap more than 12 years ago, when my brother and I was in a Satria then. He droved a little too fast trying into the flood area, its akin to hitting a wall, engine RPM dropped, water got sucked into the engine via the exhaust pipe --> extractor --> combustion chamber and rest is history.

Kinda strange, but I am just full of theories haha. This is a practical case . When the cylinder draws air, the intake valves open to draw air and exhaust valves close. Again in theory, engine should not be sucking air into the combustion chamber through the exhaust/exhaust valves.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Ok so the theory fails vs. the practical. You guys were right..

http://www.smartdriving.co.uk/Driving/Driving_emergencies/Floods.htm

"In some cases a stalled engine can result in water being sucked back through the exhaust into the cylinders - this can cause extensive and expensive damage. Do not change gear because this can also cause water to be sucked back through the exhaust (due to the change in engine speed and manifold depression)."