We had an interesting experience driving from Brisbane to Canberra last week. Somewhere in NSW (can't remember exactly where, but I think it was between Armidale and Coonabarabran) we hit a flooded section of road - the roadside indicator showed the water to be around 40cm deep. Other cars (mostly 4WDs!) got through fine, and since driving back and finding an alternate route was going to take ages, I gave it a go. I maintained a constant, slow speed, making sure not to stop. Pretty scary stuff, but I'm happy to report that the GTI came through unscathed - not even a drop water in the door jambs! I guess it's a testament to VW's build quality and finish. I had no idea what would happen or if what I was doing was safe or not, never having driven through a flooded road before. What do you reckon... was I foolhardy, or just worried unnecessarily? Has anyone else had an experience like this in a Golf?
V
GTIs and flooded roads
- Thread starter Ferris
- Start date
Lima
Vorsprung durch technik
- Location
- Canberra, Australia
Fit a snorkel to that mofo Ferris!
iluvbrownale
White Lightning
- Location
- Woonona, NSW
LIMA- VW service centre don't appear to have a GTI-specific snorkel
Maybe APR makes one?
nah the APR one is shit. The Giac one is heaps better as you get local support,
tooraktrash
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Melbourne (not Toorak)
- Car(s)
- 2008 Golf GTI
DRMAT- that's good to hear. Everything seemed to work once I'd crossed the water, so I guessed it was OK
LIMA- VW service centre don't appear to have a GTI-specific snorkel
Maybe APR makes one?
Try one of these :biggrin:
TimT
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- East Bentleigh
just take 1 of the many aftermarket "filters on a stick" and rotate it to face upwards. Insta-snorkel! May need to cut a hole in your bonnet though
I would have 'walked' the road first...making sure that there were no wash-aways or oversized potholes. Very easy to do this with a long branch from a tree (or similar).
Last thing you want to find out is that the road has disappeared half way across your "40cm stream"
Last thing you want to find out is that the road has disappeared half way across your "40cm stream"
Lima
Vorsprung durch technik
- Location
- Canberra, Australia
(I agree) but they do it on TopGear all the time without checking and it never goes wrong! :lol:
gregozedobe
Battle scarred veteran
- Location
- Canberra, Australia
Excellent advice. If there is a significant crown on the road and/or banking doing that will also help you locate the shallowest (safest) part to drive through.
It also helps to know where your air intake is located. IIRC on some modern cars it is very low, with the result that the limit is only 20cm before risking the engine sucking in water instead of air. Unfortunately water isn't compressible, so if your engine ingests more than a very small quantity it could hydro-lock and bend/break something expensive (piston, rod, crankshaft).
If water gets into any of the myraid electronic control boxes it can also cause severe problems later as corrosion develops. This is why insurance companies often write-off cars that have been immersed in water, even though they may look good and currently appear to have no electrical problems.
I would be very reluctant to drive my Octy through deep water.