LUBRICATION RESEARCH.

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 27, 31 January 1917, Page 11

LUBRICATION RESEARCH.

Lubrication (says an exchange)'is the life of the motor engine, and, while' tho methods employed are to-day very efficient, recent experiments supply strong arguments in support of more scientific methods of lubrication, especially of the gear-box and differential. One test disclosed a surprising loss of power between. ! the engine and road wheels of a motorcar when the different gears were in operation. For instance, ort a threespeed car the average loss was 5 poi: cent, on top gear, 16 per cent, on second gear,, and 27 per cent.. on the bottom gear. No one, perhaps, will be surprised at.the difference in efficiency between the direct top gear and the indirect second speed • but it certainly is remarkable that there should be a "further power loss of 11 per cent, on the first speed, as itis no more indirect than the second. The additional losses attributed to. the churning of tho gear-box lubricant being so much more rapid on the bottom speed,. and a British motor expert makes the excellent suggestion that some engineering college should conduct a series of tests to measure gearbox losses iii aii actual gear-box, using different lubricants in each test. A pack-, ing of grease in the gear-box hat; not proved successful, as the lubricant failed to "flow" to certain bearings. On tho other- hand, it is stated that the keener competitors in hill climbs always empty their gear-boxes of the usual thick oil, and replenish with tho minimum quantity of a thinner lubricant; and there is, perhaps, more, iv the practice than some of them realised. For instance, taking tho average of the above tests, and assuming, as wo safely may, that gear-oils intermediate in consistency between engine-oil and grease were.used in the gear-box, the Ices with an enjftne developing 25 miles per hour on the brake would .bo such that on the buttom gear only 18.3 miles per hour would bo developed at the road wheels, and this heavy loss would, bo reduced by using a thinner lubricant. For slow-moving commercial vehicles', however/the above may not apply, but tests would prpyo.