Wading height

[Brockysuperb]

I had to drive through a lot of standing water last night including a couple of local fords which were higher than usual. New experience in my 'Super' Superb (170PS). Does anyone please know the maximum safe water height...or the height of air intake under the bonnet? Sometimes called the wading height. Can't find it anywhere. My 4x4 also had a safe driving speed through standing water - 12mph - which apparently pushed a wave ahead, but didn't flood back. May not exist for my car...but in case anyone knows please? One interesting finding is that then brakes recover much more quickly on the Superb...a quick dab to dry and they're fine after a dunking.

Edited 11 February, 2013 by Brockysuperb

[JamKart]

It's on page 185 of the manual & recommends no higher than the lower part of the sill...

===========

In order to avoid damage to the vehicle when driving through bodies of water (e.g.

flooded roads), observe the following:

> Determine the depth of the water when driving through bodies of water. The

water can reach at the maximum the web on the lower sill of the vehicle

> Drive no more than at walking speed. At a higher speed, a water wave can

form in front of the vehicle which can cause water to penetrate into the air induction

system of the engine or into other parts of the vehicle.

> Never let the vehicle stand in the water, never drive backwards and do not

switch off the engine.

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[Gizmo]

The air intake is at the top of the front grill, so not an issue providing you are not creating much of a bow wave, if the exhaust tail pipes get submerged then that could be a different story altogether as the engine will probably stall, keep the revs up and the speed down… or better still use a different route.

[Albervin]

<p><p>Regards the brakes. I noticed the brakes on my Superb are far less sensitive to water than my previous Audi. That car always needed regular dabs on the brakes in torrential weather to keep the brakes working. The Superb doesn't seem to need this extra input. Very important when driving fast in the wet! I usually test the water before driving through, not so much the depth as the flow rate. I have seen a car washed away in about 300 mm (12") of water because a; it was flowing a massive volume and b; the car wasn't travelling fast enough. It is important to realise that if the water is above the sill then you need to have good tyres, a bit of speed and a LOT of luck.

[lowedb]

many newer cars have a brake drying feature. They do the dabs on the brakes for you. Not sure how they work out if it's wet, maybe they do it all the time?

[Brockysuperb]

Thanks to all esp. JamKart. I'd been looking in the spec's section of the manual.