Water crossings

[cynicwanderer]

my rule is, if you can't see the bottom (or rocks), go slow. other than that, make sure all of you connectors are the sealing type and they are fully inserted (check every prep). all high voltage circuit have to be sealed, even a little water will cause problems there. make sure there is a drain in your airbox, in case your get a bunch of water in your intake. intake should be as high as possible. vent tubes in your diff and transmission should be as high as possible, otherwise water gets sucked in when you diff/transmission shock cools due to cold water and the air/oil contracts, water from creeks and stuff is likely to have suspended sand/silt in it and will cause problems inside your diff/transmission.

 

[51rcr]

if its shallow and everything is water proofed hit it as long as hydroplaning wont sent ya into a tree or rocks. if its deep or ya dont know how deep you better start slow and push the wave.

 

[dhjeepgeek]

Its funny how everyone who hasn't been there thinks Baja is all dry desert. But we always find water. I Guerrilla tape the buggy around the front to keep water out. I leave the back open to let the water out. But I do slow down for it to keep it off of us. Just moving fast can suck if you are all wet. Also some water isn't just water in Baja. Its Poop. Chit creeks. That you wont have to worry about in the Silver state 300.

 

[Wendell #527]

Also some water isn't just water in Baja. Its Poop. Chit creeks .

We knew we were in trouble in the Baja 500 leaving Ensenada and saw diapers floating in the pond we blasted through. Man I still remember the stink like it was last week.

 

[TaylorAnderson31]

Norra 18 we stopped before a crossing, co-driver was on his way out to see how deep it was then a class 1ish car with a Porsche 914 body just shot across it, so I thought GO. Well as luck would have it right before the end of the water there was a 4-5' deep hole dug from the other vehicles. And the Porsche had a skid plate that must have been much bigger than ours. Vapor locked it in the water. We got a tow out and had to clear the plugs and dry the filter, 1.5 hour delay.. Im very cautious now with any water..

 

[jon coleman]

a little tip just remembered, after all your killer prep, just short of blasting your slick intake system ,i would take a hose and blast eng .while running, fans on, lights, every thing, no problems, good to go.( of course, Everything works great testing...)

 

[dhjeepgeek]

Norra 18 we stopped before a crossing, co-driver was on his way out to see how deep it was then a class 1ish car with a Porsche 914 body just shot across it, so I thought GO. Well as luck would have it right before the end of the water there was a 4-5' deep hole dug from the other vehicles. And the Porsche had a skid plate that must have been much bigger than ours. Vapor locked it in the water. We got a tow out and had to clear the plugs and dry the filter, 1.5 hour delay.. I'm very cautious now with any water..

That hole was deep. I went in and slowed down before it came in the windshield opening. Tom Birds Porsche class 5 car also has the engine in the rear, like most all buggies. So water isn't as much of an issue for us.

 

[LantanaTX]

That hole was deep. I went in and slowed down before it came in the windshield opening. Tom Birds Porsche class 5 car also has the engine in the rear, like most all buggies. So water isn't as much of an issue for us.

That hole is the picture I posted above of my yellow submarine. I pinned it and made it across.

 

[havahockey]

Kyle charged into that same crossing in 2018 ss300 locked up the tt motor and that was 50 gs down the river. He went slow this year in the 6100 that worked out better

Guess he's still remembers last year.

 

[jon coleman]

u numba one picture taker...

 

[One-Eyed Peter]

In addition to proper prep, some of it just comes down to car design.

 

[Honda48X]

Actually the plan would be to jump the water crossing. Come on guys.

 

[Ol' Curmudgeon]

 

[51rcr]

In addition to proper prep, some of it just comes down to car design.

View attachment 201747

Reminds me of back when TV was looking for and putting up all kinds of sports. even they had the class 11s (stockish jeeps with snorkels) that were fun to watch to see if they could just makeit.

 

[One-Eyed Peter]

Reminds me of back when TV was looking for and putting up all kinds of sports. even they had the class 11s (stockish jeeps with snorkels) that were fun to watch to see if they could just makeit.

Exactly! Back then you never knew what you might see on SpeedWorld

 

[Radiobirdman32]

I was serious about the water temp! Have you ever crossed cold water at night in November and been shivering all night? It could end your race.

VWs have trouble in water because the spark plugs are pretty low. I know because I’ve thrown away a race that way.

Is the back of your dash sealed? Where is your ECU in relation to the water level?

There are a lot of reasons why I’ve always gone slow.

Not only that, but when you get VW powered cars in deep the pulley/fan belt throws water all over the distributor. We used to hook vacuum lines to the distributors when crossing to suck out any water that got by our silicone/zip tie cap......009 dist. which are centrifugal.

 

[Ol' Curmudgeon]

Exactly! Back then you never knew what you might see the USA Network from Diamond P Sports

FIFY!

 

[pappawheely]

Kyle charged into that same crossing in 2018 ss300 locked up the tt motor and that was 50 gs down the river. He went slow this year in the 6100 that worked out better

I mentioned that in one of my articles. https://www.offroadxtreme.com/event...kes-and-high-speeds-at-bitd-silver-state-300/ It was a lot deeper in 2018.

 

[M_Solms]

I think good prep and some restraint make a good combination.

 

[Steve Marolda]

This is easy. The winner is usally one of the guys that finish and nobody as ever DNF'd from going too slow. The old timers had a saying... You gotta go just slow enough to win. Or something like that.