How bad is water for a sport quad? Like how deep could I go without hurting anything. I ask this not because I plan on doing a lot of water riding but because I live near a creek and sometimes I question whether or not I should cross it. It does get to about 2 feet sometime. So how bad is it really if your engine is partway in water? Doesnt that cool it too fast and if things cool wrong, cant that be bad. I have just never heard anything about this.

Also, what about going fast through a shallow stream (say 3 inches deep). Can the water splashing up damage the engine or case that is at a high temp. It just seem like the water would cool that hot metal too fast. Maybe not. But thats why I am asking. Thanks...

 

look in to a snorkel kit or seal it all up and yes water, hot motor spells bad. bearings go out just not good , look into a ulitlity , and without 4x4 it tend to get stuck . but its fun

 

I've done it with the lt and the z. Just don't go deep enough to suck it in the engine. You can only go over the height of the airbox momentarily. I'll bet your uncle removed the snorkel on your airbox. It only adds a couple inches to the height of the water you can cross anyways. As long as you don't swamp it, you should be all set. You should be able to go up to the bottom of the seat. If you do get some water in there, there's a drain plug in the bottom of the box.

 

Well I am not looking for a utility and I am not doing water riding but I was more so wondering about creek crossing. Like do I need to slow way down for water or can I hit it in second gear? I will probably never need to ride in water deeper than a foot.

I still have the "snorkel" on the airbox on my blaster but my Z has a K&N air filter so it is pretty much gone. I'm not worried about getting water in my airbox. I will never be riding in water that deep. I would hate to have my engine under water. I dont know about you guys...

 

If it's like 8 inches or less, you could hit it in second. But I wouldn't hit a 1 foot deep crossing at full speed in second. It can flip you sideways. When I do hit them hard, I always try to get the front end up a little first. Not a wheelie, just a couple inches higher than the rear.

There have been a lot of floods here recently, so when my older brother and another guy wanted to go riding on "mudder's day" I chose not to, because that was at the peak of it and still raining hard. I'm still in my cast, and my little brother has a K&N so we didn't go. My older brother and his buddy, both on YFZ's, went out to this place that always has crossings. One of the crossings had been cut a lot deeper by the rushing water. My brother stalled, but quickly got it started. When he tried to take off again, the front end came up which made it easier for the water to wash him down the stream. The waters were rushing so fast that soccer ball sized rocks were slamming him and his buddy in the legs as they tried to save his quad from getting washed away. They finally got it after 5 minutes of wrestling with it. My brother is about 260lbs, and pretty rugged. His buddy is about 215, and also pretty rugged. The water was deep enough that only their handlebars were sticking out. His buddie's was fine because he got through fast enough, but they spent an hour beside the trail getting all the water out of the airbox, exhaust, and cylinder. Started right up though, as soon as all the water was out.

Which brings me to another point. A high flow foam filter, such as uni or twin air, will flow just as much air as a K&N when oiled properly. They will be more restrictive when over oiled. But they will actually repel the water, and if they do become saturated you can just wring them out. If a K&N gets wet it will ruin it, especially if the motor is still running because that will cause it to collapse immediately. My older brother had just asked me my opinion on air filters the week before when he got his Dr.D full system. It's a good thing that people on this board had already made the paper (K&N) type filter vs. the foam type filter point to me when I was looking, because my brother was able to just wring out the filter and keep going.

If you're gonna keep using the K&N, you should at least get the outerwears. If you even just get splashes of water on there, it can collapse it on that portion or pull it through and make a hole.

 

Thanks Sparky. Thats really what I wanted to hear. Your friends with the yfz's are lucky. At least the one who almost lost it. I really like my K&N filter. Its a great filter but I do recognize the advantage or foam. I do have the pre filter or outwear but the velcro that holds it on it starting to peel off. I need to get some more strips of velcro.

I understand what hydroplaning is [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]. If it was a foot deep I would hit it in 5th.... LOL.... just skip accross it. But yeah, to do a wheelie before you enter the water in 2nd would make your front end come down into the water pretty hard. Face plant....

Anyways, thanks for the responses. I think I got what I needed to know. Just wanted to make sure. I have always been careful around water.



By the way. Has anyone seen the 4X4 section in Huveos 4 where they ride in the water? Thats prettys sweet.
Or has anyone seen the Oregon section in Huevos 3 where the banshees hydroplane for like, 100ft?