MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3064, 27 April 1917, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

IBy Clutch.] Undue Tire Wear. The period of usefulness of a tire is governed by the care it receives—or the attention it fails to get. Much has been said of the need of efficient inflation, and tiro manufacturers have found, it necessary to frame and issue lists oi tiro pressures according to the loads to be carried. That under-infla--tion has been, and still is, the ruin of many a,first-class cover is Borne out Sy the examinations made in tho repair departments of the large tire mills, such as the Dunlop Rubber Company, for instance, but there is another factor in tire destruction of a moro subtle kind. This is mis-alignment of the wheels, the frame, or the axles, and however small, it exerts a rasping effect on the tread l and wears it away sooner —very much sooner in somo cases. —than is reasonably expected. The foregoing, applies to motor-cycles, but more especially to the rear wheels. A writer recently was shown a new cover, fitted t» the rear, wheel of a standard American motor-cycle, which ,tho owner said had not covered 800 miles, yet tho tread showed undoubted signs of hard wear, as if it had been driven, for some thousands of mile's over flinty surfaces. A close examination of the tread revealed the fact that the rubber was very minutely torn, suggesting that the wheel was not tracking, and an inspection showed that the rim was a quarter of an inoh' nearer one fork, or stay, than the other. Simply, the wheel Tiad been carelessly adjusted in tho frame, resulting i n > grinding effect at the tread of the tire. The Small Maker. Optimism alone, as tord Derby reminds us, won't win the war, but it a factor of real value in business, says an English writer. I iave not so far met a single maker of motor-cars on a small scale in this country who is down-hearted at the prospect of the big firms scooping in all the orders after the war. On the contrary, they are full of confidence that they can make a-profitable use of their_ meagre resources to earn a good living for themselves if they cannot mako a fortune. As oiie explained, "Wβ shall bo able to get along with less machinery in the future than in the past. The things' that we were once compelled to make for ourselves we Bhall shortly be able to buy elsewhere'at Icsb than half what they cost us to turn out. That is a tremendous help to small makers, and more partioularly because the prices we shall pay for our components are practically what they will cost the big firms to produce. Wβ are assured on that point, which is not the least important one. The actual works cost," he continued, "is purely figurative in the case of largo manufacturers, but it is not so with a little concern such as ours. There is little to tack on to' it in establishment charges, directors' foes, and other things. Our-rent is a negligible item, and the non-productive staff is nearly so, and as no one receives fees for doing nothing, and all are workers, we are in a position to compete, if need bo, with the biggest plants.in the country in price. : As we have now arranged matters we shall bo able , to inorease our output considerably without. any increase of effort or expenditure, and because tho attractiveness of our design will appeal to the largest number of users wo are cortain to make headway."- • ..'•. - .. -..: .

Here and There. .. : .. . "How; am'l to know when an inner tube ia 'dono , ? isa question 1 am asked repeatedly," says an American expert. "It is the natural inquiry of a tire user who hast, had several repairs made on his tubes and wishes to obtain the utmost mileage from them, yet wants to avoid tho inconvenience- of making a tire change on tho road duo to tubo trouble. In theso times, whon economy is the order of tho day, a tiro user holding an old tubo 'in his hands can irell afford to pondor a minuto be-fore-casting it aside as 'through. . It is difficult sometimes to determine just when a tube is unfit for further use. However, porosity in a tube usually indicates that it has attained its threescore and t0n..... In this stag© of use, ■ very small cracks can bo observod in. the rubber if; it is stretched and examined carefully; Tho next development is splitting .when tho air pressure becomes too great for; the tubo to bear. If the. rubber in. the tube is 'livo, , it may successfully bear as many'patches as a beggar's coat. But due caro must bo exorcised in tho vulcanisation of the patch to the tubo, that too large a portion of the tube 'around the patch is not cured. If portions of tho tubo havo. been over-cured in patching operations, disaster is suro .to follow." A device intended chiefly for garage and works mechanics who constantly have to. make some adjustment 01 re-, pair under a car has been evolved. Anyone who has had to lie on his back beneath a chassis knows that tho position is an extremely crampoE one, ana also most uncomfortable; and that the strain comes on the muscles of the back, if tho head is to bo kept off. the ground.' The "Light Car" recontly illustrated this device, which consists of a piece of strong wire, bent to the shape of the letter' U, with hooked ends, which catoh iii holds placed at tho extremity of a curved aluminium band about 5 inohes in length, which is sewn to tho back of the operator's cap. When it is desired to use the head-rest, the curved wire is attached to the cap, so that when tho operator is in a reclining position the rest hangs down, and is ready to.use immediately, he leans .backward. That part of the rest which comes into contact with the floor is edged with rubber to prevent slipping. "Why not take the same caro with your car as you do with your boots ?" asks a motoring correspondent. '{Motorists have their boots polished every day, but while a pair of boots with unprotected leather means only a small loss, a car body.is worth considerably more, and thon, as with tho Boots,, the ownor's shiftless mothods are reflected if it is unpolished. In applying paste polishes the mistake is made in rubbing the paste directly on tho body. Much bettor results will bo obtained if the polish, is placed in a small cloth sack or in a pocket formed by a piece of cloth. Then, by rubbing the\sacfc or pocket against the body, tho polish will oozo out through tho pores in tho cloth, and in this way tho paste will bo applied evenly all over the body surface. In most body polishes there is a little turpentine, which keeps the mass in the form of a paste and jjjevents it from hardening. Also there may be a littlo naptba in the paste, this being used to cut the dirt. ,, ;.--" ■•■..•;

The motorist or oyclist who travels without a speedometer and a watch misses a groat source of interest and enlightenment. Tho distance, sometimes covered in pottering about is surprising, and the driver is 'Efie wiser for knowing oxaotly what he has covered, for it lias a- great bearing on the tiro and petrol accounts. Further, he learns that exact distance from placo to place, and can gaugo his time to reach a given spot with absolute certanty. •'With the toll-tale pointer on the speedomotor ho oan see at a glance Ins rato of spaed, whioh will sometimes surprise him, as when after a smart spin of somo distance at about 35 m.p.h., tho lower speed of, say, 26 or 27 m.p.li. seems very much slower, when he would think the machine for some reason was running badly, The speedometer corrects that impression, and, used in conjunction with a timepiece, he will find his trips hold moro of interest than formerly. Lighting-up time:—To-day, 5.4 p.m. Next Friday, 4.55 p.m.