MOTORS AND MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 78, 27 December 1918, Page 9

MOTORS AND MOTORING

(By "CI 11 toll.")

The "Fifth Wheel" of the Car, Suitable, nml sightly accomodation for tlio spare. wheel should be one of I lie features of' improvement in post-war car design, though it is not one of the most important. by any means. The usual locution of the spare wheel—on the running board by the driver's seat on Brit- ■ ish cars, and at the back of the body on American motors—is not in either ease ideal, for, apart from the wheel and'tyre being exposed to (he harmful effects of sun and rail), the appcaraneo of the- tar lis a whole is- certainly impaired. The noticeable tendency of modern body design has for. long been towards rounding off tho contour and eliminating nooks and excrescences which more or less, disfigured the bodywork.of a few years ago. But (lie spare wheel lias not been included, • iii "the larger luimber of eases, among tho irregularities of outline dealt with, although it undoubtedly is onaof tho most prominent. Efforts, however, already have been made on the part.of chassis and body designers to provide for the spare wheel suitable acommoda- ■ tion, preserving the clear-line appearance of tho car as a whole. An instance may be' mentioned where, under the runningboard, a box or drawer has been provided so that the wheel can be carried flatparallel with the ground—while in another instance it is placed in a compartment enclosed by a hinged panel .at the back of fthe body. By those two methods the wheel, quite conveniently placed, for access when required, is altogether .out of sight. An objection has been .raised to stowing the wheel under the car in that it might appreciably decrease the ground clearance, and also tend to raise more It .is held by many motorists thattliei'e'iis-no better place l'or the spare tthSel'7tlia:iv;' at' the rear of the car, as t'EeroUtrivill. increase the load where the .weight, is: an.i'advantage on many occaisioihs, 'arid in this connection it is probftble.that 4'ho'fifth wheel of the. car may .ultjjnitelyi/.Tind a resting-place in a :draw-erkitid6r;:tho back seat.

Aeroplane and Motor-cycle. The': marvellous development and subcessvpf.,- engine, which, oi course, is air-cooled, should first lead to definite improvement .of the .motor-cycle engine,. as against tiiat nf the cur, which latter is water-cooled, and it appears io be generally agreed that when designers seriously set to work- on the post-war models the many lessuns obtained in the production of aeroplane engines and'parts will- bo reflected- in; the motor-cycles. .During the war maiiy firms learnt how to use the lighter metals successfully. Now alloys .'and new ways to use light sheet-steel"'. huyu I 'been discovered; hence it is. probivble' that the new machines will . be' lighter';, but where the. weight reduction wil!,be>pbtainnd is difficult to sn'y, Uiougti it might be on general linos. Aluminium may be used more extensively, and different alloys, composed largely oi this metal, may. be used for connect-ing-rods, pistons, cylinders, and even for .valves. Before the war aluminium was largely being experimented with by motor manufacturers. Hero and There. • . Messrs.' Andrews, Jlaty and Co,, of Christchurcli, have just issued a new edition, the fourth, of their "Motorists* l{oad Guide", for the North Island. The hook will be 'found very useful by all touring motorists. The revised petition contains a number of new features, and the copious information relating to roads all over the. North Island,. .has been brought as nearly as possible up to date. The new features include, road maps of the North and South Islands, together with North Island provincial district maps, revised sectional maps, and a complete index of tlie names of places on all routes described. The guide is published at half-a-crown.

A light ear bought, for reasons of economy very often has to travel much fuN tiler on this accouiit, thus the extent of economy becomes dependent- upon the wear given by tyres and the consumption of petrolattained by the car. 'l'lie Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company, realising that the small car owner of to-day is. the big car owner of to-morrow, have produced a special tyre for uso in light cars.

An English motor-cycle designer, who' lins 'oxpcrimcntcd extensively with spring frames, declares Hint unless he can provide something very much better than has hitherto been evolved he will recommend his company to tit larger tyres and larger diameter' wheels, it. seems that roughened roads now prevailing in the Old Couittry are having the s-anic effect on design as hud Hie poorer roads of the United Stales, where almost without exception the manufacturers fit wheels at least two indies larger than the British maker... Naturally,• the. smaller the wheel arid its tyre the greater the number of holes they will fall into, instead of their being, bridged - to some extent. Lighting-tip 1 time: To-day, 7.27 p.m. Next Friday, 7.30 p.m.