Currently it's pouring here.. er.. was. I know there will be puddles panning across the road. My question to anyone with experience. How does the prius handle water? I read previously about a bad response. So.. post them here. How high of water have you been though. how good does it cut through water. Does it do good rooster tails.. lol.. any info is a plus.
I have driven in few puddles and been very supprised how well the Prius kept in a straight line. With my other cars they would pull to the left or the right.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(heliotropehead\";p=\"46051)</div> [Broken External Image]:http://www.adventure-sports.co.uk/images/15x10/Rooster-Tail.jpg
yeah.. that's a good rooster tail.. with a car it's two of them, and they come out the sides of the cars.. my lincoln Mark Vii used to make some awesome rooster tails. A good puddle splashing car. I never had a hydroplaining problem. I'm still looking for ideas of how deep of water though. We had some really good puddles today. Some spanned almost a block. I saw one car that stalled. I'm wondering if the prius has any defects or problems when it comes to puddle splashing. Ya know.. old VW bugs used to float.. does a prius float? hehe
I got my Prius in Ontario, CA last year. It started sprinkling as I drove out of the dealership and was raining buckets by the time I got on the freeway. I drove for two weeks in rain before I found out what it was like to drive on a dry road! It handles really well, in puddles in handles better than my old Explorer, but when passing trucks - especially at night - it's a bit scary. It's their rooster tails that cause the problem - blinding flying water and they really blow the car around. Just drive more slowly (easier said than done sometimes, I know) and don't tailgate and you should be fine.
Ah, but the question was "HOW deep?". I don't know but I wouldn't trust much more than ground clearance. And unless you get out and wade through it, how do you know how deep it is? We had a big T-storm this summer (so what's new?) and several cars and SUVs died in a 'puddle'. This particular road heads down to the lake but has a long "not shallow enough" depression partway down with no storm drain. It is visually very misleading. Apparently those in the know got out of the "only one way in" neighborhood by going through the city's Public Works parking lot which borders the road. The H2 has 18" 'fording' capability. I wonder how many die in "puddles" that turned out to be a lot deeper than the "I got me an H2, I can go through anything" driver thought.
Heh -- just don't go through a puddle in a Nissan 300Z! I had a friend do that a couple years back -- the turbocharger aspirated a huge amount of water from the puddle (intake just inside the front spoiler) and blew the whole engine. $7000 dollars later he had a replacement engine from a salvage yard... Peter+
Peter.. that is my worry, along with electronics. Has anyone heard of a prius shorting because of water splashing up and getting into areas it shouldn't? I would hope for it not to be a problem. I also wonder about the intake and water. Since water doesn't compress, it will just cause problems. ( like your friends 300z ) The reason most cars stall in puddles is because they can't drive. You can't slow down in a puddle. It's like a boat, you get a wave that build. When you stop, that little wave moves water higher under your car. Most of the time a few inches of this can flood a car. Especialy in the engine bay. Family logic is to just plow through it fast enough to push water away and not hydroplane. The other thing i worry about is the exhaust. So on that point, i would have to agree with ground clearance. Hmm.. ok.. i don't feel soo stuck in my prius now. If anyone has deep puddle stories, it would be appreciated. sorry for the long post.
Thats good question how deep is too deep? For my Prius, I wont drive through deeper than lowest point of front bumper. Because, engine compartment has too many electronic stuff...
