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As I kid I rode along as my neighbor drove his pickup truck up to the headlights through a flood in order to save some animals from drowning. If the truck had a

As I kid I rode along as my neighbor drove his pickup truck up to the headlights through a flood in order to save some animals from drowning. If the truck had a stalled we probably would've been pushed off the road and ended up heading down the river. Electric cars have to do better than this.

bombcar 3y ago
What they don’t tell you about vehicles designed to do this (a deuce and a half can go almost submerged with the right snorkel kit) is that you get to replace the grease in basically every seal afterwards.
- willcipriano 3y ago
  It wasn't designed for it. A f150 I think. He had it for years after that.
barbazoo 3y ago
Apples and oranges. An EV truck maybe but an ICE sedan wouldn’t have made through the puddle either probably.
batch12 3y ago
Gotta be careful with this. Many vehicles have to be modified so the exhaust is higher, electric, etc. Also, I've always heard that cold water on a hot engine block can cause cracks, but not sure how true that is. Most cars can't ford water like this.
- singleshot_ 3y ago
  There’s more: Your differential probably has a vent. If you get your axles good and hot and then shock-cool them driving through a cold puddle, the air inside the diff may shrink and suck water in through the vent. Gear oil plus water equals a substance which will not lubricate your differential gear and unless you drain out the foamy oil/water soup, you’ll have Problems.
Kirby64 3y ago
Almost any car driven with water 'up to the headlights' is in extreme risk of getting hydrolocked by water getting into the air intake. If that happens, the motor is toast and needs to rebuilt for many thousands of dollars (easily 10k+ for a new car). This isn't any different, in my view.
- willcipriano 3y ago
  Four horses and a few dogs would've drown if we hadn't gotten them to higher ground. Worth trading a old truck for, and it was fine in the end.
  - anthomtb 3y ago
    > If the truck had a stalled we probably would've been pushed off the road and ended up heading down the river Sounds like a lot more than an old truck was at risk there.
    - willcipriano 3y ago
      Sure. I'm not advising anyone do this of course. I feel like heavy rains are a solvable problem for EVs, its probably an easier problem for them to solve compared to ICE. I shared the story to show how sometimes vehicles need to exceed their design parameters, could've easily been people in danger there instead of animals.
      - ceejayoz 3y ago
        People were in danger there. People drown regularly driving into shallower water than "up to the headlights". That you made it out didn't mean it was safe; I'd be pretty mad if my neighbor risked my kid's life in this way to save some animals.
  - TheNewsIsHere 3y ago
    That was very compassionate of you and that guy. Respect.
  - 3y ago

bombcar 3y ago

What they don’t tell you about vehicles designed to do this (a deuce and a half can go almost submerged with the right snorkel kit) is that you get to replace the grease in basically every seal afterwards.

willcipriano 3y ago
It wasn't designed for it. A f150 I think. He had it for years after that.

barbazoo 3y ago

Apples and oranges. An EV truck maybe but an ICE sedan wouldn’t have made through the puddle either probably.

batch12 3y ago

Gotta be careful with this. Many vehicles have to be modified so the exhaust is higher, electric, etc. Also, I've always heard that cold water on a hot engine block can cause cracks, but not sure how true that is. Most cars can't ford water like this.

singleshot_ 3y ago
There’s more: Your differential probably has a vent. If you get your axles good and hot and then shock-cool them driving through a cold puddle, the air inside the diff may shrink and suck water in through the vent. Gear oil plus water equals a substance which will not lubricate your differential gear and unless you drain out the foamy oil/water soup, you’ll have Problems.

Kirby64 3y ago

Almost any car driven with water 'up to the headlights' is in extreme risk of getting hydrolocked by water getting into the air intake. If that happens, the motor is toast and needs to rebuilt for many thousands of dollars (easily 10k+ for a new car). This isn't any different, in my view.

willcipriano 3y ago
Four horses and a few dogs would've drown if we hadn't gotten them to higher ground. Worth trading a old truck for, and it was fine in the end.
- anthomtb 3y ago
  > If the truck had a stalled we probably would've been pushed off the road and ended up heading down the river Sounds like a lot more than an old truck was at risk there.
  - willcipriano 3y ago
    Sure. I'm not advising anyone do this of course. I feel like heavy rains are a solvable problem for EVs, its probably an easier problem for them to solve compared to ICE. I shared the story to show how sometimes vehicles need to exceed their design parameters, could've easily been people in danger there instead of animals.
    - ceejayoz 3y ago
      People were in danger there. People drown regularly driving into shallower water than "up to the headlights". That you made it out didn't mean it was safe; I'd be pretty mad if my neighbor risked my kid's life in this way to save some animals.
- TheNewsIsHere 3y ago
  That was very compassionate of you and that guy. Respect.
- 3y ago