MOTORING

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19917, 2 May 1930, Page 5

MOTORING

MOTORCYCLE TRIAL ASHBURTON CLUB. An eight-hour trial is to be conduotod by the Aiihburten Mdtdr-Cycle Club dating t ne •week-end Ifdfll Ashburton to Chaney'li (JdTrier, Oxford, Jtethveli, and back to the starting pointt the fliflt ridftr is i« leave Ashburtoa at 9.80 a.m., and ii due it Chaney i CflfHer at 11.4? a.m. fhe. fiistanca is 61J milt*, hn( j the average speSd ia to be 27 mlla* per hiiur. From Chaney's Corner to Oxford, ths next stage of the journey, is 32 miles (average speed 27 miles); Oxford to Methten 61 miles <2S) i Siethven to Ashburtofl 39} miles (2?), Arrival is to be made at ths slopping point at 6>50 p.m. The entries are as follow?:J. HoWdon, 3i h.p. Ariel, South OantMbttry M.O.C. J. Cant, Ui h.p. 8.5.A., South Canterbury G. Buil," s£ hP- 8.5.A., South CJahietbttry M.O.C. R. Slide,. £>i h.p. Ariel, South C*nt«rbliry T. Stodd'art, 3J h.p. Harley-DaVidgAflj South & Vihceut, W h-P- Matchless, Sduth OftaterT. E. McPherson, 5,6 h.p. Indian, Sftttth Oftflterbury M.C.O. . L. E. Cooke, 21 h.p. Ariel, Pioneer Sports C. B. James, 3J h.p. 8.5.A., Pionee* Bpottu A. Mitchell, 0 h-P- 8.5.A., Pion««f Sports G. Hayman, Si h>p. Douglas, Pioneer Sports H. G. Butcher, &l h.p. Calthorpej PWfteer Sport* Club. „ , ~., . (J. D. BOMbii, 4i h-P- Douglas, Pltttleer W. Braa"n4W, \i h.p, 8.5.A., PlOnSß* gjrortß 8. J, bradshatf, 2J h.p. Bj.A., PiStteer H. Forrester, 3 S 'b.p. Triumph, PiOMSM BftMtt T. 3} h.p. Ariel, AgftbUfWrt M.C.O. G. T. Betteridge, 2| ft.p, T. H *s> B-&A., Ashburton M C Qt a HBaVTii h.ih Ariel, Aihbuftdn M.0.0. E" wftWii ffff. 8.8.A., Ashbiiftoft M.O.C. W.BIWJiM h.t*. B J.A., AshbuMon M.O.C. f„S' JoneiNi h* Ariel, 'Ashbdtten M.C.O. K%jß&m. 81 "P- A ' lel - AShbUrton A Btoa'n,' Si li:p. U-S.A., Ashburton M-pA &' mm\ A hj>. Ariel, Ashbuitwa. M.fl»C t). Oj h.p. KMtott, Ashburton U. lcf'HSkrtdty. at n.p. A.JJ., Aihfcatton a. Afford; *i h>t>. aJ.A., Ashbunon 5i.0.0. THE CARE OF TifRES. Handle) a car a» easily as possibleDon't jam on the brakes. Don't try \ to beat the other fellow every time. Be considerate of your car and of others. These are some of the pieces of adtide given by Ut A. & Dawson, tyre manager of thd Canada Tyre and Bubb«f Co., Ltd., Wno is well qualified on how to take care of tyres. "Starting and stopping has been increased a hundredfold as a result of thd rapidly increasing tramV' Baid M f, Dawson. "Naturally this has increased the Wear on tyres as Well as on brakes and other parts of the Car. In a recent tdSt ft car driven at the rate of 33 mites an hour was brought to a dead stop every quarto* Of a mile without Sliding the wheels, but as quickly as possible. And then it. Was Immediately adfcJlerated to 85 miles OM hoar ftfain. After 108 miles of driving in this fftshion it Was found that onehalf of the tread design t>f the tyre had worn aWay, "Added to the heavy braking Of modern driving conditions h the ability of the modern motor-car to Jump from a standing start to 30 or 40 mile* per hour in ft few seconds. It i» no Wondar the traad is worn down rapidly. "If b drlvtfr wishes to increase the lite of hie tyres he should bring hit car to as easy u atop an possible and in starting* ajjoejerate gradually so as not to bring tod great a ktriin on his tyres. Motorists wlio observe these simple precautions will Us surprissd to note how much longer a set of tyres will last them,"

Bt "Roadster."

WHAT W A GOOD BBIVEEf ACCIDENT CAUSES. CAPTAIN CAMPBELL'S VIEWS. "A man who gets front one place to another in the shortest possible time, without taking any risks or causing annoyance to others, and Without in ally way frightening his passengers," ia Captain Malcolm Campbell'« deflnitiori of a geod drivdf. Writing in the "Meld" 6ii the subject of accident causes, he continues: Th«s man who annoys me most is he who accelerates when he should slow down, and decelerates when he übould go faster, I loavfl the genuine road hog out of the discussion, as he is beyond the pale in any ease* Other people I know who drive really well in the ordinary meaning of the word, yet flog their oars unmercifully* wearing them out in half Or quarter of the time that the careful motorist would. I should put these peopleim the same category as the horseman who rides with heavy hands, making his horse sweat unduly. tM Ma& WM l»ov» **> ****' Many accidents are caused through inetperienee and through the drive* being insufficiently alert- and not realising quickly enough when ft difficult ■situation is likely to ariae. jPo? example, late the other evening, i was driving home Into the country; the weather had become very much coldcr,»ahd the roads Were beginning to freeae, bo I drove with eautiou. A man passed me in a big American car, travelling tnueh too fAet, Shortly afterwarda l%ame across thU indirtdual ditehed on ft corner, his ear having left th« road through skidding on the slippery surface, fortunately no one wa* hurt, and after mueh hauling we •jot the oar back on to the road again but the consequences might have been Very much more serious. I think the golden rule to apply when driving on our congested roads is to look upon the other man aB an inexperienced driver, and not to rely upon him to do the right thing at the right moment. If you do, sooner or later you will com© to grief. Make allowances for Other drivers, do not expect them to net correctly, and probably you Will then be immune from accidents yourself, Wrong Directions.

I suppose hundreds at my reader* hftvc Often been annoyed wbott Oppro&ehlng ftnothor car travelling 110 the same direction as themselves, to nee the driver of the car In front held out his fight hand vertically, pull over to th§ centre of the road, and then suddenly shoot round to a turning on the left. Possibly you may be just about to pass on the inside, taking it for granted from his signal that he is going <to cross to the right. In eases of this description, hang behind and make sure which way he 1* going to tttrn before acting yourself. Perhaps I shall be looked upon as a member of the old school, but I am always inclined to over-SCUBd my hora rather than under-sound it. Certainly many accidents have been caused through insufficient warning of apftOaCh being given. I fully appreciate hat the air cannot be rent With raueous noises from horns, yet there ia moderation in everything. It Is not so vertf long ago that the first question a policeman asked the driver after an aedldeijt wast "Did you sound your horn!" To-day a motorist may be fined if it la proved that he was overfcealous in this respect. 1 wonder whether the authorities, wlie* framing these laws, realised that a very large percentage of people in tail country suffer from slight deafness, and. in addition, many are stone deaf, or nearly ad. Past BetLtad-rKot in ITont. When ft pedestrian or dog is crossing the road in front of your car, always pass behind him, and not in front. A person leaves the path with the intention of crossing the* road, and if he is halfway Over when you suddenly appear itt front of him, he becomes confused and is undecided which way to go, with the results probably, that he dodges about in front of your car. If he sees that you are obviously steering to pass behind him, in ninety-nine cases, out of a htihdred ho will walk straight on, not having had to alter his mind, and an accident is thereby avertod. In my opinion, one of the most unpleasant things in the world is to run Over a dog. Times without number I have seen poor animals killed solely owing to lack of thought on the part v of the driver. For example, if you seo a dog on one •ide o'f the fold and another On the opposite side, the chances are that one will cross over to eay "How do you do," to the other; therefore keep awake and prepare for an emergency. As with pedestrians, always* if possible pass behind the dog which is meandering, across the street. The Motorist's Birth Sense. It is extraordinary how after years of experience a driver seems to develop a sixth sense, which automatically en* abies him to anticipate what the other man will do, whereae the novice seems unable to realise the situation until it is abont to happen or hat happened. The new driver appears to concentrate on that portion of the road imme* diately in front of his ear, but the man of experience looks several hundred yards or more ahead, according'to the speed at which he is travelling. You may be interested to knew that when -driving at 200 nj.p.h. the driver has to look about a quarter of a mile ahead, but as he is covering this distance in four seconds or thereabouts, this is easy to understand. I cannot lay tort great stress upon one most Important rale of the road, if only every motorist, when approaching a main road from a side turning, would pull up and make sure that the main road is clear, I can safely state that more than half the accidents of to-day would be averted. I belteve it is an unwritten law that the car on the mala road has the right of way, y«t time and time again I have seen drivers cross main roads as if they were unaware of their existence. This is one of the worst forms of dangerous driving that I know. While it may be all right to drive with the ' hand throttle in the open country, it is very bad business to do so in traffic. Keep the hand throttle closed so that the motor will idle slowly when the foot la lifted from the accelerator. If the hand throttle is open the car is apt to leap ahead at the ( wrting moment, and the result is likely co be a disastrous collision.

THE CLUTCH. USE AS BRAKE. ADDED SAFETY FACTOR. One of the matters overlooked in the handling of the clutch is safety. Quite as essential 6s stopping ability is power, and the clutch assists the engine in this regard. "Slipping the clutch," so vigorously denounced, has virtually no followers among drivers who consider themselves competent, and yet this process in itself can be a life-saver if employed at the right time and in the right way. That the modern driver, by so strictly limiting the use of the clutch, lias cramped his own style in driving and placed himself in a position where he is forfeiting performance and safety, seems to be apparent, Olutch Trouble Itemed v. How many driven, for instance, know that a clutch can be used to assist the engine m a brake! How many appreciate that numerous clutch troubles can be remedied through radical changes in use? How many realise that through more skilful use of the dutch they could save repair bills, especially for such matters as replacing universal joints? Sow many ever have considered the relationship between skilful clutch use and the car's riding qualities! The answers are obvious when it is recalled that nine drivers out of every ton utilise the clutch for just three purposes!— Engaging it to transmit power from engine to transmission. Disengaging it to interrupt that power. Disengaging it and engaging it in gear shifting. The elutcn, used as a brake, can be of great assistance to the driver. Most motorists know that an engine, especially if it is of high compression, can be a most effective brake. It will not bring the car to a dead standstill, but it will greatly retard the car's speed. This is done merely by removing the foot from the accelerator. The engine then starves fpr air and- gas and the action is such that the car itself is forced to keep the engine in rotation against the tatter's resistance (compression). How the clutch figures in this process is simple. The clutch, broadly speaking, is the coupler between engine and rear driv-

lug wheels when the transmission i« set for any one of the gear eomblha» tiditt. The arrangement is the same Whether the oar is going forward or backward, but for the sake of simplicity consider the forward motion Only. It would neern that if the clutch were" disengaged the car would run so free that All opportunity to utilise the engine for braking purposes would be •aorifloed. This, however, la not the caw.-' . The minute an idling engine is releaned from the Oar, through declutching, its speed. Is reduced to a- minimum. If, then, the clutch is engaged again the pistons of th« engine will resist the sudden speed they are forced to travel. This greatly increases the engine's braking effectiveness, and if the process is repeated several times in quick sue* cession the reduction in the ear's speed will bo surprisingly rapid. Not Beoommended. Such a process is not recommended for daily use, but it does well illustrate the point that closer acquaintance with tho clutch gives to the driver additional safety factors which will serve 'him effectively in an emergency. Ono of the most annoying of clutch troubles—that of dragging clutch plates —can be remedied by "burning" the Clutch a little. This is done by setting the car's holding brake and letting in the clutch slowly while the engine tuns. The effect Of this process is to cause tho clutch plates to slip; rubbing eft the rough or gummy surfaces causing tho-dragging. By judicious use of the clutch,- it is possible and advisable to save the universal joints considerable punishment when travelling over rough roads. With the rear Wheels bouncing, and the load force)} badly unbalanced, it is difficult enough for the unlversals without having to withstand the power forces from the engine. Careful drivers coast over such rough spots, slowly. Batioa between front and rear wheel brakes in many four-wheel brake layouts vary considerably. Some systems impose the greater part of the burden on the rear wheels. Others divide it equally between front and rear. It is well to know just what ratio is employed in the ease of one's car. For instance, if the ratio is 60-40, roar and front, the first adjustment should concern itself only with the rear brakes. Adjustment of the front pair probably Will throw the whole braking system out of line. „ if the ammeter does not register "charge" when the engine is running at normal speed, consult the repair man immediately.

FOR INVALIDS. An automobile body with a wheel chair that becomes an integral part of the rear seat when its occupant wishes to go riding has been invented by Wright Barclay k New York. The body of the car is equipped with a ramp, which pulls out on either side and drops at a gentle incline to the sidewalk, permitting .the chair tobe rolled in and ottt. The nunp "is slipped under the par floor when net in use. When in the car the chair it securely looked in place and cotnpletea the .back. «e»V being wmilarly tipbol-

stored. The chair has *J«o * *4&4ftl appearing attatop and .«ugME££M handles. It is of the proper be easily poshed through, «R tiMWi& Mm doors, ekrratore, tneattt i^%^^'#^