Reply With QuoteYou almost certainly did the right thing in not braking, although it is likely the ABS may have made the consequences not too bad. Aquaplaning becomes more likely as tyres increase in width, everything else being equal.
John
ChatterBox
Hi All,
Last weekend saw Brisbane receiving a massive downpour, especially the Saturday.
I was driving on a local motorway with my 15 year old son in the D4. The rain had eased a bit but there was quite a bit of water on the road. I was travelling at 100kph when I hit a sheet of water on the road. It looked no different to anything else I'd driven through that morning and as I was driving virtually straight (slight RH turn) was unconcerned. The road is fairly new and in very good condition.
That feeling of confidence was short lived when the D4 started aquaplaning, drifting sideways and then bit in ..... careening us off towards a concrete wall, whilst still sliding sideways.
Fairly uncool situation :-(
I'm not sure if I did the right thing or not for a car with this level of technology but I opted not to brake and to just steer.
The systems in the car went ballistic as I steered and counter steered (about three times) before getting the D4 under control. You could feel/hear 'stuff' going on in the car and it pretty quickly got things back in control, with each swerve being greatly reduced in aggressiveness.
If somebody had been next to me, I would have hit them for sure, had I been a little less lucky I would have 'kissed' the concrete wall (which we came very close to giving a deflective blow). I was also terrified the car would bite in and roll.
All in all, I was pretty impressed with how well mannered the car stayed but it was a terrifying experience.
On the funny side....my son asks me mid slide...just after I (with car's assistance) had missed the concrete and was now swerving the other way..."if we were going to be alright"......god love him.....LOL!!! I actually managed to stay calm and answer, mid counter steer "yup, I think we're going to be OK"!
I actually felt OK after the first swerve, as I could feel the Disco pulling itself back into line.
I'm running 19" Scorpion ATRs...front are brand new, rears about 50%. I do remember somebody on this forum mention an aquaplane at speed with ATRs on....which does cause me concern....but it's only happened once in three years.
Did I do the right thing regarding not braking?
Anyway...I've driven the road a few times since then and there does appear a bit of discoloration on the road...so maybe there is a little bit of oil there. Hopefully, it won't be repeated.
Cheers,
Kev.
RoverLord
You almost certainly did the right thing in not braking, although it is likely the ABS may have made the consequences not too bad. Aquaplaning becomes more likely as tyres increase in width, everything else being equal.
John
John
JDNSW
1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol
Moderator
FWIW.
On my D2 I've found the Scorpions to be excellent, except when I was playing silly buggers and went through a large sheet of water.
What I found was that it was far deeper than I expected, more like a large puddle.
With half of the car aquaplaning and the other half sticking to the road it made for...well...lets say an interesting experience
And yes, definitely correct to not brake.
The Phantom - Oslo Blue 2001 Td5 SE.
Half dead but will live again!
Nina - Chawton White 2003 Td5 S
Slowly being improved
Originally Posted by Judo
I was in a massive downpour doing 100km/h....
There's the contributing factor right there!
Glad you're both ok, glad it didn't turn bad...
Pretty interesting technology though...
Swaggie
I shuffled my aquaplaning D4 with barely worn Pirelli ATRs into the adjoining lane at 100 kph after having just sneaked past a slightly slower vehicle towing a large van rather than try to stay in my lane. The 255/60-19 Pirellis are wide and flat but also have stability joins between blocks that are half depth so the tyres don't clear lots of water too well.
MY21.5 L405 D350 Vogue SE with 19s. Produce LLAMS for LR/RR, Jeep GC/Dodge Ram
VK2HFG and APRS W1 digi, RTK base station using LoRa
Master
If you get caught out with aquaplaning the basic idea is to limit any inputs that may unsettle the vehicle once grip returns. Ease off the throttle, nothing drastic on the wheel or brakes, wait.
Generally it will all come back and all you might have to do is change your underwear.
However, if you start to rotate or get really sideways forget all the advice about steering into skids or anything advanced. You may as well accept it is gone, firm hands on the wheel, push the brake pedal to the floor, wait.
Hopefully you don't hit anything hard.
On the road you have to be realistic about your attention levels, ability and vehicle capability.
Rule No1: If you can't see the road surface, slow down.
Rule No2: Read rule No1.
Any car/truck/bike/trailer can aquaplane, although I have found the D3 to be pretty planted even with M/T tyres fitted, relatively narrow tyres and weight probably assists.
In comparison, my daily drive runs tyres almost as wide as the D3 but is under 800kg, in the wet it is a handful to the point that if it looks like heavy rain I leave it at home.
Wizard
Agree with most of the above, probably best not to dive on the brakes if you have any measure of control left, although the clever stuff in the car can probably sort that out as well. But as above if you have already lost control you probably haven't got anything to lose by planting the foot on the brake and hoping for the best.
I was trying to merge where two multi Lane 80 kmh roads meet the other day in the wet and looked over my shoulder to the right to check the merge and by the time I looked back all the traffic in all the lanes I had options in had stopped in front of me. I thought it was all over but with nowhere to go I just two footed the brake pedal the juddering and carrying on by the traction gear had to be experienced to be believed but somehow I managed to stop bullbar about and inch shy of an Aston Martini
Master
I was told once of you start going sideways in an aquaplane, floor it. And. be prepared for a kick. Served me well in my early twentys in a vp commodore
ChatterBox
I think the had "eased a bit" was an important factor....
ChatterBox
It's been a very, very surefooted truck for the three and a half years I've had it....in fact almost four.
I've driven lots of vehicles in my 50 years, through lots of conditions, so whilst no expert, I'm no Nuff Nuff either when it comes to driving.....and whilst the D4 is certainly not the highest performance vehicle, it's probably one of the most sure footed I've ever driven in the wet....so was a little surprised....actually, taken completely by surprise when this happened.
A lane width away from the concrete wall that I was aiming at, sort of ruled out not steering...braking was optional but was concerned about adding another computation to the calculations the car was already working out (aquaplane or 3 ton slide). Older car....I'd never touch the brakes...in this car, under different circumstances....hell yeah....stomp hard.....LOL!!!
Anyway...
Cheers,
Kev.
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