MOTORING

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18947, 11 March 1927, Page 6

MOTORING

SIXES V. EIGHTS.

BATTLE OF CYLINDERS.

STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY.

What- might be well tenn?d ''ihe battle of the cylinders," and designated as ' a thrilling engineering struggle for supremacy in engine design.," is now being enacted before the eyes of an intensely interested motoring public (bays William Ullniau in "Motorlaud').

Not so long ago, the motorist was asking: "What is the ultimate engine for utility, power, comfort, and economy? Will it be a four, a six, an eight, or a twelve?" To-day lie has learned much about engine design and the question of narrowing down to a toss up between the sixes and the eights. The twelve has l>een discarded. It gave a smoother flow of power than any of the others but added a maximum of trouble, sent operation costs soaring and proved impractical because it offered more power than was necessary. The four generally is admitted to be adequate for straight utility,_ but fourcylinder cars are held to be incubators for sales of sixes and eights. Producers of luxury cars long since have abandoned the four as a plant suitable for a smooth flow of power. The fours are beating' them all for gas mileage, and vibration has been greatly reduced in the more modern forms, but the average motorist steps up the ladder to a six or eight when he becomes more prosperous. The motorist, however, does not step to an eight after lie has reached the six class merely to enjoy greater luxury. He still can find the greatest luxury in the six, and spend the greatest amount of money for a car so powered. He may, and frequently does, prefer an eight. But, in most instances, it is observed that he considers other points such as the make of the car, its other features, its reputation and so on, rather than the number of cylinders under the hood.

When a new straight-eight was announced two years ago many motorists would not buy it because it did not look long enough for an eight. The motorist continues to buy good cars for what they offer in their entirety and not for the number of cylinders involved. It is to attract attention to the merits of these two types of engines that manufacturers now are waging their battle.

It is not generally known by the public that some of the greatest automotive engineers of the country favour the six as the most suitable power plant for fine automobiles. The motorist feels that there is something necessarily superfine about the eight-cylinder principle just as he feels that the longer the wheelbase the better the car. But just as it was found that twelve cylinder cars were unsatisfactory, so has it been found that mere length does not necessarily imply the best car riding qualities. An eight does not surpass a six merely because it has two more cylinders. In all fairness to the eight, it must be recalled that the early varieties of this engine too often merely were twin fours. In the case of straight-eights they often, were fours in tandem. But _ there have been important and significant changes in eights, mainly with a view to making them a more distinct type of power plant rather than tandem or twin fours.

It is believed by some engineers that the failure of the twelve was due partly to the fact that this motor was more of a twin six than a distinctive type of engine. Had the twelve been worked out and developed to a point where it was a distinct creation without the characteristics of the ..six, motordom now might be witnessing a battle between the eights and the twelves. The eight, however, doubtless would 'have won out in such a contest, for the extra flexibility of a twelve is unnecessary and the added expense of operation not practical. There is no general agreement among enginers that the principle of the eight is better than that of the six. Regardless of whether engineers might come to an agreement in favour of :one type or the other, it still would be true that some of the eights are better than some of the sixes, while some of the sixes are better than some of the eights, considering only cars selling for 2000 dollars and over. _ An argument used by advocates of sixes is that the eight continues the inherent defects of the four, though the increase in power impulses and actual power tend to blind the car owner to the four-eight type of inherent vibrations. That there is some truth in this- contention is demonstrated by the competition among designers of eights to find a better firing order as well as a better arrangement of the cylinders. Nine Firing Orders. In popular eights nine firing orders are in use to-day. There are two general cylinder arrangements: eight-in-a-line and V-eight. Some cf ihe Veights are ninety degrees, others sisty. One uses offset cylinders. Everything has been done to make eights as inherently smooth as the six. What the exponents of sixes fail to recognise, however, is that even if the eight is not inherently as well balanced as the six it seems better balanced and smoother to the man <who drives the car. In other words the added impulses from the two extra cylinders may be sufficient to offset the natural disadvantages of the eight principle and make it preferable to a six comparable in price. . The fact that Renault, Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, Fiat, Minenva, and other famous foreign care are powered by sixes is no reason why the bis should be considered superior to the eight. Some fine foreign cars still are fours. Nor is it fair to assume that the eights are superior because some makers of sixes have abandoned the six in order to go over to them. The fact that so many high-grade domestic and foreign companies make sixes, however, serves to keep the high grade six-cylinder engine in good repute. If it were not for this it is very possible that the swagger attached to the eights would carry them to such popularity that there wouldn't be room for any high-grade sixes.

It frequently is argued that the eight-cylinder engine, particularly the straight eight, is the one to supplant all others because it is the type used in the most highly developed racing cars in America. By this same process of reasoning the most desirable car for tho public would have an engine of only 91} cubic inches displacement, a speed in second of about eiahly miles au hour, a wheelbase like a fliv.ver ar.d wojild have to carry a super-charger to be at all modern. The battle of the cylinders, flerefore, rages away. * or eights? That is the question. Just now it seems that tli9 tights are mustering their forces for a vicious attack upon that established type of American automobile power plant—the medium size six. This new manoeuvre will be brought emphatically to the attention of the motoring public at the New York automobile show, January 8 th.

BY "ROADSTER."

According to a leading automotive trade publication, the industry has been advised of the debut of three new lighter eights. This is just a bit conservative. The fact is that there will be no less than five new small straight eiejits. These predictions are apt to be made obsolete at any moment, for changes are many at this season and secrets are closely guarded. It is known, for instance, "that General Motors is preparing for a new car rumoured as being named the La Salle. "Whether this is the new, and smaller eight, to be sponsored by Cadillac remains to be seen. Auburn's new lighter straight eight, the S-77, already is in production and is no secret. The roadster will list for 149-3 dollars, the sedan at 16P5 dollars, and the Wanderer sedan at 174-3 dollars. The last named is the model with a front seat that folds back to form a bed. New Gardner Eight. Gardner is well under way with a new light eight on a 122-inch wheelbase. This will be known as the series 80 line, if you can keep this in mind without confusing it with the PierceArrow and Chrysler products known under the same magic number. This Gardner will range in price from 131*5 dollars to 169-5 dollars f.o.b. factory for the various models and will, therefore, be one of the hot contenders against the established sixes. Of course Gardner, like some of the other manufacturers of eights, will boost a larger car of the same type at higher prices just to add swagger to the name plate and as a further inducement to switch to an eight. The truth of the whole business is that Buick, Nash, Studebaker, Reo, Willys, Flint, Chandler, Hupp and Hudson have the medium size six field so tightly sewed up that the most effective weapon of competition which the smaller manufacturers can utilise at the present moment is to cater to the public's increasing preference for eights. This does not mean that all these light eights are going to be happy successors to the established sixes, but it dees mean that the public will be treated to a more generous taste of eight "cylinder performance. The theory behind it can be stated by paraphrasing a well-known remark, "Once an eight owner always an eightowner." What has happened in the six field, many believe can happen in the eight-. The' flood of light sixes has made Americans converts to multi-cylinder cars. Many have found light sixes far more troublesome than good fours, but the enormous success of the medium size sixes demonstrates that when he is dissatisfied with a light six, the average motorist goes on to a better six rather than back to a four. Will the public try the light eights and, finding them wanting, go 011 to the finer, better eights? Predictions Hazardous. Predictions are hazardous, as one prominent manufacturer knows. He prophesied, and spent good money on advertising space to do so, that sixes selling at more than two thousand dollars were dead letters. Immediately Packard, Marmon, Franklin, PierceArrow and others jumped into higher production schedule. Just to further I upset this forecast of the demise of the high priced sixes, Chrysler tossed its big car into the ring. This was followed later by Studebaker's President model. But the prophecy may be right after all. One never can tell in motordom, for sometimes prophets look unusually far ahead and forget to mention temporary trends in the interval between prediction and its realisation. If the flood of light eights this coming year sweeps all America with it, just as the flood of light sixes did before, it is. reasonable to suppose that Americans will have ■ the "eight craze" and will continue to have it regardless of whether these light eights are reliable. The publio will bo tempted sorely to swing to the better eights. And then, what.about the higher priced sixes? Jordan was one of the first in the field with an eight under two thousand dollars. At the New York show, bo will present a new light engine which is rumoured to be something that will lure the public to this type. At the ] same time, Jordan offers custom work on the larger eight, and it has been announced that the straight eight Marmon, which will list for as low as 1750 dollars will be offered in de luxe form for as high as 3100 dollars. It begins to look as if the idea is to get the public "eight cylinder conscious" at any cost, and then lead it by gentle stages to the better eights. Apparently, this is what Stutz has in the back of its head in introducing at the show a new and a lighter straight eight. Rickenbacker will introduce two new lines of straight eights. The smaller one starts at 1795 dollars while the larger bows its. way in at 2595 dollars. This is another contribution- to the idea. Meanwhile Humnobile and Diana are pushing the medium straight eight idea to the limit. It is interesting to note that since a great many persons do not know the difference _ between straight eights and V-type eights, nor which cars are which, the so-called battle of the cylinders is resolving itself into an actual alliance of all types of eights. All of them appear to he getting together to fight the sixes. They believe that the man who drives an eight under two thousand dollars will keep in mind that some of the higher priced cars, like Hupp, Kissel, larger Jordan, Rickenbacker, Gardner, and Stutz also are eights, while the man with any of these cars keeps reminding himself in turn that some of the country's best cars like Packard Eight, Peerless, Duesenberg, Cadillac, and Lincoln are also eights.

There is a lot of psychology in this fight and the manufacturers are making excellent capital of it. It remains to be seen, of course, what the exponents of sixes will have to say. It is worth noting, however, that one of the manufacturers who formerly quoted i the -finest of the world's engineers in support of his contention that a six was naturally better than an eight now is on© of the biggest boosters of the eight—but keeping the six in production just the same. It is not expected that there will bo any startling ideas in the design of the straight eights. The singie-sleere valve engine does not appear to be quite ready for production, and most manufacturers appear to consider the light straight eight a novelty and in itself, sufficient experiment without flirting with unusual design. ROYAL VISIT. RAKAIA BRIDGE. The attention of motorists and others who use the Kakaia bridge is drawn to the arrangements that have been made for its * " . .jrary closing in connexion with l .oval visit. The Railway Department announce that the bridge is to be closed from 9.20 a.m. to 10.15 a.m. on Wednesday 16th instant. No animal or vehicle, including motors, which cannot clear the bridge before 9 a.m. on the day mentioned will be allowed to use it. If necessary, the bridge may be kijt closed later thaw the hours specified.