Scottish Elises

...on standing water.

On the motorway.

In the Skoda.

Blimey.

I've said this elsewhere, but in the spirit of avoiding even more splintering of clamshells, consider this. Much of the replacement surface now laid on major roads and m-ways is of the "whisper-tarmac" style. It was great when it first came to UK from France/Spain a couple of decades ago - no road noise etc. But it turns out to be astoundingly bad at dispersing water, and it doesn't have to be a deluge either. In fact I don't know how the Highways Agency / Transport Scotland are getting away with it, in our land of cotton-wool enriched Health & Safety madness. But they are. They must have ordered a lifetime supply at a huge discount or something.

Whether it's miles of the stuff (eg M74) or select patches (M9), either way it can really catch you out. Indeed, on the M9 from Stirling to Edinburgh, the effect is really clear as you transition back and forth between the smooth new stuff and the rough old stuff. There is less visible spray on the rough old stuff too (good) and much more generated by the new (boo).

So, drive like you are about to aquaplane at any moment and you might just survive the winter

Public Service Announcement ends.

Hi Campbell
I have indeed noticed that some of the new surfaces M9/M74/M80 have great water retention abilities.
You should try the M80 uphill stretch alongside Denny at max attack on 20" runflats...............character building

The relevant agencies do put out helpful flood signs to cushion any potential mitigation blows from unwary drivers

Helps to have experience at KH along the Railway Straight at 110.

Hang onto the wheel and hope it stays straight as you aquaplane through.

tut

Campbell, you are not alone. My Dad use to work with a civil engineering company and use to (and still does) rant about the whisper tarmac. Despite raising his concerns with local and national government, he found himself banging his head against the "environmental do-gooders" wall.

££££ I presume?

How worn are the tyres???

Half or less.

Edit to clarify - less than half worn

Brutal drive from Edinburgh to Stirling the other night in the VX. Amount of water on the road was like driving along a river and the darkness makes it much harder to see the standing water with the glare from other headlights. New yokos did well tho and was sounding well courtesy of CMC

Ooft. At least no damage done to anyone. Thought you'd bought another Evora when I saw the title.
Sounds like the story of the demise of my car. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it...)

Lol Bertie.

Joking apart, standing water really is, er, no joke. The motorcycle fraternity here will probably testify to that.

One Evora is quite enough thanks

It's brilliant in standing water btw

Even the XC90 in new winter tyres was a bit squirmy through the M74 standing water when Katie & I headed south at the end of last month. You would think that it is too heavy to aquaplane on the standard tyre size (235 IIRC). Nothing will ever be like driving back across France on the motorway in worn R888's, though

tut wrote:Helps to have experience at KH along the Railway Straight at 110.

Hang onto the wheel and hope it stays straight as you aquaplane through.

tut

Do your wheels spin at the top of the crest in the wet? Track was drying up in car similar to yours at last TS day and still got some slip

robin wrote:Even the XC90 in new winter tyres was a bit squirmy through the M74 standing water when Katie & I headed south at the end of last month. You would think that it is too heavy to aquaplane on the standard tyre size (235 IIRC). Nothing will ever be like driving back across France on the motorway in worn R888's, though

Toulouse to Edinburgh. 1200 miles in 18 hours, with about 75% of it flooded motorway. Good times

With 350 hp, 820kgs and no electronic aids, they will spin if the throttle is not matched to the track conditions.

tut