2009 Mazda 6: Childish Puddle Fun

I've definitely done that a fair share of times in my old Nissan Altima. The plastic bit under the front came off also.

'Puddling' is sometimes all too much fun though, haha. And to be honest, the 6's engine doesn't sound too bad here... at least to me it doesn't.

Hi kissel1!
Great post and great comment!
Question: How the weather there?
We have weather here and and I was just wondering if you did too.

Thanks in advance!

No wonder so many of your LT cars have problems.

You guys ABUSE your vehicles. Of course, it is not a personal vehicle but a company vehicle.

Just as I can't stand people who abuse animals, I can't stand people who abuse cars...

LOL @ Jacquot taking the photo from inside the car and Scott's grin in the third photo!

This would've been a good "Caption This" candidate.

"Splish splash I was taking a bath"

Kissel...I think...I...love you?

Its the little 4-cyl that could!! Not a bad sounding engine note...

If you're not abusing your car, you're doing it wrong. People who don't do periodic maintenance piss me off. But not hydroplaning through puddles at top speed is only a few shades away from socialism.

LOL

A few years ago we got a heavy rainstorm, so I went out in our truck and started splashing through the biggest puddles I could find. Well, I was driving down the road and I hit a really big puddle, so big in fact, that it splashed a huge wall of water onto the Audi driving next to me and the driver swerved onto the sidewalk and mowed down a few signs on the side of the road. Mmmm, good fun.

Have to agree with wobbly_ears, that seemed kinda abusive, although it looked like a lot of fun.

fun, but it still amazes me when people think the long term cars have a lot of problems. They drive these cars like a mob of 16 year olds. It is amazing that any make it a full year.

redliner, too bad he didn't get your plate info. I'd think a court would put a percentage of the blame for his wreck on you

@redliner, THAT WAS YOU?!?! I've finally found you, now I'm going to come after you with a herd of overpaid attorneys to say that 5% of my collision with signs and a mailbox was your fault. Never mind that I was holding the wheel and, ultimately, am responsible for my own actions.

zimtheinvader

Yeah, that is a shame isn't it. I know a part of me should feel bad for this poor woman but I don't. She was talking on her phone and trying to put on her makeup (during a heavy rainstorm, mind you) and the road we where on was 100% straight. There was absolutely no reason for her to swerve.

Well, quite a while ago, I tried the same *fun* with my FX-16 GTS. After splashing through a big puddle, the car just died without any response at all whatever I tried. After long agonized dismay for about 40 minutes, the car came back to life. What a relief! After that incident, splashing never existed in my puddle-through driving. I still wonder what had happened at that time, though.

mymaxima, water got where it shouldn't and shorted something out for a bit. That is why you should at least always hit the puddle with enough momentum to coast out the other side, just in case. That way you don't end up sitting in the middle of the big puddle :)

looks like the driver could use a booster seat. Or did they let one of the kids from the R8 shoot drive?

Sorry to butt in but can we please make the 370z the car of the week? Its been in your fleet for 2 or 3 weeks now and has only had 5 posts, none of them were very interesting either. Ive been coming back day after day to see your impressions of this extremely hyped up car but all I find is 5 times that amount of posts about a car (mazda) that nobody really cares about anyways. No offense to those that do care about the mazda but I believe the number of replies to the posts on the 370z shows that there is much more interest in that car...

"Just as I can't stand people who abuse animals, I can't stand people who abuse cars..."

PETA--People for the Ethical Treatment of Automobiles.

I do have a pet peeve against people that barely see over the steering wheel. It's what they invented height-adjustable seats for.

Either that, or the car has been to designed to swallow...er..ensconce drivers in their cars to make them safer by raising cowls and window sills.

Reminds me of doing 70 over a railroad crossing in a GMC Envoy- it was a light show.

the last time I did that, it was in my old '84 Chrysler Laser. The water went up through the air dam and over the front mounted distributer and conked out the motor in the middle of the puddle. All I got for my fun was 2 inches of water on the carpet when I opened the door to see what went wrong....

HAHA the_big_al.
Ah, the joys of driving through floods without a crossover.
That's why we have entered the era where crossovers reign.
Puddle? Floods? Pot Holes? Road drop offs? Damage? psssshhh.

$2 says Mazda will pull a GT-R-transmission-blowout-voided warranty escapade.

"Ah, the joys of driving through floods without a crossover.
That's why we have entered the era where crossovers reign."

You do know that crossovers are just cars for a truckish body on it for people who want the illusion of style and toughness.

(Apologies if you're being sacastic)

Driving through puddles is an iffy proposition. The water won't necessarily hurt you, but what lies under the puddle could ruin your day. Like that 6" deep pot-hole from the previous storm.

Splash!...BOOM!!!...$%@#!!!!

For Sale:

2009 Mazda 6 i Grand Touring. 2.5 four cylinder automatic. Well looked after, always dealer maintained. Frequently washed, including rinsing underside of car to prevent salt build-up.

Call Scott

firstwagon,
quote ryster.

firstwagon,
Is there any point to a real SUV? Not for most offroad. Most offroad is great with a car with high clearance. Does Subaru make SUVs? Jeep make SUVs? No SUVs, just crossovers. Crossovers have the ground clearance. That's all an SUV is good for.

Real SUVs are only good for offroad play courses and wildlife expeditions into the jungle and swamps, not real daily offroad.

billt9

It can be hard to tell what is an SUV and what is a crossover in some cases.

I go by the design of the drivetrain and suspension, not the outward appearance.

Whether or not a crossover can go off road depends on your definition of offroad. I've spent a lot of time driving around the mountains of British Columbia on Forest access roads, logging roads and trails.

A crossover can easily handle a Forest access road or an active logging road. All you need is sturdy tires with a bit of sidewall and some ground clearance.

Decommisioned logging roads and trails are another story. Even if your crossover has some ground clearance, it won't be enough. Everyone hits underbody parts hard sooner or later. The difference between an SUV and a Crossover is what happens next.

Look under a Grand Cherokee or a 4Runner and you'll see large sturdy parts that can take abuse.

Look under a CRV, Escape, CX7, etc and you'll see light duty car parts. They will bend and break and either leave you stranded or with a really expensive bill (or both).

My Subaru is fine for Forest Access roads but if I plan to turn off the main road and head up the trail to the lake I'll bring my Grand Cherokee instead.