Filbee Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 I'm sure I can't be the first to ask this, but I couldn't find anything when I searched.. With all this water about, I was quickly reminded how much of a splash and spray you get when driving though even relatively shallow patches of water on the road at sensible speed. Every time I hit a big puddle/standing water/flood, even at low speed, I'm amazed how much water flies up in front of the truck, up the bonnet and onto the windscreen. If the wipers aren't going before you hit the water, you'll not be able to see anything for a couple of seconds. Has anyone found a way of preventing or reducing the amount of water that comes up at the front? Quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted October 21 Share Posted October 21 Drive slower or don't drive through water.. Joking apart. I think it is due to the short front over hang and high ground clearance. When the wheels displace the water it goes up and you drive into it. A lower vehicle with wheels more inboard and a larger distance to the front of the vehicle will likely trap more of the water under it. All IMO My Jimny and Jeep XJ are/where the same as a 90 when driving through water. e.g. See how much water is kept under the vehicle and directed out of the arches. Remember there is as much water going under as out. On a 90 the water isn't kept under the vehicle as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 8 hours ago, Chicken Drumstick said: Drive slower or don't drive through water.. This! Anything up to the axles (say 1ft) doesn't really matter because a Defender will only displace the water in front of the tyres. It's only when the level reaches the bumper that you want to go deliberately slow. You don't want to make a splash, just a gentle bow wave as that creates a lower water level behind the bumper, so keeps the engine bay somewhat less flooded. On a paved road, there is no need to build speed, just steady progress will do. When traction is likely to be lost in off road crossings, it's a different story, but then you'll want a properly prepared vehicle so you don't need to worry about water getting everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 Mudflaps on the front bumper? 😁 Could be a unique selling point 😇 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 My ibex confirms all this. The ibex has a shorter, higher overhang at the front than our 110 and is much worse for spray on the windscreen. In fact it's so bad that when I first built mine I had to ask TSD if his was as bad, because I thought I'd done something wrong. So the only way to fix the problem is to fill the gap between the body and ground with more bodywork much like most other 4x4's , which completely defeats the point of owning a defender. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 You could add a boat bull to the front, but I suspect that won’t help with hydro planing… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy996 Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 You seem to get a bigger splash with more agressive tyres! The Grenadier does the same thing, hardly surprising as it is similarly short nosed and high-riding. Slow down is the only really effective solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 Tall skinny tyres help... Steve 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 22 Share Posted October 22 9 hours ago, miketomcat said: My ibex confirms all this. The ibex has a shorter, higher overhang at the front than our 110 and is much worse for spray on the windscreen. In fact it's so bad that when I first built mine I had to ask TSD if his was as bad, because I thought I'd done something wrong. So the only way to fix the problem is to fill the gap between the body and ground with more bodywork much like most other 4x4's , which completely defeats the point of owning a defender. Mike Can confirm, LGT is great and getting water on the windscreen, and has a chopped nose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filbee Posted October 22 Author Share Posted October 22 Thanks for the replies folks. It was worth an ask. I always drive slowly through anything that looks more than a couple inches deep. The issue is more when you're driving along at normal road speed, you come round a corner and there's a puddle. You don't have time to scrub off much speed off before your wheels hit it and SPLASH!! There's almost a comically disproportionate amount of water spraying up and covering the windscreen and suddenly you can't see anything until you flick the wipers on. My tyres are 265/75 16 Coopers, so nothing particularly big. If that's just how it is and there's no simple "if you fix one these (insert description of some piece of plastic/ally sheet/stainless that looks like it cost about half what's being charged to make) here it will solve your problem" option, then I'll just carry on as before and be quicker to hit the wipers 😁👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 I recently replaced the wiper boxes on my 90 with the design development engineering fancy-pants ones, and one of the pro's of them is they do tend to respond a bit quicker than the previous genuine ones - helps with the splash on the windscreen problem a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 30 minutes ago, Maverik said: design development engineering They make some nice parts! Having replaced the wheel-boxes once, for the amount of time & effort involved, I would happily pay that to get something that works like it ought to, rather than the genuine replacements which barely work better than the broken ones! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 10 hours ago, Filbee said: Thanks for the replies folks. It was worth an ask. I always drive slowly through anything that looks more than a couple inches deep. The issue is more when you're driving along at normal road speed, you come round a corner and there's a puddle. You don't have time to scrub off much speed off before your wheels hit it and SPLASH!! There's almost a comically disproportionate amount of water spraying up and covering the windscreen and suddenly you can't see anything until you flick the wipers on. My tyres are 265/75 16 Coopers, so nothing particularly big. If that's just how it is and there's no simple "if you fix one these (insert description of some piece of plastic/ally sheet/stainless that looks like it cost about half what's being charged to make) here it will solve your problem" option, then I'll just carry on as before and be quicker to hit the wipers 😁👍 I would think if you are serious on tackling this, then lowering the vehicle an inch or two and a big front skirt that runs the entire width of the vehicle and maybe slightly different shaped front wheel arch spats. You could also look at adding some kind of re-profiled and/or aero aid along the leading edge of the bonnet to try and direct the water in a different direction too. Although personally this all seems like a lot of work and effort for a rather specific use case. I'd suspect just buying a different vehicle would be a whole lot easier. I'd guess a Disco 1/2 or RRC would be much better in this regard, while still being essentially a Defender under the body work. But I couldn't find any photos on a quick search. I did find this, which shows how well a different front bodywork directs the water away from the screen... Same searched had this image, I'm pretty sure it is an XJ Cherokee and as you can see, a lot more water going up in front of the vehicle compared to the Disco Sport. The Cherokee has quite a similar front end profile/design to a Defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 On 10/22/2023 at 8:50 AM, Sigi_H said: Mudflaps on the front bumper? 😁 Could be a unique selling point 😇 Some pictures to aid recollections. Volvo, action shot. BMC Mini in Australia BMC Land Crab Volvo BMC Land Crab, Action shot, (London to Sydney Marathon?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 I'd wonder if a small filler piece between the back edge of the bumper and the bottom of the front wings would help a little (literally a small strip of aluminium might do), likewise however much "mudflap" or skirt/valance you could be bothered to hang below the front bumper / front wing in front of the tyres, just as long as the airflow at speed doesn't push it back into the tyre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 23 Share Posted October 23 4 hours ago, Maverik said: I recently replaced the wiper boxes on my 90 with the design development engineering fancy-pants ones, and one of the pro's of them is they do tend to respond a bit quicker than the previous genuine ones - helps with the splash on the windscreen problem a little. I fancy some for mine. They oversweep in the wet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filbee Posted October 23 Author Share Posted October 23 6 hours ago, David Sparkes said: Some pictures to aid recollections. Volvo, action shot. BMC Mini in Australia BMC Land Crab Volvo BMC Land Crab, Action shot, (London to Sydney Marathon?). Those Austin 1800s look awesome 😎😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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