MOTORING.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19983, 18 July 1930, Page 6

MOTORING.

"Boadster" Invites articles and paragraphs of interest to motorists for tliis page. NOTES. A somewhat comiaon trouble experienced in connexion with tyres in winter months is that of rusty rims, particularly where the car is used over muddy roada during a long wet season. The edges of the casing become oftentimes rusted on to the rim of the wheel, and may even be damaged when the tyre is removed. Accordingly all four tyres should be liberally coated with graphite paint. The inner tube also will give better service if it is properly cared for. No grit or dirt must be left inside the casing, since even a small piece of grit will cause considerable abrasion on the soft rubber of the inner tube. Before replacing a tyre the insido of the cover should be carefully brushed out, while it is a good plan also to dust lightly the tube with French chalk. With these precautions the motorist should be reasonably free from trouble.

The squabs and cushions of cars with cloth upholstery, as is now so general in the case of saloons, soon accumulate a deal of dust and dirt. The proper way to rid them of the dust is to hold them top side down (which can be done by resting one end on the bench) and beat them upwards with a carpet beater. This has the effect of bringing the dust out instead of driving it in, as is so often done when the "squabs are beaten from the top. The fabric will show full of dust, and this can best be removed by brushing with a good bristle brush —still upside down—or drawing out the dust with a vacuum cleaner. Tho latter apparatus is invaluable for the thorough cleaning of the inside of a cloth upholstered saloon.

Wire wheels are becoming increasingly 'popular, but they take a good deal of keeping clean and are awkward things to wash. Spoke-cleaning is always a tiresome job at the best, so motorists owe a debt of gratitude to the inventor of discs, which can be filled on all tvpes of wheels built today. discs, if fitted over wire wheels, give tho advantage of that form of wheel construction, and also the easy-cleaning advantages of the disc wheel. They are easy to fit and well repay their cost in the trouble and labour they save.

A square of old oilcloth is very useful in the garage. When the need arises for crawling under the car it is both cleaner and more comfortable than the floor to lie upon, and it can be used to preserve the bench when such iohs as decarbonising are bein<j carried out; it will be found quit© satisfactory to work on, as, unlike paper, it does not catch in projecting parts and ruck up, whilst it can very easily be wiped with a petrol-damped rag when the job is completed.

Chamois leathers should not be allowed to become dry and bard. This condition can be avoided by keeping the leather in a 2lb glass jam jar, preferably one which has a screw-on or bayonet-catch lid. The leather is pressed into the jar when damp and tho lid fitted;'it will-then remain m good condition for instant use time. It is a good pian also;.to, keep a small leather in the car for (Cleaning the windscreen in muddy weathef* v lbe leather can very conveniently be kept ..in an oiled-silk tobacco pouch—it-will remain just nicely damp. There are various twinta on a chassis which are not readily accessible with an oil can but which, at the same time, require fairly regular lubrication. A good way out of the difficulty is to obtain a small paint brush with a short handle which can be secured to a length of stiff wire, or thrust into the end of a piece of copper tube The "business end" of tho brush can then be bent at any convenient angle to enable it to reach awkward places. The part to be lubricated should first be well covered with paraffin, applied with the brush, and, after being allowed a little time to soak well into the joint, the paraffin is followed by a liberal quantity o* used engine oil, also applied with the brush. It will be found that paraffin, being a very penetrative oil, will carry the engine oil with jt into the joint.

No one can determine the exact mileage at which the condition ot the oil in an automobile is such as to require changing, so the American »»■ cosimeter Company, Inc., of New YorK has developed an automatic viscosity meter, which positively determines the time at which the oil . should be changed. The device is, called the "Lubri-meter," and determines the v.scosity or the lubricating condition ot the oil in the cranbease, and has been developed through the efforts of H. »• Konheim and W. J Albersheim in co-operation with C. M. Larson, chief engineer of the Sinclair Refining Company. An ingenious keyless steering lock, invented by Mr H. Roberts, of Melbourne, is one of the biggest contributions to thief-proofing a motor-car evolved in recent years. The lock is designed to fit beneath - the base of the steering wheel, so has been made with an eye for the appearance of the finished article. It is highly finished in either niekle or lacquer, and is by no means bulky or obtrusive when in position. Four small lu<*s fitted to the steering column provide the comb in aation stons. without nno + her set of hi2s. fixed beneath the wheel lock and wheel when the device is moved up to en<?age with them. A turntable is built flush with a narrow street in Paris, France, to facilitate the turning around of motor-cars. It is operated by an electric motor. The plan is expected to speed traffic and prevent congestion of vehicles.'

BY "ROADSTER."

Should the novice be unfortunate enough to drop a motor-cycle, and it is too heavy to lift by the obvious method of picking it up by the handlebars and saddle, the best plan is to walk round to the side opposite to that in which it has fallen, grasp the handlebars and saddle, put one toot on the uplifted footrest. or other convenient point, and lean back pressing hard with the foot; the machine will be restored to the vertical with great ease, for one's own weight is used to the best mechanical advantage, without calling upon the strength needed to lift the machine.

Large brass studs have been placed in the pavements of Paris to show pedestrians where they may safely make a dash to the other side of tbo street and pedestrians are expected to use this space and no other. The cen-tury-old custom in Franco of allowing persons to cross the road where and when they will has been abandoned.

European tourists who have had difficulties in .procuring petrol in more or less remote places and paying for it in currencies with which they are not entirely familiar will welcome the suggestion being made in European automobile circles for the internationalisation of a system of "benzine coupons," now in use in several countries. If the proposal is accepted by the principal benzine companies, it will be possible for the traveller to stock up in London, Paris or any other largo city with coupon? good for fuel and oil at any of the fuel stations carrying the company's products.

The police of Constantinople in a recent raid mado a wholesale removal of mirrors attached to the windshields of .taxieabs, which a new regulation forbids. It seems that a uuinbcr of drivers had been so interested in watching their passengers through these mirrors that they neglected the operation of their cars with the result that they sometimes crashed into other cabs.

For example, a source of ignition trouble can bo a sticky rocker arm. Oil should not be used. After removing the rocker and cleaning the rocker-arm bearing, effective lubrication can best be obtained with the.aid of a lead pencil, tho lead or graphite serving as a dry lubricant. Another useful hint to help detach „an obstinate wheel is to attach a suitable strap to the wheel spokes, and insert a jack in the loop between tho end of the axle and the strap; then operato the jack in the ordinary way, and the stickiest wheel will soon respond.

It is fairly well known to most motorcyclists that pre-ignition has symptoms rather similar to those 1 brought on by a tight piston or 6light shortage of lubricating oil. The engine apparently becomes weary, heats up, klows down, and finally stops. Very ofven the rider has no idea why this should happen, and after waiting for a few minutes for the engine to cool slightly, is able to start up again and continue on his way. If he goes slowly all is well, but if the throttle is opened too far the same symptoms will oceur again and probably even more severely than before. The usual cause of pre-ignition is that an incorrect type of sparking plug has been fitted, or that the plug has become worn out.. In the case of a twostroke engine, for example, the heat imparted to the central electrode of the plug is much greater than in a fourstroke, so that it is essential to employ a plug that will carry away the hea"t, otherwise the incandescent points will fire the mixture prematurely.

The most costly and luxurious motorcar ever brought to China was built for the President of the Nanking Government. The whole of the metal work on the body of the limousine, and even the hood, is of half-inch thick navy steel plate, which is designed to shed the bullets or bombs of would-be assassins. Two extra seats project from the back of the car, built high enough to permit the occupants to see forward over the hood. These will be occupied by special guards with machine guns. The running boards are unusually long, for guards to stand on, each with a pistol in hand.

TOURING SEASONS. TRIPS IN THE OLD WORLD. A recent compilation of the best seasons for touring through the Old World may be of interest to those who are planning motor tours. The best time to motor through the British Isles, Franco, Germany, Holland, and Belgium is between April and October; there is splendid weather along the French Riviera during the winter months. In Switzerland, Italy, and Austria the mountain passes are not open till well in June, but outside of these regions rery good weather prevails from the middle of April well into November. In Rumania. Bulgaria, Poland, Yugoslavia, Czecho-Slovakia, and Hungry the summer months are the most inviting, although along the Dalmatian coast it is possible to tour somewhat earlier. In southern Spain the spring comes earlv. but in the north it is most pleasant to travel about the end of April Norway, Sweden. Denmark, and Finland are most attractive from May until September. In North Africa the touring season is from October until May. A shilling advertisement in the classified section of The Pres< will sell your goods. Try it.- 12 words Is, three insertions 2s 6d. —6

LOSS OF POWER.

IMPORTANCE OF GEAR BOX. Perhaps one of the most surprising things in connexion with a loss of power in an automobile is due to the lubricant in the gearbox; the dominating factor being the level to which the Rear box is filled with oil. 'the viscosity of the oil, of coarse, affects results considerably, but tuo level oi the oil m rue gearoox is far ana away the main tactor. \n investigation on this subject was recently earned out in England, and the information obtained snould not be without interest to the omniary motorist. It was found that the actual friction between the gear wheel teetn was very small, and to vary very liUio with changes in the nature of viscosity of the oil, and also to be practically unaffected by changes of speed. Another very curious result was that the power loss with an over-full gearbox was found to be greatest on the direct or top gear drive, in which, ot course, the losses due to friction are practically negligible. On the indirect j>ear ratios efficiency was reduced when the gearbox was over-fuil, but not to anything like the same extent as on the'direct drive. A typical example was given showing that the lo s s of power on the direct drive was more than six times as threat (with the' engine running at 1000 r.p.mA when the gearbox was four-filths full than when it was one-fifth full. It was iound that up to powers equivalent to an overload of 250 per cent., there were no signs of the lubrication ben'? inadequate, and the box ran cooler than when operated in the direct drive position at 1000 r.p.m. when four-fifths full of oil. , . , r l Actuallv the power loss in the hrst case was 2 h.p., and in the latter case 4* h.o. The most interesting discovery of all was perhaps the amaz'ng'y h gh efficienev of tine gearbox. When working under its full rated output on the indirect gear ratios, it gave an efficiency of 97 to 98 per cent., which, it must he admitted is an extraord naril.v good result. The final conclusions are that an excess of, or too viscous a, lubricant causes excessive less of Dower in the direct drive position: that adequate lubrication of the indirect eea.rs is diven bv sufficient oil just to cover the teeth of at least one of each pair of matinrr wheels • and that nn oil of moderate]v low viscosity gives satisfactory' lubrication and minimises churniiif loss. Tt would annenr fro'n this that in the majority of ca r es the oil level in the cearbos is too hierh and is the cause of a considerable loss of power on top tear.

CATCHER. A CANVAS APRON. A bumper which, when it is in contact with a pedestrian, releases a canvas apron designed to pick up the pedestrian and rave him from being run over by the car hns been patented by John K. Valle, of New York. Tho device embodies a bumper mounted inovably so as to be retracted when struck, and a frame carrying an apron or other receptacle, normally held in a lockcl position, which is released by the retraction of the bumper. When tho pedestrian is struck the bumper automatically causes the apron to enap forward. The device is said to be equally adaptable for trucks as for passenger cars, and to be an aid in reducing fatal accidents. According to an announcement, a company has been organised forits production by Robert Cain, of New York.

MOTOR SPEEDWAYS. REPLACING THE ROADS. Koads laid by the Caesars 2000 years ago in Italy have been modernised into fine highways of a most distinct type. The new roads are motor speedways accommodating six automobiles abreast. There are no sharp grades and no crossings. No speed limit prevails, and it is said that in the seven or eight years the roads have been in operation no serious accidents have occurred. These roads have been so successful, it is said, that the French Government is planning to build several like them near Paris.

CRANKCASE AIR VENT. CONSUMPTION OF OIL. Many motorists who complain about the excessive oil consumption of their motors never think of checking the working of the crankcase air vent. Probably this is due to the fact that very few motorists know exactly why the vent is provided. The reason is that if no provision were made for the admission and expulsion of air a certain amount of compression would occur, due to the speed and movement of the crankshaft and pistons. This would result in forcing oil out through the bearings. Again, there is almost invariably a leakage of gas past the pistons on the compression or power strokes. It may be slight, or, in the case of loosefitting piston rings, it may be considerable. In any case, if no outlet were provided in the crankcase this gas would collect, and, in time, form a state of constant compression which would lead to a large loss of oil and very poor efficiency from the. engine. The same loss of oil and efficiency occurs if the vent or breather is choked up, so that it is advisable to look over this part of the motor occasionally and make sure that the openings ar© unobstructed t

a correct picture of the device nor of the object which it attains. However, let us to its description, remarking that at present it is an 'extra' only to be had upon the SO h.p. and 50 h.p. double six chassis. Behind the flywheel of the engine is fixed a pair of rotary hydraulic pumps (they might almost be called turbines), one of which is the driver, and the other the driven member.. The oil. which is the fluid medium employed, goes round in an< hermetically closed circuit. "Now, as between the two pumps a small leakage is provided. Thus, when the engine is turning over very slowly thp one pump does not rotate the other. In these circumstances the car stands still. But when the engine is accelerated the fixed leakage cannot take care of the volume of oil circulation and the driven pump has no option but to rotate. Hence the car moves forward. When the drive in fully taken up, the loss of efficiency due to the leakage is quite infinitesimal, as is proved by the fact that with this highly ingenious hydraulic clutch the car is just as fast and just as redoubtable a hill climber as it is without it. Modus Operandi. "Imagine yourself at the wheel. The gear lever is in top, but that does not interfere with your starting up the engine. It ticks over softly and sweetly You take off tho hand brake. Nothing happens. You tread upon the accelerator podal, and according as you tread firmly cr gently, the car moves off. No car with a humanly-controlled dutch has ever moved off in 6uch a.