MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 274, 13 August 1920, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

(By "Clutch.")

Motor Express Routes. According to the report of the enmmor. cial secretary to the British Embassy at Washington, the United States Government haa been experimenting for soma months on motor express routes for tho transportation of mails and foodstuffs, and tho results have been so beneficial, and havo so convinced the Post Office authorities of tho possibilities of tho motor vehicle as a factor in transportation that Congress was asked to grant an additional appropriation for the extension of the routes to other parts of the country. Further experiments wore authorised early in tho year when an appropriation of 300,000 dollars (nominally .£60,000) was granted, a proviso being that the tests should be made by tho Post Office Department to determine tho practicability of. operating motor vehicles with a view to promoting the conservation of food by expediting its col. lection and delivery from producers .to consumers, and also with a view to facilitating tho quick delivery of fourth-claw mail matter. Much interest was manifested in the experiments by the. staff, and the results throughout are considered satisfactory in every respect. According to the report, the revenue on th« operations of five motor . routes, from July 1 to September 80, was 81 cents per mile, while the cost ranged from 15 to 25 cents per mile. The five routes covered a distance of 903.8 miles daily, at an estimated annual cost of 67,500 dollars. The total distance covered during the period amounted to 63,740 miles, and a total of 35i tons of mail nialter, approximating 118 tons per month, wa» transported by these motor vehicles. '

Tyrs and Rim Standardisation. The British Rubber Tyres Manufaiv turers* Association, Limited, in collaboration with the British Engineering Standard Association, have recently published a Booklet dealing with tho new standard ei7.es for automobile lyres and rims. The new sizes, where they ar« new, have been obtained in collaboration with tho American Society of Automotive Engineers, and there is no doubt that the step is a very useful one that is'likely to have quite important results. Only seven sizes are now authorised for motor-car rims of the beaded edge type, but each size 'will take two sizes of tyres. _ For wired-on tyres there are four sum of straight-sided rims, this probably being in deference to American practice, for in England the wiredon tyre on a motor-car is practically, unknown. Incidentally, some effort hag recently been made to popularise this type of tyro In the home country, hut very few f experienced motorists : will welcome it. Itis to bo hoped that these standard sizes of rims will actually remain as standard for an indefinite 1 period. It is a fact that far too many efforts have been made to introduce new standard 6izes din-in? the last few yoars, with the result that the private motorist ho* found tho greatest 'difficulty in realising just how ho stood as to his wheels and tho tyrea they would fake if he happened to bo the owner of a car that was past its prime.'

Moderation in Speed, Whore a motor-car ov motnr-cycle to consistently or for the most part driven at high speeds over present-day, road surfaces, the cost of maintaining it is '•onKidcrably increased, n» a mattex of course. It emphasises once more tho truth of the saying to' the effect that it is "tho, pace that kills," and seeing the condition of many roads it would be surprising if it wre otherwise. Capably -driven, that ,is to say, with duo regard 'to the engine, mere (peed as such will not adversely ntfect the power unit lo any great extent. Adequate lubrication, nkilful manipulation, of tho ignition and carburettor controls, and an intelligent use of tbo gear-upciating meebnnism. tin in.'.untson' relleve'the engine considerably even when tho high speeds arc'continuously indulged in, but it )« different with tho other parts, such as tho. frame, wheels, (springs, -JiTpe connections, etc These lattur ; nre_fubjected .to sustained vibration, Atid ninny severe and abruptly delivered shocks cbminjj from more than one direction and exerting disturbing • influences, which in combination stress the construction very highly, Then, again, it is difficult to ensure againsn the shaking loose of nnts, 'bolls, unti other detachable fitments, and where speed is indulged in on rough mails it is'certainly advisable to look well over the car or motor-cycle between trips. Repairers nre, constantly being nsked to «xecnte work which, if speeds were lower and road surfaces better, they would never hear of. Moderation- in motor •ocea certainly means reduced cost of maintenance and longer life of tyres-a big saving as a set-oif to tho few mm■utes gained by faster travel.

Cars in U.S.A. '' There nre over 6,000,000 automobiles in use in the United States to-day. At an average annual mileage of (conservative) 3000, the total yearly mileage equals 18,000,000,000. Multiplied by an averago of three passengers the total passeng-er mileago of tho country's, automobiles it* 54,000,000,000. Latest available figured ehow that tho official railroad passenger mileage was 32,384,24T,563.- Automobiles, on a basis of 300 days of use and an average .of only two passengers, carried 3,600,000,000 persons, compared with tho railroads' total of 976,303,602. The scatihg capacity of tb* United States' 6,000,000 automobiles is estimated at not fewer than 30,000,000 people. Tho total scaling capacity of railroad cars, of winch theio arc 55,705, is about 3,500,000 people, to carry the people now carried by aulomobiles' would require 60,000 new passenger coaches and 14,972 new locomotives. An Italian Decree. Tho Italian Government has Issued « decree accordins to which "o manufacturer may sell more than 10 per eentv of his product on the home market. J his measure obliges .tho Italian lactones to export; at least 90 per cent, of their output,' and, according to advices, wilt prove vtry awkward indeed for the motoring community of that country, winch has been waiting for years for motorcars of almost.any kind. Tho Sjo/ernment has adopted the measure wivli a viow' to' improving the very disa>. vantagooos rate of exchanse between Italy and 'other countries. The restriction is imposed on many ether classes of goods besides automobiles, but is not general. Keeping Bearings Dry. The greatest enemy to ball-bearings is wet. So Boon ns 'tho balls or races of a bearing become rusted, pitting sots in and" once pitting lias started, the lead will senn pound down die bearings mid destroy the bearing surfaces. The great, est caro should, therefore, ho taken to ensure- that no water can jet into. th» bearings. '■ The bearings ■ot the froi * wheel aro more generally accessible o wet. Tho best way to prevent the trouble i 8 to see that thick felt or leather washere arc ntteffand that the bearmgs arc always packed with a goal quality grease. Soma of tho greases which arc. now being gqld nt substantially low prices are to bo avoided. Petrol Intensifier. In England they are now using a new, petrol intensifier under the name of mirnclo motor gas. Petrol, being a gaseous oil when dropped into water separates into globules. These globules are covered by a "skin" or capsule. Chemists have experimented with n view to discovering something that would dissolve this '"«kin" and at the same timo not injure the petrol. Realising that if this could 1» accomplished the mileago obtainable front patrol would be increased to qmto a marked degree, many attempts have been made to solvo tho problem, and it 13 now claimed that the efforts have apparently boon . rewarded with success, The action of the chemical-contained in tabloid—wliich is dropped .into tho petrol tank, is that it increases the affinity ot the petrol to unite with air—thus ensuring a botlor mixture and greater explosive power, The English motoring Press and manv commercial firms using fleets of em' testify to tho increased mileage obtained by tho ueo of the intensifier. whicTi .is stated to'have absolutely no ill effccla on tho metal It comes in contact with.