I was driving home late last night from the airport...raining pretty good, visability not so good. Cruising at around 60mph and switch lanes to pass a slower car....and hit a mammoth puddle of water...I was kind of boxed in with a car to my right and nowhere to go.

So my two left side tires go straight into it....water goes flying over the top of the car...I was amazed at how stable the car was...not sure if the esp kicked in our not, or if it was the quattro...but the car stayed completely straight, online with no steering torque (I've owned allot of front drive cars, and diving into a big puddle like that can be an adventure!!).

Anyway, this was the first time I've had the awd in conditions where it was really needed...and I was really happy with the results.

It also looks like there might have been some crap in that puddle too, cause the plastice skid gaurd just behind the front left wheel got shreded, with some peices dangling around. I has been raining so much that I have not had a chance to check under the car to see if there is any more damage...hope not.

 

U just made my day.
Cuz I read a few post about B6 S4 + puddle of water = Blown engine. Maybe those guys really own a BMW & just hating cuz they cant play in the water or snow.

 

I think I read that post too....strange way to blow an engine...anyway I did't have any problems like that. Car syayed online and stable.

 

Not just here, I read a few from a C&D consumers report & Audiworld. Well I dont really drive my car in the rain, so im not gonna worry about it.

 

I was thinking blown engine too when I read the title.

Its not that strange of a way to blow an engine, its just that water gets pulled up the intake enough that when the engine hits the compression stroke, the piston tries to compress the water. Liquids do not generally compress, and thus the energy created from the other pistons has to go somewhere. The connecting rod is the weakest link in the system and it breaks, ravaging the inside of the block and/or cracking it.

 

Thanks for the explanation....that is just brutal....luckily it was not deeper than it was!!

 

best stay away from them puddles

 

It takes more than a puddle to blow a motor. Unless you consider a foot or more of water a puddle.

 

I think thats what they might be talking about. I know that down in Burbank, California, there is one sidestreet that litrealy turns into a small river/pool when it rains hard. I have a big 2002 Ford Diesel truck that I take down there, and the water is at least a foot deep (probably more) When you drive into the puddle at 40mph+, it will almost stop my huge truck in its tracks. Its pretty fun, actualy. If I tried to go trhough it with my car, I have no doubt in my mind that it would cause some SERIOUS damage.

 

Yeah...I'm talking about some pretty serious standing water...I guess I was really lucky...and not so deep that it got sucked in the intake.