how bad is spraying water directly at rotors?

[rh71]

I'm sure it's common that people have in-ground sprinklers and their driveways next to each other and it sprays directly into the wheels/rotors/whatever cables or plugs in the wheel well. Is this really bad? I have it running for a good 30+ minutes. I was thinking of just buying wheel covers but obviously that's a huge pain every time. Rotors are known to develop rust streaks/spots which just gets "rubbed" off when you apply the brakes the next time, but this happens with simple rain that isn't directly spraying in the well. Sprinklers are shooting right in there. Thoughts on all this?

And before anyone suggests it, no we can't adjust the spray volume/distance. The people who put it in before us used as few heads as possible and it needs to do this to cover the whole lawn.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Unless the rotors are hot when this happens, it should not be any sort of issue at all.

If you've just been practicing your panic stops and then shoot a bunch of cold water onto the rotors that's not good, but I doubt that's what's happening.

ZV

 

[SpatiallyAware]

IMO it's completely fine. I would be more annoyed/worried about calcium deposits on the paint from when the water dries.

.........And I know you already said it, but change the sprinkler heads to the type that deflect from the driveway. They exist and usually aren't expensive. Your car is more important than the grass

 

[rh71]

.........And I know you already said it, but change the sprinkler heads to the type that deflect from the driveway. They exist and usually aren't expensive. Your car is more important than the grass

Do you mean the ones that you can adjust the stops and it rotates the other way again? This head is near the middle of the lawn but closer to the driveway side. So it does need to do the 360 degrees, but needs to shoot shorter when it's facing that side. Can't really prevent that as far as I know.

 

[Zenmervolt]

What about a small, decorative fence along the driveway border?

ZV

 

[rh71]

What about a small, decorative fence along the driveway border?

ZV

Unsightly and it takes away room that we need for kids to get out... 2 car driveway is barely wide enough for the 2 cars.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Just park in the street? That's what I do, but I do that to keep water spots off the wheels and paint... I don't give a crap about the rotors. A little water isn't going to hurt them.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

If you ever get tired of it spend $20 and replace the rotor if it's not adjustable. I'm not an expert but do they make ones that aren't adjustable?

 

[rh71]

Just park in the street? That's what I do, but I do that to keep water spots off the wheels and paint... I don't give a crap about the rotors. A little water isn't going to hurt them.

The distance thing gets out in the street too, and it shoots that far to get the other half of the lawn opposite the driveway. If it weren't for having to dig up the lawn to add pipes, I would've just done another head. Ideally there would be one at the corner of the curb's grass spraying back in... but too late now. New concrete sidewalk and sod done too. Didn't think about it before - I'll live with it.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

The distance thing gets out in the street too. If it weren't for having to dig up the lawn to add pipes, I would've just done another head.

You scared?

 

[rh71]

^ maybe next season if my lawn continues its demise and I have to do new sod. In reality it's a lot of work just to rectify this problem.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

The distance thing gets out in the street too, and it shoots that far to get the other half of the lawn opposite the driveway. If it weren't for having to dig up the lawn to add pipes, I would've just done another head. Ideally there would be one at the corner of the curb's grass spraying back in... but too late now. New concrete sidewalk and sod done too. Didn't think about it before - I'll live with it.

Does that not piss of your neighbors driving by?

They make adjustable heads.. I know that commercial ones exist that let you adjust the depth of the spray.

Or just get the cheap kind that shuts off at certain points and replace it yourself, then use a soft use a few times a week to water it yourself.

..Or pay to have someone push in a new line. They do it without digging nowadays, it's not that terribly expensive.

 

[Ryan]

It's no issue at all.

 

[rh71]

Does that not piss of your neighbors driving by?

They make adjustable heads.. I know that commercial ones exist that let you adjust the depth of the spray.

Or just get the cheap kind that shuts off at certain points and replace it yourself, then use a soft use a few times a week to water it yourself.

..Or pay to have someone push in a new line. They do it without digging nowadays, it's not that terribly expensive.

it shoots out about half the width of a car parked there so cars going by would not get hit anyway.

I'll ask the guy who winterizes me.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Well, regardless of what you decide, the water isn't going to hurt your brake rotors.

 

[sontakke]

Forget the brake rotors but worry about the water spots on the paint! Depending upon the quality of the water, those water spots could be your biggest worry.

 

[phucheneh]

Water spots being a worry?

I wash/wax my car like twice a year and the rain gets it inbetween. As long as you have a solid coat of wax, I really wouldn't worry about water scarring your paint.

And everyone has covered the brakes/other stuff. It's all made to (ideally) be waterproof. If lawn sprinklers were a worry, the spray you get off the road in a heavy rain would be crippling.

Even hot rotors, I don't know if it would do anything. Again- rain. Your rotors will get wet when you drive in rain.

edit for anecdotal story: Nissan actually had a TSB for replacing partial splash shields (behind the rotor) with full ones, citing brake pulsation. I considered it another example of 'the manufacturer is full of shit.' I did a ton of them just to take Nissan's money, but the cars were always back; brake pulsation comes from shitty driving style, not a wet rotor.

 

[7window]

no issue

 

[DVad3r]

You should be worried about deep potholes filled with water when you're driving.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Unsightly and it takes away room that we need for kids to get out... 2 car driveway is barely wide enough for the 2 cars.

I was thinking more like the 1-foot tall edging fences. The kind that are short enough not to get in the way of a car door. Of course, that depends on how high the sprinkler spray is going.

ZV

 

[rh71]

You should be worried about potholes when you're driving.

FTFY, and since I've got 20s with lesser sidewall, I AM!

 

[Doppel]

As bad for them as driving in rain I suspect.

 

[phucheneh]

FTFY, and since I've got 20s with lesser sidewall, I AM!

No, the water makes it way worse.

On the roads around here, you get to play the 'is that a thin layer of water sitting on the road, or a foot deep hole?' game. It's not fun. I probably look like a drunk in the rain, since I just try and avoid everything I can on many roads.

 

[JulesMaximus]

No, the water makes it way worse.

On the roads around here, you get to play the 'is that a thin layer of water sitting on the road, or a foot deep hole?' game. It's not fun. I probably look like a drunk in the rain, since I just try and avoid everything I can on many roads.

This is why I will NEVER put really low profile wheels on any car I own. My boss had 20s on his Mercedes CLS-550 but he went back to the stock AMG package wheels because he was constantly denting the rims and/or losing air pressure so he'd come out to a flat tire. Plus, larger wheels usually means more unsprung weight which is never a good thing.

 

[phucheneh]

It depends on the strength of the wheel. I'm surprised a high-end Mercedes would have that many issues.

Working on Infinitis for over a year, I never saw a bent stock wheel. Not once. Highly unusual given how many bent aluminum wheels I've otherwise seen. That's not fanboyism or anything; they just apparently engineer their big wheels (19's on 'sport package' type G's) REALLY well. I think they're all forged and most are made by Enkei. For whatever that's worth. I just remember finding it to be a really curious thing.