Experienced Aquaplaning! Attention...
 

I've just experienced an aquaplanning and want to share this. I've never trusted my driving but I did for my X5. I was driving at 140-150kmh in a very rainy day, while passing a bus I had saw the water accumulation. I had just braked (just touch it), and loose the control. I did not understand that, whether car is come to line with electronically or I made it. But after this I will never trust it again. I scared much. I own 2008 3.0 sd, in sport pack and 214"'s with 315/30 tyre's. Please be careful about this.

You only have to look at the width of the 214's tyres to know aquaplanning will be a problem, any sensible driver would drive according to the conditions, meaning in heavy rain or standing water slow down so as to let the tyres drainage drain the water as they should and the more tyre wear you have the slower you should go as the draiage channels will be reduced drematicly.

If you want to go fast in rain or snow, put some 205 / 18 M&S tyres on that are designed for the job then you would not have the ultimate handling due to their knobly tread patten.

As they say "its horses for courses".

Sorry, but I'll be the first to state the obvious.....

WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ?? Driving at 140-150kmh on a VERY RAINY DAY, passing a buss......

You will either get killed, or kill someone driving like that in those conditions.......

The fact that you came out of it ok, is lucky for you......

SLOW DOWN !!! IT"S RAINING !!!!!

OMG! You buy a vehicle like this and dont understand the basic principles of driving in the wet.
Your very lucky your X5 didnt mate with the bus in a pool of disaster my friend.

If its raining - slow down!!!!!
(idiot > under breath)

Thanks all.You're all right. I've been driving for 20 years,I know basic and advanced principles of driving too.I've been driving BMW for 5 years(3.20d,2006 x5 and 2008 x5.)Before them, I was driving Fiat Tipo 2.0ie. But, after driving BMW, I trusted car much more than myself. That is the problem. I've learnt my lesson very well.

FS990....

sorry if we appear harsh.... but what you wrote in laymans terms is just plain irresponsible driving.... A car can only do so much..... but it cannot perform miracles.... if you put a car, no matter how "good" it is, into crazy situations, you cannot trust it to save you every time....

In this case, I'd say the X5 has saved you from a serious crash, and, hopefully, given you a wake up call......

Drive Safely, stay alive, we'd hate to lose a member !!!

Have to agree with everyone here. That is almost 90 MPH, in dragster width tires, driving through visible standing water. You need to be careful.

My X5 is head and shoulders the best car I have ever owned for driving in the rain. It feels solid as a rock and I have yet to expereince any hydroplaning. The car can't defy physics though.

Living in an area that gets a fair amount of rain even with the best dynamics and handling the tires still need to be attached to the road for most of it to work.

What would be the "fastest" recommended speed for the 214 wheels with the Dunlop runflats to drive in rainy conditions?

I'm no expert with driving in the rain since I'm out in sunny California. In sedans with tires with less tire width. I've typically gone 60-70 with no problems. Would driving at these speeds be okay with a X5 with 214's?

Thanxs for the advice.

I would think there are far too many variables to be able to answer that question with any certain speed.

Kind of a subjective question. I probably wouldn't do more than 70 in normal rain and would reduce that speed considerably in torrential down pours and puddling conditions.

To the OP: I would not recommend hitting the brakes while going through a puddle. Slow up before you hit it, then take your foot off the brake and hold on.

Being quite familiar with hydroplaning, speed has a lot to do with it but a lot of the time there will be nothing to avoid planing. The WORST thing you can do is brake, this will cause you to lose all control of the car. What you generally want to do is just lay off the gas and keep the wheel as straight as possible and all should be ok. If you brake that will cause the side to side and slippage. There is nothing any electronic safety or suspension device can do about hydroplaning unfortunately.

as we've all learned from taking our driver's license test, go with the flow of traffic. On a rainy day, i've noticed that traffic is usually no faster than the posted speed limit (except for the one crazy yahoo with a deathwish) and on average, is about 5-10 mph slower than that. also, since we do live in sunny California and don't get that much rain, make sure to drive extra careful during the first rain as the roads are slicker than a normal rainy day because of all the oil that has accumulated.

Also wouldn't do more than 60-70 when raining, and only if it's a straight road. I've hydroplaned in another SUV before (Goodyear Eagles on 16s - never trusted those again). Scary is putting it lightly. Thankfully I ended up on a sandy/rocky platform instead of the concrete wall overpass I stopped just in front of - no lie. I had a friend who's sister died from hydroplaning. Not a fair way to go. Be careful in the rain.

I was riding in a VW Golf on the Autobahn at 230kph in a rainstorm, but the driver said "it's safe, the Autobahn drains well". It does, there weren't even the slightest hints that the car could hydroplane. Amazing. I was going 35mph in a downpour on a back road in South Carolina yesterday in a Miata and the car was all over the place!

Thanks for the tips.

I'll definitely be more careful. I'm pretty good in the rain with sedans. This will be my first performance SUV, so I'll just assume it's even more prone to hydroplaning than sedans and drive accordingly.

Unlike the OP, I was only going about 70 mph on TN I-40 when a somewhat heavy rain came along and suddenly a brief aquaplane/hydroplane.

I don't know whether to worry about that particular road (near Chattanooga) or the 2008 20" OEMs or the fact that already at 9K the thread looks like there is not many miles left.

don't blame the car !!! come on, driving 150km/h in heavy rain especially with 214 wheel???
this is simple as physics!!! , has nothing to do wheter the car is good or bad.

dead horse flogging in this thread!

:iagree:

Probably not "more prone" just because it's an suv...hydroplaning is an effect based on combo of several variables, including speed, amount of water, tread condition, and not least of all, tire width.

I have not experienced more, or less hydroplaning in the X, vs other cars.
It performs remarkably well in any condition, but common sense prevails.
GL,mD

I am driving for 37 years. 20 of those in Europe and American Midwest with PLENTY of rain, sleet and snow. First rule of the driving is: Adjust your driving based on the road conditions!

I've driven 130-140 MPH on the German/Austrian autobahns in the rain. If the road is well constructed, with a good drainage, you have good tires, there is no problem. If ANY of these parameters change, ......adjust your driving!

In the locales where road construction is less perfect (standing water on the pavement, like in Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey!), you WILL slow down the first time you experience hydroplaning, and the "lightness" of the front end. If you ever experience this, DO NOT TOUCH THE BRAKE. If you loose traction due to rain or snow, the car WILL continue in the straight line. If the road is straight too, you will not have a problem. Any input from you at this point, (steering. braking) is a recipe for a disaster. If you loose traction in the curve,......remember...the car WILL go straight!

Fortunately, the hydroplaning affects front wheels more than the rears (the fronts did remove some water before the rear got there!), and the natural reaction is to let off the gas as the car hits the water. This means that your car will grab to the pavement with the rear tires, and as the speed bleed off, the front will grip too. If you didn't do any steering or braking, and the vehicle still has all four wheels pointed in the same direction, you'll be OK.

All this happens in a fraction of the second, but this time can feel MUCH longer to the driver experiencing it for the first time.

Good luck.

Should one downshift?

nah I don't think so, downshifting makes the wheel spin i believe. Just hit the shifter to NEUTRAL- it's there for a reason

I disagree. Never shift to neutral when the car is moving. As you regain control, you may have the option to drive out of the problem. If you are in neutral you have given up that option. Basic accident avoidance.

so while skidding, you wouldn't hit it into neutral? so... just keep the wheel straight and no pedals.

Depends on the skid. On snow or ice, depending on speed, I would steer into the skid, modulate the throttle, and look for exit lane options. Aquaplaning, I wouldn't turn the steering wheel (because control will come back much more dramatically, upsetting the balance of the car if traction is regained while the wheels are turned). Let the car scrub off speed by itself, and control will return when the balance of water depth and behicle speed results in the tire regaining contact with the road.

Jumping in again, to this long, ongoing thread...
We have driven through the arms of hurricanes, horrible driving
rain storms, etc., over the course of 7 1/2 years, in our X. We
have hauled azz up and down the interstates in our Vette for 6+
years. We have driven across "lakes" on the interstates: none
of it was fun, but never once, in either car, have I felt out of
control, sideways or death defying. Both cars have "wide" tires
which exacerbate the situ, but both have remarkable "wheel
control" computers, too. And, our old X is AWD and the newer
Xs are X-Drive for crying out loud. Steer firmly, easy on the
gas, etc. This is not hard stuff, imo.

All this hydroplaning paranoia is overblown, imo. No expert driver
and no fool either, but I don't quite get the jumping up and down
over a common situ, on highways, when it rains and ponds...

> All this hydroplaning paranoia is overblown, imo.


It certainly is... until you personally experience it.

Did you read any of my post, other than the part you quoted?

:thud:

Yes.

There are techniques of driving in the snow (counter steering, braking, hand braking, throttle changes, downshifts), but we're talking hydroplaning (aquaplaning in Europe) here.

Again,....if you hit a standing water on the motorway, your tires WILL loose some traction no matter what. Depending on the tire depth, vehicle speed, and the amount of water, you might loose traction COMPLETELY for some time. The best thing to do is NOTHING. Hold the steering wheel steady, with no inputs, no clutching (on the manuals) ,....meaning no downshifting either, no brakes, and GENTLY let go of the throttle. That's a best "technique" I learned. We could argue until the "cows come home", but this is what I've been doing for several decades, on the roads all over the world. The fact that I'm typing this proves that it works! ;)

I learned to drive in the snow, on the frozen Minnesota lakes. Wide open, generally flat area, covered with snow, and sometimes a layer of water (at the end of snow season in March), on which one can practice without the fear of traffic, and loss of control. Driving on the frozen lake, will accurately teach you which input from you, has what effect on the direction of travel, and doing that every winter WILL teach you how to brake in the emergency, how to swerve around obstacles, and how to change the direction, by applying the right amount of steering or brakes (or handbrakes). Some moves are basic and constant on every vehicle, some change with the change of vehicle. Every time I bought a new vehicle, I would drive it on the lake at the first opportunity, to learn what it does in the snow.

Drove Audi Quatros back then, picked specifically for their AWD capability. They were great! However, X5 drive line is LIGHT years ahead of that 80s technology. I have no problem with the X in the snow, sleet and rain.

As far as driving on the lakes,.......some of you will probably scream foul, but that's what people that live by the large body of frozen water do! I grew up on the lake, and we (the locals) make a "short cut" across the lake to our homes. Even delivery trucks (UPS, Fedex) use it in the dead of the winter. The thickness of the ice in the peak season (January) is about 8-10 feet. There are sonars to check the thickness of the ice, and the oldtimers know just by observing the nature. Every year few people die from their vehicle braking through the ice (usually snowmobile drivers late in the season). So I am NOT advising anyone to travel to MN and try this, unless you have some local friends that can guide you.

I would love to do it for you guys (;) ), but I moved into the warmer climate over a decade ago!