MODERN MOTORING.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 79, 3 April 1928, Page 20

MODERN MOTORING.

HINTS FOR EASTER TOURINQ. KEEP ON YOUR OWN SIDE. lX> NOT NEGLECT THE HORN.

Motorists when driving in the country at fibster should refrain /rom driving oti thoijr jjvrong sirle. Wlien approaching a Vehicle proceeding in the opposite dtrec* tion, the ]iractice of pulling on to the proper side just ahead of the on-coming vehk'lo's track is highly dangerous,, especially with the loose shingle on roads in the country at present. Don't omit to use your horn when approaching corners or steep bends in the road; and, above all, drive at a moderate speed. There, may bo a car coming round the- bend whose driver forgets to use his born, and this* ..is all the more reason that you should use your horn.

A "BLOWN" FUSE. CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. It is by no means an infrequent ['* B occtJironco for a dri vfif tp be held lip on the road by sudden failure of the eleCtrio lighting system, thanks to a "blown' fuse. Assuming that spare fuse wire is curried,' It is a simple matter to At a new fuse; but it must be bofne in mind that u fuse does not .blow without good reason; it is not sheer perversity which underlies such a happening. Nevertheless, some drivers seem to imagine that there is no accounting for blown fuses; they go on time after time replacing the destroyed lengths of wire hoping for the best. In point of fact; however, there is, ft,f a, rule, one very, simple cause for such occurrences, aild " one which is very easily removed. It is nearly always due to a faulty connection in the circuit, and more often than not that point is one or other of the battery terminals to which the main cables are secured. A corroded or looie terminal gives rise to a high resistance in the dynamo circuit, and when this resistance rises above a certain .maximum, determined by the capacity?'of the fuse wire, the'latter will "blo\f ( ." It may not give out for several "months, unless on some occasion the engine is run at a high speed, entailing a heavier current than usual passing through to tba batteries. But even a momentary acceleration of the engine above normal mhy have that effect, while, if thi. resistance of the terminal be high, as in the civs© of a completely detached cable, the fuse will blow almost immediately the dynamo begins to charge. From all this. It will be realised that when the weekly inspection <ff the acirl level of the-battery is made, the condition and tigktiiess of the terminals should be noted also. To prevent the corrosion which is on© cause, of high resistance and- blown fuses, the terminals should he completely coated with vaseline, which protects them from the fumes contiguously arising, through the vent holes",;in the cells; ithe presence of alich fumes in the 'battery box and the tenderieyf of the acld to "creep" are -the causes of corroded terminals. r ' •• ■ ■ SPEED LIMITVW AMERICAN y; HIGHWAYS. With lowa soon to set a speed limit of 40 jalles per hour and many American Statu contemplating the passage of law* providing a minimum speed on the pubjio highways of anywhere from 15 to 25 miles per hour, it is interesting to recfcffthat in 19Q1 JSesr„ Xotk. passed its.... first speed law, which limited the speed of fhotor vehicles to eight miles per m lioUfln built-on Sections and 15 miles " per|,hour jn open''country. o Nej State now has such low •restrictions. According to the "Service Bulletin" of the lowa State Highway Com- ' mission, the probable present average for the United States is at least 30 miles- per hour ia open country.- Some ' feW states place it at 45 miles per hour, .and some have no restrictions. In 1925 ten States made changes'ln their "\ speed* laws, and in every case the maxi- p mutn" was materially increased. Q ' V MEETING THE DIFFICULTY. JE T* P The new chauffeur was driving hie \ maator home. Faster and faster sped 2 the magnificent car as they left the more crowded streets behind them, un-~ , til «t; last a cold sweat broke over -the 4 master's brow. "Hi, James 1" he yelled. "Go steady! We shall spend the night / in gaol if you don't." The chauffeur J scarry took any notice. He 1 merely 1 shook hia head, glanced at the petrol gauige, and sent the car surging forward faster than ever as he shouted: "We're fouir;)nilefi from home, sir r and I've only enough petrol for three. Btat if we hurry we may jnst do it!" b THE FAMOUS FLORIDA BEACH. w particular's are, interesting, of J the/fimous Jfloiftla ..beach, where Major • Segyave attained aj.meaw speed oib 2W|| * miles per h#u*o*i tis' KWO-h.p. S4inW&i»> h' and Captain Malcolm Campbell has since succeeded in increasing the world's re- fi cord to 206.0 miles per hour. The beach 1 is ft miles long, almost straight, abso- F lutely level, and at certain periods of the yW„Jn ...ashard as concrete. A nineimiJe stretch of the beach '■]»■ set 0 upaW'lfor rctfoVd atteinpts,' arid " not '£ J person is allowed on the beach except * timing officials of the Contest Board of c the Amerieari - Auto»u>bite J A moat elaborate electrical timing apparatus is used. The wind resistance, whilst Campbell was travelling at 214 t m.p.h., was over 10201b pressure against p the c«, r JojE_ ? ,tMle ..the. Jtaich-.. H 500 ft wide. Campbell, by his great d achievement, has now won the- -£1000 p trophy given by Sir Charles Wakefield, and wilt aty active Itjooipe at *1000 untijt the end of the year 1930 unless c his record is beaten iulhe- meantime* 1 Nepiive's Sunbeam '!it;;'(|t.(;r*ct irtg J icon J 1 attention,; at the All-British » Lxhjntion, now hel4s» Mol- c bouflie. , ■ SBe*. _ " ' . * m*riftAviHTMmoL. S tt 1a - 5" *t Uftder ordinary tjetrol C oi», aumfttlon wtt» 'be Mx if l gradjonti the throttle Js 1 1 method of deacendleg a hm is i the loot off ths aecWtrfif^S-iSg; Ji thejgnltion switch on. By this means 1 ffSl? ®h»*|es are introduced J? Pp no power—so that, it dfiference Whether ignition ie ewitehed «n or off. If you are anxious to get low petrol consumption your best course is to fit an extra-air Ifii 1 ' ? J? ®P® n tW " wh<| n descending hliisj by this means practically all suci . from the jets when ran-' ®lng downhill, so that no petrol is