OMFG Aquaplaning on the M4

madalaa · 23 Sep 2015

alex yates said:
Can a 2CV do 70? :?

...... don't be silly ....... of course it can ......... down hill with the wind behind it ....... :floor:

nigel99 · 23 Sep 2015

DRZ911 said:
Blackporsche said:

the only way to get through without soiling my pants, is to be doing less than 50mph.

Click to expand...

I've only had my 997.2 for a week now. How do I get it to go less than 50mph?

Alex · 23 Sep 2015

nigel99 said:
I've only had my 997.2 for a week now. How do I get it to go less than 50mph?

keep it in 1st.

Diggermeister · 23 Sep 2015

mrgrey said:
Interesting that this has come up as I was thinking about aqua planning in 911s the other day.
I'm no expert in this but you think wide tyres would be better in the wet but do those really wide rear tyres become surfboards on surface water? I guess someone has done some research and reached a conclusion. So do 2CVs perform better in such situation OK an extreme example but you get what I mean.

Three factors will influence the tendency to aquaplane:
1. Weight; the lighter the car the greater the tendency
2. Tyre width; the wider the tyres (given we are comparing treaded, road tyres) the greater the tendency
3. Speed; increasing over roughly 50 mph will increase the tendency

Having done a track day in a tuned TVR Griffith 500, at Spa, on a wet day, I have the t-shirt. Rivage is aptly named.

angry · 23 Sep 2015

Re Tyres.
Over the years I've done loads of motorway driving in the wet (lots across Belgium/Germany) and experienced a lot of standing water.
I ran P zeros for several years and always had butt clenching moments in these situations, other than that I was a real fan of them.....

UNTIL! I bought a new set of Michelin PS2s..... They are in a different league!
You will be amazed. :thumb:

Its also worth noting that it is critical, especially on C2s of all years to have alignment done at least every year. IMHO and vast experience on the road this makes a BIG difference.
Do it guys, before winter :thumb:

david_yorkshire · 23 Sep 2015

Been there, done that, and wrote the car off....

997 C2S, with approx one month old Pilot Sport 2's all round - barely any wear.

Joined the A46 nr Coventry in wet / slushy conditions (end Nov), gradually pulled out into lane 3, traffic all around, so not hooning it - say 60-65.
Car snaps violently to the right, I am now heading for the armco.
Hit it hard (no idea if I was braking or not)
Pirouetted god knows how many times from lane 3 to hard shoulder, crossed that and hit a tree full on (I distinctly remember seeing the windscreen shatter, and the A pillar folding in towards me as all the airbags went off), the energy from the tree then sent me spinning back across the carriageway.
Car ended up across all three lanes pointing at the central res armco.
The car had also kindly turned off the stereo, put on the hazards and interior lights and unlocked the doors - so me and my passenger just opened the doors and walked out. Totally unhurt.
Cars stopped (obviously) and the drivers of the car s adjacent to us and in front came running back expecting to see corpses (so they said)
No one who saw the accident front, side, rear could explain it .
Police investigated couldn't find any reason really for it.
I went back (much) later on in the year - lane 3 at that point had about 5 times the water depth than lane 1&2 - it was the transition to the deeper water that did it coupled with the rotational acceleration of the car during the lane change.
PSM did nothing on that day
I'm a lot more circumspect in the wet now !

Mr Pub · 23 Sep 2015

That was a great looking car - glad you were ok.

I like driving on country roads in the wet as you can find the edge of grip levels at lowish speeds. In the dry you would be going too fast.

However heavy rain on a motorway scares me due to what happened to you and others. You can't see standing water until its too late and its unpredictable in depth on a motorway. Too easy to aquaplane with these big tyres.

Driving round the M25 in my 996 turbo some time ago after a thunderstorm I didn't have the balls to go above 65. I got overtaken by a white van who either had better grip or was just a bit more mental.

ragpicker · 23 Sep 2015

Mr Pub said:
Driving round the M25 in my 996 turbo some time ago after a thunderstorm I didn't have the balls to go above 65. I got overtaken by a white van who either had better grip or was just a bit more mental.

What is it with that? I often see people going miles quicker than I dare on wet dual carriageways. Surely they must feel the car being unstable underneath them?

I always thought everyone had much better control than me in the wet, or that they knew something I didn't.

Turns out they probably just haven't seen/experienced what we have :wink:

wasz · 23 Sep 2015

A heavier (loaded?) van on skinnier tyres than yours will find more grip in standing water.

Also the laws of physics don't apply to white van drivers.

Robertb · 23 Sep 2015

ragpicker said:
Mr Pub said:

Driving round the M25 in my 996 turbo some time ago after a thunderstorm I didn't have the balls to go above 65. I got overtaken by a white van who either had better grip or was just a bit more mental.

Click to expand...

What is it with that? I often see people going miles quicker than I dare on wet dual carriageways. Surely they must feel the car being unstable underneath them?

I always thought everyone had much better control than me in the wet, or that they knew something I didn't.

Turns out they probably just haven't seen/experienced what we have :wink:

I love people who in heavy rain or fog think "ha, I'll put my fog lights on, they'll help" and carry on at 85... :frustrated:

angry · 23 Sep 2015

:dont know: Never had a major problem. Ive done silly stuff over the years. I got airborne at 120 mph in Belgium on standing water a few times and although the car is clearly off the ground aquaplaning I just kept my foot in throttle steady and steering straight/correcting....Never had a big problem.

All I know is that the difference in makes of tyres for me was a big difference.
Also when I had geo set up, the car was ultra stable.
26 yrs of driving passion 15 in Rwd Porsches, never had a issue to end up writing off a car!!! :dont know:

Blackporsche · 27 Sep 2015

Woah that's grim and unfair. You were sensible and still suffered :-(. Scary first drive to work back in the rain. I was much more restrained. Briefly debated selling the 996 but that didn't last too long.

OMFG Aquaplaning on the M4

madalaa

Fuji

nigel99

Mexico City

Alex

Nordschleife

Diggermeister

Hockenheim

angry

Hockenheim

david_yorkshire

Spa-Francorchamps

Mr Pub

Nurburgring

ragpicker

Portimao

wasz

Paul Ricard

Robertb

Yas Marina

angry

Hockenheim

Blackporsche

Monza

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