Aquaplaning advice
Discussion
I know slowing down in rain is the best way to avoid aquaplaning but when you do happen to be in a situation can someone tell me what aquaplaning feels like in these types of cars and how to handle once you do start to aquaplane:
(With and without traction control,abs, whatever other stability wizardry exists)
1. Front engine rwd
2. Front engine fwd
3. Mid engine rwd
4. Mid engine awd/4wd
5. Front engine awd/4wd
I know when you do aquaplane, the car feels lighter and also decelerates but what to look out for just as it starts to happen, other than the dips in the road and standing water? What can save you? What do you do when the car starts to slide sideways? Do you try to put a full counter lock on in anticipation that it will slide more or just what’s needed? Thanks.
(With and without traction control,abs, whatever other stability wizardry exists)
1. Front engine rwd
2. Front engine fwd
3. Mid engine rwd
4. Mid engine awd/4wd
5. Front engine awd/4wd
I know when you do aquaplane, the car feels lighter and also decelerates but what to look out for just as it starts to happen, other than the dips in the road and standing water? What can save you? What do you do when the car starts to slide sideways? Do you try to put a full counter lock on in anticipation that it will slide more or just what’s needed? Thanks.
Edited by 321boost on Saturday 8th December 13:15
Edited by 321boost on Saturday 8th December 13:16
Get off the gas, keep calm and relax until you feel grip coming back. No big steering or inputs which may cause loss of control once grip returns. Keep it straight by turning into a slide or away from deep water patches. Braking will reduce the rotation speed of wheels whilst not in contact with tarmac which may delay onset of grip and create instability as tyres regain grip.
Drive to the conditions. Even if a road has a 40mph limit, standing water may reduce the safe speed significantly. With experience and defensive driving, you should can minimise risk of aquaplaning.
Check tyres are properly inflated and have adequate tread to shift standing water and maintain contact with tarmac.
Aquaplaning is similar to driving in any loss of traction situation, like slipping on ice or snow. If there is a low grip driving skills facility near you, then recommend a 30 minute lesson to feel what it is like.
Have driven front and mid engined cars in fwd, rwd and 4x4 configurations. Principles for control and driver's defensive approach to conditions remain the same regardless of car.
Drive to the conditions. Even if a road has a 40mph limit, standing water may reduce the safe speed significantly. With experience and defensive driving, you should can minimise risk of aquaplaning.
Check tyres are properly inflated and have adequate tread to shift standing water and maintain contact with tarmac.
Aquaplaning is similar to driving in any loss of traction situation, like slipping on ice or snow. If there is a low grip driving skills facility near you, then recommend a 30 minute lesson to feel what it is like.
Have driven front and mid engined cars in fwd, rwd and 4x4 configurations. Principles for control and driver's defensive approach to conditions remain the same regardless of car.
vonhosen said:
.................It depends.
There's aquaplaning, then there's AQUAPLANING!
Exactly this.There's aquaplaning, then there's AQUAPLANING!
Which wheels are aquaplaning? One side, all four?
Are you in a bend (
Good luck!)The most common example is curbside pools; How long will they keep you out of traction on the side of the kerb (Assuming left, for obvious reasons) - If you hit a long puddle at high speed, the decelleration could drag you over; Usually a dab of steering to the right will keep you on the straight, but bear in mind, when you come out of the puddle, both wheels will be steering again:- the loss of grip is usually complete and instantaneous; and will instantly return. If you slam on a full lock whilst the wheels have no grip, as soon as they grab again, you'll get all that steering instantly, which won't usually end well - Try it on a damp roundabout; some nice FWD Understeer aquaplane will demonstrate this perfectly. - Make it a large roundabout, and be ready with this face:
If you hit a large puddle of standing water (On the straight) and you haven't slowed, It'll feel like you've slammed on the brakes - There will also be no traction. You're in for the ride in this case; Just keep it straight and level, and maintain your inputs, or only change them very gradually and you'll be fine.
This video is a fine example of that; Yours truly coming to a nice large puddle at 50, after a big ol' observation fail -
https://youtu.be/zKMsZlWdz4o
Somehow I managed not to write off my Passat a number of years ago. Young and stupid, summer tyres in the piddlin down rain. Back B road, 80mph. 50 feet of water. Skimmed right over the top. Car went light, just kept my foot in the same, and slowly managed somehow to slingshot across the inside of both approaching apexes and out the other side. Needless to say my passenger had to stop and get sick. Now I use proper winter tyres and always try and read the road ahead.
mercedeslimos said:
Somehow I managed not to write off my Passat a number of years ago. Young and stupid, summer tyres in the piddlin down rain. Back B road, 80mph. 50 feet of water. Skimmed right over the top. Car went light, just kept my foot in the same, and slowly managed somehow to slingshot across the inside of both approaching apexes and out the other side. Needless to say my passenger had to stop and get sick. Now I use proper winter tyres and always try and read the road ahead.
If the tread depth is OK, and it is summer, decent summer tyres should cope with aquaplaning.The greatest danger is that driving in a straight line, you may well not feel anything. This was very clear in the days when cross-ply tyres were being replaced by radials. With radials, we started experiencing the steering pulling when one side of the car went through a large puddle. While the cross-ply aquaplaned over the water, the radial did its job of pumping the water away and generated a drag load in the process.
In fact, as it's already been pointed out, pulling of the steering due to puddles is a warning that the tyres are working hard and aquaplaning is likely and it's time to gently lift off the throttle. When the water is more uniform over the road surface, driving in a straight line, with no steering input, you may feel nothing. If the car feels 'light' to small inputs or if the engine revs rise, like a slipping clutch, you are aquaplaning.
In fact, as it's already been pointed out, pulling of the steering due to puddles is a warning that the tyres are working hard and aquaplaning is likely and it's time to gently lift off the throttle. When the water is more uniform over the road surface, driving in a straight line, with no steering input, you may feel nothing. If the car feels 'light' to small inputs or if the engine revs rise, like a slipping clutch, you are aquaplaning.
Take your feet off everything, just steer. No sudden movements or harsh inputs, just little bits of steering to try and keep car going vaguely in direction you want.
On motorway, make sure you don't sit alongside people, that way if you drift 1/2 lane either way when aquaplaning it shouldn't matter.
On motorway, make sure you don't sit alongside people, that way if you drift 1/2 lane either way when aquaplaning it shouldn't matter.
Edited by IT1GTR on Thursday 13th December 10:21
mac96 said:
Some good advice already, to which I would add:Don't rely on the legal minimum tread depth.
Good advice - I had an epic drive over the Peak District last week in some fairly evil conditions. I have Uniroyal Rainsport 3 on all four corners, but the fronts are down to about 2.5mm.On one rather undulating stretch of B road, I saw what looked like a bit of a puddle across the road - turned out to be wider, longer and more importantly, deeper than I first thought. Normally, it wouldn't have troubled the Rainsports, but I found myself with no steering for a couple of seconds as the worn (but still very legal) tread failed to shift enough water.
For what its worth, new Rainsports are utterly amazing in standing water - best wet tyre I've ever driven on by quite a margin
Back to the OP's question, I'm not convinced that engine configuration and driven wheels is going to make much difference to the onset of aquaplaning, but I agree that the different configurations might make a lot of difference to the outcome. I would much rather hit a stream of water across a motorway while "pressing on" in a FWD car than a RWD - FWD cars seem less prone to rotating when traction is lost (possibly because drive is also lost, whereas in a RWD car, the fronts will lose all grip while the rears are still driving)
best thing to do to avoid "aqua planing" is not to do it in the first place
observe further ahead, drive to the conditions, keep a min of 4 seconds gap between you and car in front, watch how vehicle in front is cutting through any standing water, make sure you don't run your tyres too low.
the "experts" suggest you think of changing your tyres when they are down to about 3mm, you are then displacing nearly half as much as a tyre at just over 1.6mm
Once aquaplaning ....Don't brake! the weight transfer will throw the weight of the car onto the front wheels, if you are turning you could cause a spin ( you could argue then that when spinning the best thing to do would be full emergency braking so when you hit something you are going slower)
When you see standing water your best bet is check your mirrors (how close is vehicle behind you?) lift gently off gas pedal, so weight transference is gradual onto front wheels, therefore allowing better grip and reducing the "bow wave effect), try to keep car as straight as possible. Holding the wheel correctly at either 10 to 2 or a 1/4 to 3 helps.....then when you hit the standing water you are giving yourself the best chance of not getting it wrong
You know when you have aquaplaned with both fronts as the steering may go very light for a moment, but time stands still, your ring will grip the seat like a vice, your heart starts beating at 200+ beats a minute.
When the nearside front hits a deep puddle, and the wheel is grabbed you should look back at the incident and say "Maybe I could have driven around it?" "maybe I could have gone through slower?" "How deep is the puddle?" " Could I also rip off a front wheel ?" "What is in the water I can't see?"
It is us that puts the vehicle in the positions that make us loose control, it is never the vehicles fault, or the road surface,or the weather, us, if we don't take chances, we make less errors
There is a road near me that when it rains heavily the water runs across the road, then further down runs back, it always amazes me how many people manage to hit it so fast causing the car to "twitch", huge wave, one day I am sure I will see someone loose it
observe further ahead, drive to the conditions, keep a min of 4 seconds gap between you and car in front, watch how vehicle in front is cutting through any standing water, make sure you don't run your tyres too low.
the "experts" suggest you think of changing your tyres when they are down to about 3mm, you are then displacing nearly half as much as a tyre at just over 1.6mm
Once aquaplaning ....Don't brake! the weight transfer will throw the weight of the car onto the front wheels, if you are turning you could cause a spin ( you could argue then that when spinning the best thing to do would be full emergency braking so when you hit something you are going slower)
When you see standing water your best bet is check your mirrors (how close is vehicle behind you?) lift gently off gas pedal, so weight transference is gradual onto front wheels, therefore allowing better grip and reducing the "bow wave effect), try to keep car as straight as possible. Holding the wheel correctly at either 10 to 2 or a 1/4 to 3 helps.....then when you hit the standing water you are giving yourself the best chance of not getting it wrong
You know when you have aquaplaned with both fronts as the steering may go very light for a moment, but time stands still, your ring will grip the seat like a vice, your heart starts beating at 200+ beats a minute.
When the nearside front hits a deep puddle, and the wheel is grabbed you should look back at the incident and say "Maybe I could have driven around it?" "maybe I could have gone through slower?" "How deep is the puddle?" " Could I also rip off a front wheel ?" "What is in the water I can't see?"
It is us that puts the vehicle in the positions that make us loose control, it is never the vehicles fault, or the road surface,or the weather, us, if we don't take chances, we make less errors
There is a road near me that when it rains heavily the water runs across the road, then further down runs back, it always amazes me how many people manage to hit it so fast causing the car to "twitch", huge wave, one day I am sure I will see someone loose it
IT1GTR said:
Take your feet off everything, just steer. No sudden movements or harsh inputs, just little bits of steering to try and keep car going vaguely in direction you want.
On motorway, make sure you don't sit alongside people, that way if you drift 1/2 lane either way when aquaplaning it shouldn't matter.
Taking your feet off is a sudden movement, it's engine braking.On motorway, make sure you don't sit alongside people, that way if you drift 1/2 lane either way when aquaplaning it shouldn't matter.
Edited by IT1GTR on Thursday 13th December 10:21
The best thing is to either hold the throttle steady or ease off until you regain grip, If the front wheels are allowed to drop below the speed your actually travelling at, then when you regain grip the car will suddenly shift a pile of weight to the front wheels, which could result in lift off oversteer and most likely a crash.
lyonspride said:
Taking your feet off is a sudden movement, it's engine braking.
Agree with this, in that any changes to the state of the vehicle will not be applied until traction is regained. - You want the car to regain traction exactly as it left, as that is the smoothest transfer; An extreme wexample, such as slamming on and locking the wheels whilst out of traction would have no effect - Until traction is regained, and all four wheels are locked throwing the weight and leading into a skid.Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff