do you keep the throttle on and let th dsc work or do you back off? This would be water no deeper than 2 inches.

 

just enter the water straight and exit it straight, no wheel turning, and you should be good.

It's when you start to turn while going thru standing water that things get messy...

 

^^^^

I believe the word you're looking for there is _fun_, not _messy.

You're welcome.

 

I think you are supposed to floor it before you get to the water, then abruptly turn the wheel to either the left or right and mash the brake to the floor. Weeeeeee

Seriously, take your foot off the gas pedal before hitting the puddle and guide the car in a straight line through the water. Do not apply brakes, that will cause a condition known as hydroplanning.

 

So how deep of a pool or stream of water can the MINI handle? I just wonder because winter is coming and we have a problem with water on the road here in the winter. Several inches....

 

I wouldn't drive in water that's any deeper than the door sills, then water might come inside.

 

there is also a problem with water getting sucked into the engine-BMWs have really really low intakes and im not sure about the mini. Besides puddle splashing I wouldnt ford any oceans

 

Factory stock BMW should not have any problem driving through water. However, when any car is modded with a CAI, it can have problems with puddles. Why? Because a CAI is typically installed in the front fender and when you splash through puddles, the water splashes onto your air filter. In this situation, beware of hydrolock.

 

Hydrolock is my biggest fear this winter!

 

There is also the power steering cooling fan to think about before driving into deep water. 2" shouldn't be a problem. I don't know if driving through water deep enough to submerge the fan would damage it but I wouldn't want to take a chance.

Hitting your brakes while driving through a puddle won't cause hydroplaning, but it might just kick in your ABS. Speed and the condition of your tires determines hydroplaning - the water doesn't have to be deep to hydroplane with bald tires.

 

See
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ock+deep+water
It is risky to drive quickly through a deep puddle. If you are not familar with streets and see a very large puddle you don't really know how deep it really is and should avoid it or drive slowly after you observe others first.

About 10-12 inches might be the max depth to attempt but my lowered MINI probably would not survive the trip. I go around deadly puddles.

Once the water enters the intake it may go to the engine and cause serious trouble.

 

It isn't as bad as it sounds. If you do stall out in water, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RESTART THE ENGINE! This is what causes hydrolocking, because the starter will try to compress water, and that is not possible in an engine.

Steps to take if you suspect a hydrolock:

1. Take out key
2. Pull fuel pump fuse
3. Pull spark plugs
4. Pull air filter
5. Check the TB for standing water, dry as necessary.
6. Crank the engine over without the spark plugs. If you did swallow some water, it will now start squirting out in a wildly humorous rendition of the Bellagio fountain show.
7. After all the water has been expelled, put back the CLEANED spark plugs.
8. Install new air filter
9. Stark engine as normal.

or

1. Crank engine
2. Have new engine installed thanks to Mr. insurance company.

I have hydrolocked another one of my vehicles and was able to drive home after doing the above steps, plus drying out a few electrical connections. The ride home was interesting, though. The windshield wipers refused to turn off . The power seats survived being submerged, though!

 

When Gaston flooded Richmond, VA a couple of months ago I drove through some very deep water trying to get home. I am not sure exactly how deep it was but I had water going over the headlights, so probably 18 plus inches. The engine stalled out and I just let it coast/float through the highest water then restarted the engine.

My buddy falling behind me in an Acura Legend had the same problem and a cop in a Crown Vic next to me just barely limped through.

 

Heck, just inflate some extra "air bags" for some float power and you might do OK in up to 20" of water.

Did some water leak in through the doors?

Glad you did OK, that would be too risky for me to attempt
but if there is not other way home I guess you have to take some chances.

A good 4x4 MINI would be handy in a flood zone. Not sure that it could corner all that well but 2 feet of water would be a breeze.

 

It's been raining here hard for days.Today I hit a puddle,small lake,not very deep,couple of inches,but over 50 feet long.I was going about 40mph when I hit it in the dark,and very rapidly slowed,down shifted,and plowed through it.
Everything was okay,and the MINI pulled through it fine.Now I know that road well,flat and level,but the ditch must have been plugged up.Looked like wet road to me.My brakes were soaked and when I tried them,they didn't do much,so I drove a bit with my foot on the brake to dry them,then they were fine.

 

Hehe thats neat.

No water leaked through the doors they were completly water tight.

If I had known how deep the water was I would have not gone through it but the power was out all over and I could not even see the water till I was on it.

 

What happened that caused the concern is standing water on an interstate bridge. I had a car behind me and was doing about 60. I knew the water was only 1- 2 inches at the very most but that is plenty for hydro. With the DSC I thought I might be better off just staying with my current RPM but really had not had any experience at this speed with water. Tires have less than 3000.

 

In the long term test of a Mini, Road and Track had an engine hydolock and the Mini engine going thru several inches of water. This was a stock S intake.

In this months Road and Tarck, a reader wrote his dad was driving thru a heavy rain and drove uner an overpass with about 6" of water in it and upon exisitng a car drove by him splashing water on the hood and the engine stalled and wouldn't restart . Cost $14,000 to repair.

His dad's Mini dealer had 7 over hydrolocked Minis came in the same day !

Does anyone suppose Mini is developing a fix for this?

 

"Less than a foot" was what the article said, as I recall.

Intake air comes in from two directions in the stock S. (Not sure about the Cooper.) There's a tube that takes air from just above the radiator to the airbox, and a hole, about an inch in diameter, that leads from the driver's side cowl vent to the airbox. I wonder which way the water came in on R&T's car.

Is there any sort of drain hole in the bottom of the airbox? If there isn't, would drilling one help?

 

I was poking around on my 06 when doing the oil change and noticed that the air intake coming from the front by the radiator has a long tube coming down from it, which I assumed was some sort of water drain.

 

I remember your reference to the long term test and also saw this months letter to the editor in R&T...

Is this really something I should be concerned with? 7 hydrolocked Minis in the same day seems hard to believe. Is this a common occourance?

 

Or you could do this...

Discussed in this thread.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ighlight=Idiot

 

MC have a intake resonance chamber low in the drivers side fender. Water can get ingested from this chamber and cause hydrolock. MCS does not have this.

Beware...

ken