DRIVING THROUGH WATER.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 2 June 1928, Page 14

DRIVING THROUGH WATER.

It is quite possible for a car or lorry to be driven through water with the exhaust outlet below the surface, provided the pipe is open-ended without constriction, is not dipped at any point, contains no leaks, and if the passage is made with the engine running at fairly high speed. This has been the experience of motor-cycles in trials that include water-splashes. If the end of the exhaust pipe is flattened to a fishtail, or is plugged and drilled with small holes, a certain amount of water will enter, and the exhaust pressure will not be sufficient to expel it; back pressure will thus be created, and the engine will stop. Similarly, if there is a dip in the pipe this may collect an accumulation of water, with similar results. To a large extent, of course, it depends upon the depth of the submersion, for, if,the end of the.exhaust pipe is curved downwards so that the outlet is just below the surface, the exhaust gases may not have sufficient pressure to stop the engine. If deeply submerged, however, there is a possibility of the water not only reaching the silencer, but even entering the cylinders. There have, in fact, been cases in which this has been experienced with motor-cycles, and the engines have been wrecked, due to the water reaching the com- . bastion spaces above the cylinders.