CHANGING GEARS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18550, 27 November 1925, Page 6

CHANGING GEARS.

OVERTAXING OF ENGINE. WHAT NOVICE DOESN'T LEARN. No doubt the time will come when the motor-car will not- be the ihreegcarcd vehicle 01 the present type (says a writer in the Sydney •'Sun"). Already some makers boast that their car will do anything '"on top." and experiments have proved that this is possible. Cars with locked gears have negotiated specially selected hills on top so that even to-day we have the car that can be used for all work on one gear. That is sufficient for the car's advertisement, but all the same, the presentday car, especially the light cars, are three-geared, and.can only be used as Mich, though many drivers make the mistake of putting the car to a hill and expecting it to climb without changing clown. Not Fair to Car. That, too, in some instances, is possible wuh the light car. but it is not altogether fair to the car. One great mistake often made by the salesman when impressing the novice is what the car will do. Probably it will do all that is claimed for it, but it is not giving the car a fair deal. For instance, you will hear the salesman say that a car can do thirty miles in second gear. True enough,'but- who wants to test the flexibility of the engine by tearing along at thirty in second gear? The new driver of to-day as he is taught to drive bv the seller of the car learns about one-iifth of what he should know about driving to get the best out of the car. The first thing taught is how to change gears, and, of course, this comes with the steering part of the training. Naturally there is nothing in steering the car, but it is a big item"for the novice when, besides steering, he has to change gear. It then becomes very difficult. As a matter of fact steering takes more of the attention of the novice than does gear-slnft-To the novice gear-shifting is just a necessary evil, and has very little to do with the driving of the car/ Most novices have no idea of why the gears should be used at all, but they quickly find that a change is necessary when the oar begins to rock and jump. But the quicker the gears are moved and the car is in top where it will not be necessary to change again, the bctt?r for the experience.

"A Dreadful reeling." And with the idea of nob having to change gear again the novice hounds off into second, and as quick as possible into top. There he is content to move along until, with a dreadful feeling he notices that it will be necessary to" slow down. This he does, and so much so that the engine commences to labour. Hero the lesson is incomplete 'insofar as the instructor allows the pupil to accelerate and pull along on tho terrific strain that is placed on the engine. And this preliminary lesson shapes the destiny of the novice as a, driver. On that abhorrence for the gear change he goes out into the world with his car, and always he fears the gear change. In most cases he has never learnt the change down from top to second when in slow traffic. There has never been time to teach him' that. How many drivers who have been taught when purchasing their car have learnt] thoroughly the use of the gears? Very few., and it is one of the faults of the modern driver that he has little idea of the use of the gears so far as getting the best speeds out of the car i s concerned. What a wonderful advantage to the car when it is driven with judicious use of the gears! What freedom ami comfort can be gained by rapid and noiseless changes, when the car's pulling power needs a different Or change of gears 1 Proper gear change with accompanying aceleration and gentle manipulation can never damage the* engine, It. is an art that should be practised at all times by the driver, and only a, competent driver ran enjoy the simplicity with which the car is handled when he knows the satisfaction to be gained from a gentle change. Proper Carburettion. Of course, with the gears there is this to be noted: One must have perfect carburettion and must understand relative engine speeds. The correct revolutions of the engine when changing down must be given quickly with the slightest touch of the accelerator, and if tho response from the engine is not perfect you may have great difficulty in getting a perfect change. The proper carburettion which tunes the engine up to the right pitch and allows the engine to tick over perfectly is most necessary, as the carburettor, which will not idle the engine and causes it to race, prevents at all times any chance of getting a perfect

change. After all, though this merely amounts to tuning the carburettor, and often that is the work of a few minutes. With tho attempt of the- novice to got the car to pull on top when the engine is labouring, the clutch often oomes in for abuse, for often when it is l>eing allowed to come in as the engine is pulling away, it is nuude to pull by means of acceleration at the same time. This is disastrous, for it causes slipping and wasted power and should be avoided at all times. Yet how often do you see even the experienced driver making his car pull away on top out of heavy traffic so as zo avoid a change' into second gear:-'