AW #29529

i live in san diego and well it doesn't rain much here. but anyway...

so what are you supposed to do if you start hydroplaning?

Sia Bani

release the gas pedal, slow down until you have traction. No slamning of brakes, etc.

Ron O

With the Audi you would have to lose traction on 2 or 3 wheels to be in trouble..QUATRO

JDBlueAudiS4

And also you probably dont want to let off the Gas with quattro. Quattro can normally gas out of any situation you can get yourself into. My sales guy once told me, the quattro system is smarter then you at adjusting to the ground so let it do its thing you you keep it pointed in the right direction and you should be fine. I have lived by this for 4 years with 2 different audis and I have never had any problems.

sly1

<B>And also you probably dont want to let off the Gas with quattro.</B>

I have driven Audis with quattro thousands of miles in heavy rain and have never hydroplaned, but if I did I wouldn't keep my foot firmly planted to the gas pedal. I'd take my foot off the gas, and I believe virtually everyone would do the same instinctively. Losing traction regardless of the reason is a frightening thing, and to keep your foot planted on the gas pedal and trusting technology to get you out of the situation is asking a lot. This is especially true when you start sliding into an immovable object like a tree. Keep in mind that going from the road to off the road takes only a few feet, and you'll get there really quickly even at moderate speeds.

AlanL

Last January there was an Audi Car Club event at Thunderhill in the rain and during the last lapping session, a very nasty squall line came through the area. It turned out that the National Weather Service had issued a flash flood alert for it but we were unaware of it at the time. The shot shown here in the staging area was actually just before the heavy squall line hit:
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/14388/thill-silvers.jpg">

One part of the race course on a short straight (between turns 7 and 8 for those who know the course) at one point had about 1 - 2 inches of water flowing across it for a stretch about 20-30 feet long. On each lap we got to that spot, our cars hydroplaned and you could feel all sense of being connected to the pavement disappear until you reached exposed pavement on the other side. It was kind of interesting because we got a chance to repeatedly experience hydroplaning in a controlled environment as we continued lapping.

The trick to negotiating this situation is to make absolutely certain your front wheels are aimed exactly in the direction of the vehicle's travel so that you will be able to have some level of control when you reach the other side and connect with at least one wheel. If you try to maneuver your car, you will only make things worse because you could get sideways and then face the prospect of spinning the car when one of your wheels connects with the pavement again. Efforts to either brake or accelerate will only upset the balance of the car and again increase the odds of an accident when one or more of your tires connect with the pavement again.

Look in the direction your car is traveling - your natural tendancy is to steer where you are looking, so this will help you stay oriented to where you want to have your front wheels aimed when you connect again.

lionsfan54

I think that a system like Quatro only comes into play when you are applying power to the road.

If you are cruising along at 60 mph and start to hydroplane, it doesn't matter if you have 8 wheel drive.

Once this tires start to "ski" along the water the problem is with them (the tires).

The best defense against hydroplaning is a good set of tires, not any sort of drive system.

Anyone who tries to "power out of" a hydroplane situation (in most instances) is making a grave mistake. (IMHO).

Sia Bani

the gas down.

Sia Bani

Agreed. It's just physics. Like braking on Ice.

allensan

just slow down on a rainy day!!