MOTORS AND MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 285, 28 August 1931, Page 13

MOTORS AND MOTORING

(By

“Spare Wheel.”)

Jewellers’ rouge moistened with alcohol cleans light reflectors best. * * * The body of the car should be dried with chamois after washing, despite the, fact that it will dry itself in time. ♦ » » Knocking of an engine is merely 'a symptom of improper combustion due to faulty fuel. It frequently results in overheating, burned out valves and a general loss of power. ’ » * * Never pour cold water into a hot radiator. The sudden addition of cold water may affect the delicate tubes of the radiator, or a cracked motor block may result from the too sudden contraction of the warm metal.

STOPPING THE CAR ' Right and Wrong Ways Stopping a car simply involves applying the brakes; but there is a right and a wrong way to do this. Fierce application of the' brakes with consequent locking of the road wheels does not, as is popularly supposed, "apply the maximum braking effect. Actually, this maximum braking is obtained at a point just before the wheels are locked, and depends upon the coefficient off friction as between the tire and the road surface. In pulling into a kerb,. always try to avoid striking the wails of the tire against the stone kerbing, for repeated offences in this direction will seriously impair the life of the tire. Those motorists who would acquire the finer points of driving might, with advantage, study brake application when bringing the car to a standstill. Most people simply depress the brake pedal and leave it so until the car has stopped, with the result that the ma chine comes to rest with a perceptible jerk. If the brake pedal had been released a- yard or two before the final stopping place and then again gently applied, the car would finally stop in a graceful manner, and without any discomfort to the passengers. AMATEUR LACQUERING x As almost every car is now covered with one or other of the cellulose lacquers, a careful plan of touching up can with advantage be followed, and by using one of the brushing lacquers available, an excellent and quite presentable job can be made at quite a small cost. In this work the essential point to remember is that all surfaces upon which lacquers are to be applied must be perfectly clean, both from a mechanical and chemical point of view. All traces of rust , must definitely be removed by rubbing down with fine glass paper, and as a find! preparation, the whole work scrupulously cleaned with benzine. The whole effect of all this work may quite easily be spoilt if the car is left with a shoddy hood, particularly if it is permanently erected. A few shillings expended upon a suitable material to patch holes and a reliable hood dressing will be money well spent and restore somewhat the “new car” appearance.

STARTING ON HILLS Inexperien'ced drivers, are usually perturbed when for any reason their car stalls on a steep up grade. This is only to be expected, for starting up again under these conditions demands a delicacy of control and co-ordination of movement seldom called for in normal driving. Actually there are three distinct methods whereby this type of start may be effected, each with its peculiar advantages and disadvantages and depending in some measure also upon the operator’s skill. First —when held up for brief periods in congested traffic, bottom gear may be engaged, and the clutch partly let. in against the running engine. Certain types of clutch will not permit of this “slipping” scheme without risk of seizure, but where fabric-lined clutches are installed there is tittle danger. Of course the practice must not be abused, for it is in reality an emergency measure; but the point in favour is that with this plan’ in operation neither hahd nor foot brake need be used, and a and rapid getaway is possible as soon as the conditions are favourable. Second and more generally adopted method is to put gear lever in neutral and apply hand-brake. To start off—engage bottom gear and, as the clutch is slowly engaged, the hand-brake is gradually released. A little practice is needed in order to “pick up” the clutch drive coincident with releasing the hand-brake, and a mistake of a fraction of a second either way means the .car running back a short distance and then starting jerkily or, on the other hand, risk of stalling the motor by driving against the brakes. Third system involves holding the car with foot brake and as the clutch pedal is engaged the foot is taken from brake pedal and applied to the accelerator pedal; or, better still, the hand throttle is used to pick up the drive as pressure is slowly taken from the brakes. FIERCE ACCELERATION Effect on Tftres In addition to sheer speed, violent braking and fierce 'acceleration will generate undesirable heat in the tires. Consequently, drivers who regularly practice “flash” starting by letting in the clutch at full throttle on low gear must pay dearly for their fun. Under these conditions driving wheels spin mid. due to friction against the road, intense local heat is generated and the rubber tread momentarily becomes soft and plastic, the net result Is that rubber equivalent to perhaps 100 miles of normal running is worn away in the first ten yards. Exactly the same conditions are created as the result of viplent braking and consequent skidding of the tires. - i CORRECT CORNERING The essence of cornering Is in being able to attack a bend from the correct angle and “switch” gracefully round and every motorist who has ever watch ed a competition driver negotiate with out apparent effort a difficult corner, while in an identical car another man seems to scramble round in a most ungainly fashion, will realise the wis dom of this advice. Further, the man who corners gracefully is almost In Variably playing safe, while he who scrambles round leaves much to chanee and submit* his tires to a severe gruelling.

FEWER MOTORS Drop in Registrations Last Year PREFERENCE FOR BRITISH Statistics given in the annual report of the Transport Department, presented to Parliament, show a marked decrease in the number of motor vehicles registered during the year ended March 31 last, when the figures are compared with the registrations for the five preceding years. Details are as follow: —

The report states that the registrations of vehicles manufactured in Great Britain have not during the year 1930-31 shown the same percentage decrease as have registrations of vehicles manufactured in other countries. This is said to be probably due to the increased preferences granted in the Customs Act Amendment Act, 1930, in respect of vehicles manufactured in Great Britain. On June 1, 1931, the/registrations of 12,785 vehicles were cancelled owing to the licenses not having been renewed during the relicensing years 1929-30 and 1930-31. The number is considerably greater that that for June, 1930 —-viz., 8338. The foilwing figures show the number of motor-vehicle registrations (including dormant registrations) as at March 31, 1931 s

These figures do not include vehicles for which approximately 3000 “demonstration” plates -were issued to dealers during the year. Vehicles Actually on Road. The number of “live” registrations on the register kept in accordance with the provisions of the Motor-vehicles Act, 1924, may be taken as a reasonable indication of the number of vehicles actually on the road.” The numbers of these “live” registrations have been estimated for each month, and the monthly,averages for the twelve months ended March 31, 1930, and 1931, are given as follow: —

■ ' Service cars designed to carry not more than nine persons are included with motor-cars, while those designed to carry more than nine persons are included with omnibuses. Tax on Petrol. After mentioning that the motor spirits tax was increased from fourpence to sixpence a gallon as from July 22, 1930, the' report supplies data showing the yield and distribution of the petrol tax for the year ended March 31 last, figures for previous years being also given for comparative purposes. Details are:— £ Gross yield 1.417,291 Deductions— ..£ Refunds and cost of making ijame ..102,844 Coinmission to Customs Dept' for collection 14,400 117,244 £1,300,050 Net yield (i.c., gross yield less refunds and commission on collection), year ended March 31 — £ 1929 • 802,232 1930 901,907 1031 .' 1,300,050 Total since inception of tax £3,207,705 There has, it is stated, been an increase in the applications for refunds since the tax was increased to Gd. There are two main reasons for this—firstly, the financiah stringency due to the prevailing depression, and, secondly, the increase in the tax, which has now made it worth while for people to claim refunds that they did not worry about when the tax was 4d. Distribution of Proceeds. The distribution of the proceeds from the petrol-tax between the Main Highways ' Board and boroughs with populations of 6000 and over, was as follows, for the year ended March 31, 1931:— . £ Main Highways Board . 1/219,209 Boroughs (population of COOO and • over) i 80,841 Total £1,300,050 The report explains that after August 1, 1930, the proportion of the petrol-tax paid to boroughs with populations of GOOD and over was reduced from 8 per cent, to 5} per cent. “Like all taxes,” comments the report, ‘‘the petrol-tax may shift either backward to the producers of the benzine, or forward to the consumers of motor transport while a certain amount of the burden may be carried for a time by >the operators of ■ motor transport services. In the long run the petrol-tax will tend to be shifted forward to the consumers of motor transport services, and, in so far as the increased cost of these services causes a diminution in the demand for them, a proportion of the tax will also, in the long run. be cast upon the producers of motor-vehicles and equipment, in the form of losses of business consequent on a diminished demand. For the year ended March 31, 1931, passenger transport effected by motor-cars, motoromnibuses, and motor-cycles, contributed £7O out of every £lOO of the total yield from the petrol-tax, against £2B out of every £lOO from trucks. Thus the petroltax derived from the carriage of passengers in motor-vehicles is over twice that derived from the transportation of commodities. A further analysis of the motives lying behind the movement of persons (impossible at this stage) would shed further light on this question. Investigations by the department indicate that approximately 50 per cent, of the total cost of operating motor-cars in New Zealand is for purposes of a non-business nature.”

NIGHT DRIVING Night driving in closed cars is also an uncomfortable experience for the novice until he becomes used to the myriad of reflected lights, and it is a good point to remember in this connection that while a perfectly clean window will scarcely reflect light, the same glass covered with fine particles of dust acts in the nature of a mirror and greatly aggravates,the trouble. The lights of overtaking cars also cause some annoyance, and it is a good plan to pull the rear blind down and leavebut an inch or two opening; thus vehicles can readily be located, there is sufficient opening for the purpose of reversing, and dazzle effect is so reduced as to be of little consequence Clogging of the vent in the top of the petrol tank will cut off the flow of fuel if a vacuum, tank Is used.

Commercial Year. Cars. vehicles. Cvcle«. Total. 1925-26 . . 18,811 4409 5130 2S.350 1926-27 < 10,439 4692 5404 20,505 1927-28 .. 12,531 3300 4560 20,490 1928-29 , ,. 18,739 4167 4768 27,674 1929-30 . 20,802 5745 4300 30,847 1930-31 . ... 12,378 4113 3130 19,630

North South Island. Island. Total. Cars 99,967 56,213 156.180 Commercial vehicles 24,055 11.515 35,570 37,976 Cycles 22,634 15,342 Totals 146,656 83,070 229,726

Vehicle. ' ’ Moif or-cars ......... Monthly Averages. 1930 1031 ...125.013 134.407 Trucks . ... ' 25,512 25,294 Omnibuses ......... 1,029 1,040 117 T nvc ti o n - engli D&9 173 Tra tiers ... 755 923 Twaetors ........... ... 203 302 Motor-cycles ........ ... 26,206 25,167 458 Other mo tor-vehicles .. ,445 Totals ......... ... 177,480 187,703