[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by grkonweb

What a misadventure it was! One dark night during Aug 2017, due to heavy downpour, my wife offered to drop our cook home. So off we went in her car - a 6 months old Tata Zest XT petrol in pouring rain on water logged roads. I was worried about water entering the exhaust pipe, so urged her to floor the pedal without any let up and we were through knee deep water. We made it without incident.

Thank you sir for sharing your valuable experience. Glad to know that your ordeal didn't last beyond your resilience and everything ended on a happy note. You have very well mentioned that one should avoid driving during rain unless absolutely necessary. Also duly agree with you that the monsoons are not romantic anymore as now a days it doesn't rain it pours!!! Due to upheaval in the global weather phenomenon, torrential rains have become new normal. As such an hour of heavy rain causes flash flood like situations, thus turning the roads into ragging torrents. The situation becomes specifically alarming when the water level reaches waist level and driving a car through this massive wall of water is quite perilous for the engine. Water entering the cylinder block through air intake can spell doom for the engine as it will lead to a situation called hydro static lock. Unlike air water cannot be compressed, so when it enters the cylinders the to and fro moving pistons are unable to compress it thereby leading to bending of connecting rods and the engine is doomed. Therefore one should be quite discreet while crossing through water logged areas and if the water level is above 2 feet one should avoid proceeding at all costs.

Regards

[grkonweb]

Originally Posted by Kishen.padiyar

I think if you had a towing rope you could have used your beast to pull the Zest out at daylight (Since I follow Hexa thread quite judiciously, I know you own a Hexa as well )

Oh my, you know what I own! Well, I took delivery of Hexa only on 2nd Sept, this incident happened during Aug 2017 and that I had a Xylo D4 though...but didn't have a tow rope. Will invest in a good one soon!

Our pain was not pulling out the vehicle, but the ensuing trouble after that one careless moment of the car driven on the side of the road and slipping in and all the ordeal of coming back home safe & sound.

[sumeethaldankar]

A well written account of your experience. I think you should have used the larger Xylo to drop the cook. It's always better to drive a vehicle with better ground clearance in water logged areas.

[arun27g]

Dr Saheb,

Seeking assistance via WhatsApp isn't the right way to go about. Please call. You will be rescued immediately.

Glad you are out.
Cheers. AG

[cogWheel]

Originally Posted by arun27g

Dr Saheb,

Seeking assistance via WhatsApp isn't the right way to go about. Please call. You will be rescued immediately.

Glad you are out.
Cheers. AG

He he he! So I was rescued by a T-BHPian after all! Perfect end to this story.
Thanks Buddy. You were the knight-in-armor for the Manza in distress. The team you sent over was great! Owe you big time.

Looks like this has lured you back to TBHP after a couple of years!

Originally Posted by cogWheel

It was then that I recalled that one of my school time friend is active in the offroading scene. He is now based in Chikmagalur but is closely connected to Mangalore. I figured he would know a thing or two about these situations. Sent him a WhatsApp message. He called me as soon as he saw it and just asked me if the car was still stuck. I said yes, and before I could say anything more, he said he will take care of it.

For the record, the friend who arranged for the rescue and recovery of my car is arun27g, a fellow T-BHPian. I did not know this at the time I sought his help. Just realized a while I ago.

[Amrik Singh]

All is well that ends well

There were many options that can be detailed now, but probably the time was against you.
In the situation described by you, you could not even see how deep the troubles were. Manpower help is unbeatable and always trustworthy but again it was raining ... night ... dark. In short, all the odds were against you.

Always keep a Tow rope that could have got you help from any passing Car

[bansal.sushant]

This might seem unaware on my part, consider this my lack of experience, can someone please explain how does reversing a car help in getting out of such situations? (As suggested by many).

[honeybee]

I once got my Nano stuck, with the rear wheel in a drainage whose cover broke as I drove over it.

Sorry to say, the rescue was over in two minutes with two good samaritans lifting the corner with their bare hands and me driving off onto terra firma.

[sudev]

Not a scientific explanation but the difference while reversing is akin to pulling or pushing load uphill. With center of gravity ahead of driven wheels makes for better traction. I guess now debate starts

[Sawyer]

Even on good roads, steep uphills on a front wheel drive car be a challenge because a combination of the incline plus the acceleration shifts the weight to the rear and unloads the front driven wheels which then spin at take off.

In reverse, the driven wheels get all the weight on them so if the conditions are not bad as to have them sink into the surface, this can save the day - if otherwise safe to drive in reverse.

Which is why even a 4x2 with rear wheel drive will cope much better in poor conditions. 4x4 is preferred of course, but a RWD 4x2 will fare a lot better than a FWD 4X2.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by sudev

Not a scientific explanation but the difference while reversing is akin to pulling or pushing load uphill. With center of gravity ahead of driven wheels makes for better traction. I guess now debate starts

The reverse gear on the car has highest torque due to gear ratio.So reverse naturally helps more when stuck in slush and 1st gear isn't enough. Ofcourse, if the wheels slip, it may not be sufficient by itself

[Sawyer]

Where it has the higher ratio, that will certainly help; good point.

As an aside, why are they provided with that ratio that is higher than that for first gear? Perhaps to allow the car to be driven slower without an engine stall while looking behind?

[cogWheel]

Originally Posted by cogWheel

... I had loaded the saplings into the conveniently large boot of our faithful Manza QJet. Drove it up to the mouth of the now green road and in that one blinding moment of dark denseness decided to drive down it. The intention was to avoid multiple trips on foot up-and down the road with the saplings in hand. The drive down was uneventful. Unloaded the saplings, had them planted and then got back into the car and started the short drive back. Started rolling up gently in first gear, covered a few meters and then the front wheels started spinning. Avoided the temptation to floor the accelerator. Rolled back a few feet and tried again. No go. No traction. Spinning wheels. A third attempt and the enormity of my stupidity started to dawn upon me. The green grass and moss, the soft, beautiful carpet that can launch a hundred verdant dreams of idyllic nature, had turned into a trap for my car. The gradient was not the issue. The Manza has enough grunt to climb up steeper inclines. It is the paucity of grip that I had failed to factor in. I should have known better.

The Manza that starred in this little adventure found a new home almost exactly three years after this incident. Sold it last week after seven years of largely satisfactory ownership. Will be missed.

[cogWheel]

Originally Posted by cogWheel

Once in a while, one is overcome by an irresistible wave of stupidity, a tsunami of foolishness, an unbelievable suspension of common sense. I have had such a moment today.
....
Drove it up to the mouth of the now green road and in that one blinding moment of dark denseness decided to drive down it.
...
Lessons learnt (again not in any particular order of importance):
1. Cars that go down need not come up.
2. Be wary of the call to “Go green”.
3. Failsafe way to make your wife happy – provide her evidence of your colossal stupidity.
4. Stick to tarmac when in a family sedan.
...

Quoting myself...

Almost exactly 5 years ago, in September I had driven my Manza down a slope and gotten myself into a slushy, slippery mess and had to be rescued by a professional team.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...ml#post4271640 (A ridiculous misadventure - Manza stuck on wet grass & mud)

Last week, I took another car down that slope again. This car climbed back up without a murmur. None of the drama that we had with the Manza.
Damp squib?