BMW's in floods, WARNING!!!

BMW's in floods, WARNING!!!

Author
Discussion

HannsG

3,048 posts

135 months

Friday 27th December 2019
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Remember a flash flood on the M6 many moons ago and my 2003 reg 3.0i Z4 was fine.

It was surreal, it seemed the water could not drain fast enough and lapped the bonnet.

I currently have a brand new M140i and should I be concerned about this?

Jakg

3,478 posts

169 months

Friday 27th December 2019
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HannsG said:
Remember a flash flood on the M6 many moons ago and my 2003 reg 3.0i Z4 was fine.

It was surreal, it seemed the water could not drain fast enough and lapped the bonnet.

I currently have a brand new M140i and should I be concerned about this?
The air intake on a Z4 (E85 - so your old one) is around headlight height.

rallycross

12,834 posts

238 months

Saturday 28th December 2019
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Thesprucegoose said:
He’s got some great films on his channel - see what happens when they re-appropriate some aTesla batteries without the software to control the charging -

https://youtu.be/of01p0Q-yUM



DogLog

1,258 posts

267 months

Sunday 29th December 2019
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jamoor said:
Now that's a proper bow wave.

HM-2

12,467 posts

170 months

Sunday 29th December 2019
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HannsG said:
I currently have a brand new M140i and should I be concerned about this?
I wouldn't be. The M140i intake is fairly high up IIRC, around parallel with the middle of the kidney grille (left headlight IIRC)
When we had the floods a couple of months back I forded a couple of roads- probably up to the top of the front air dam- without issue.

Pica-Pica

13,877 posts

85 months

Sunday 29th December 2019
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DogLog said:
jamoor said:
Now that's a proper bow wave.
..and that’s a proper wading-trough test. (Although a large truck coming the other way would enhance the test).

can't remember

1,079 posts

129 months

Tuesday 16th June 2020
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I had to go through three flooded roads on the way home today. The only breakdown I saw was a BMW E90. Bad car design or maybe a driver too stupid to wait for other traffic to pass and change lane.

oliverjp

2 posts

66 months

Monday 26th July 2021
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My brother was giving me a hand in his Volvo Countryman, or some sort of Volvo that suggested it had some sort of country pedigree. I drove carefully in my BMW through deep puddles but when I checked in my mirror he seemed to be spraying water everywhere. I don't know if he was trying to keep up, trying to prove Volvos are better in deep water, oblivious or just not being cautious enough. Next day his car broke down with numerous issues. Mine was fine. I'm generally more concerned by the high pressures that can be caused at even quite low speed that could cause water to penetrate where it shouldn't so even an inch or two I would almost slow down to the same speed as deeper water.

Take watches as an example. It's recommended to have a watch that is waterproof to 200m (around 300PSI) for watersports and cars can go a lot faster than you ever will doing watersports.

Rich Boy Spanner

1,340 posts

131 months

Monday 26th July 2021
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The weather seem to be causing micro bursts and flash flooding more often now and people are getting caught out. I was on the M66 on Thursday evening, dry as a bone heatwave weather, 1.5 miles later I was on the M60 in a torrential downpour and it was flooded, 1st gear crawling. I exited at junction 17 staying to the right where it is shallower, BMW behind to the left had water up to the headlights - though it kept going. The UK needs a change of infrastructure, like storm drains.

av185

18,529 posts

128 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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Folks won't pay for better infrastructure based on low frequency and low possibility of storm events despite them becoming more frequent of late.

sim72

4,945 posts

135 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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THe design of some new motorways doesn't help either. I commute along the M6 and in heavy rain, the new smart section between J3A and just before J2 is appalling for spray, like it's not draining off at all. As soon as you hit the "old" road surface (just before J2 if travelling eastbound) it's almost like the spray has been switched off.

spaximus

4,238 posts

254 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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I was peaking with a guy who loos after drainage systems and he is saying it is caused by a few factors.

Rain is no heavier than it was before but we have built over a lot of land. Front gardens now paved over and flood plains built on so surface water goes into the system.

The drains are not maintained. Walk on any street and see how many drain covers are clear.

And finally the drains now have a lot more fat bergs in them which stop water going out quicker than it can come in.

We need to stop water companies and councils penny pinching and maintain what we have.

As for car designs, they are awful for where they put air intakes, it is simply not acceptable to have them low down ever

Condi

17,283 posts

172 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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av185 said:
Folks won't pay for better infrastructure based on low frequency and low possibility of storm events despite them becoming more frequent of late.
Or privatisation has ensure that billions of pounds have moved into investors pockets and not into the upkeep of sewerage systems. It's just not the right industry to be in private hands because there is no competition. If Severn Trent are doing a terrible job you can't buy your water from Scottish Water instead. It was a way of the government getting a lot of money into the Treasury at once, but to suggest it has "improved" things is nonsense.

Most of that water in London will have been mixed with raw sewage and discharged straight into the Thames. Disgusting for the people who live near it, and disgraceful environmental damage.

rickygolf83

290 posts

162 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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sim72 said:
THe design of some new motorways doesn't help either. I commute along the M6 and in heavy rain, the new smart section between J3A and just before J2 is appalling for spray, like it's not draining off at all. As soon as you hit the "old" road surface (just before J2 if travelling eastbound) it's almost like the spray has been switched off.
^^^ this 100%... drastically increases the risk of hydroplaning at motorway speed.

off_again

12,358 posts

235 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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saaby93 said:
Whats the wading depth of a BMW i3?
From the manual its 25cm (9.8 inches). Pretty good from what I see! And if its the Rex, the engine sits high but I dont know where the intake is, I suspect the wading depth for it is lower though.

CoolHands

18,745 posts

196 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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A prof of some uni was on the radio (bbc London with Eddie Nestor) and was creaming himself about how it was all global warming - going on and on about all sorts of crap. Never had rain like this until last 40 years; heat waves are now happening so frequently etc

No objective thought whatsoever.

So that’s a far easier way of dealing with the problem for all LAs and anyone else: it’s global warming wat did it, not us gov

swisstoni

17,080 posts

280 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
quotequote all
CoolHands said:
A prof of some uni was on the radio (bbc London with Eddie Nestor) and was creaming himself about how it was all global warming - going on and on about all sorts of crap. Never had rain like this until last 40 years; heat waves are now happening so frequently etc

No objective thought whatsoever.

So that’s a far easier way of dealing with the problem for all LAs and anyone else: it’s global warming wat did it, not us gov
It does seem like folk-memory is about 5 years now.

Frozen sea at Herne Bay 1963.


Drought of 1976

CoolHands

18,745 posts

196 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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swisstoni said:
It does seem like folk-memory is about 5 years now.

Frozen sea at Herne Bay 1963.


Drought of 1976
Imagine if that happened now. There would be no end of end-of-the-world is nigh global warmists poppycock!

They have no concept of time frames, that a hundred years doesn’t even register in terms of the age of the planet

swisstoni

17,080 posts

280 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
quotequote all
CoolHands said:
swisstoni said:
It does seem like folk-memory is about 5 years now.

Frozen sea at Herne Bay 1963.


Drought of 1976
Imagine if that happened now. There would be no end of end-of-the-world is nigh global warmists poppycock!

They have no concept of time frames, that a hundred years doesn’t even register in terms of the age of the planet
If it’s not on Insta it never happened hehe

Bill

52,918 posts

256 months

Tuesday 27th July 2021
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oliverjp said:
Take watches as an example. It's recommended to have a watch that is waterproof to 200m (around 300PSI) for watersports and cars can go a lot faster than you ever will doing watersports.
At 30m (which is the limit for normal diving) the pressure is 3x atmospheric, and then you wave your arms about the pressure ramps up rapidly. Driving through a puddle isn't really comparable.

ETA not to mention that an engine has a massive, high vacuum tube into the important inner workings.

Edited by Bill on Tuesday 27th July 21:07