Audi Allroad, Skoda Oktavia and others - Height of engine air intake

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Thu 31 Jul 2014 22:58
Audi Allroad, Skoda Oktavia and others - Height of engine air intake - loxford

Hello everyone

I currently own an E53 BMW X5, bought to get through the regular foot plus of flood water we get outside our house and even up the drive, but am concerned about the poor handling on wet roads and worse still capability on wet grass; I occasionally have to tow in grass fields. I suspect this problem may be due to the 20 inch wheels and wide profile tyres. One option is to consider changing to 18 inch wheels and using all season tyres but my other option is to swop to a normal estate car but with the air intake high enough to get through this amount of water. I have tried asking Audi and Skoda for example but neither will tell me becasue they claim if they gave me a height and I drove through water that high and damaged the engne that I would sue them!

Thanks very much
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Thu 31 Jul 2014 23:15
Audi Allroad, Skoda Oktavia and others - Height of engine air intake - mss1tw

I would hazard a guess something like a Subaru would be better than the other 'badges with a car attached.'

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Thu 31 Jul 2014 23:24
Audi Allroad, Skoda Oktavia and others - Height of engine air intake - coopshere
If those are regular conditions you have to drive in then you need a proper off roader like a Landrover.
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Thu 31 Jul 2014 23:38
Audi Allroad, Skoda Oktavia and others - Height of engine air intake - Manatee

The Freelander has a wading depth of 500mm. I have seen the Yeti quoted as 600mm. Range Rover IIRC 900mm. Mitsubishi Shogun 700mm. But do your own research!

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Fri 1 Aug 2014 00:17
Audi Allroad, Skoda Oktavia and others - Height of engine air intake - KB.

I have a Yeti and it's not 600mm. The handbook saya up to the bottom of the sills.

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Fri 1 Aug 2014 00:51
Audi Allroad, Skoda Oktavia and others - Height of engine air intake - Manatee

I have a Yeti and it's not 600mm. The handbook saya up to the bottom of the sills.

True. Page 173.

goo.gl/ybbVwJ (owner manual pdf)

Just shows you can't believe everything you see on the internet! Hence the qualifier to do your own research.

I suspect the wading depth claim I saw, which was not official, was related to the height of the air intake. Unfortunately there are other components that could be damaged below that height, so just looking at the air intake isn't enough, though at least you might avoid the engine hydraulicking.

I think what it probably comes down to is you need something designed for that sort of 'off roading' - a Land Rover product, Shogun, Landcruiser etc.

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