EASY STARTING

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 48, 26 February 1927, Page 18

EASY STARTING

KEEP THINGS IN ORDER A great deal of the trouble which arises in the matter of starting may be eliminated if the conditions are carefully appreciated. Often the starter motor is blamed when it is having imposed upon it a load and a duty which is unreasonable and unfair. .'.Unfortunately, many new motorists have not experienced the necessity for hand- starting and have relied alwa'ysupon the starter motor. And the use of this very valuable and convenient appliance has undoubtedly, in many, cases, had the effect of making users neglect;their'engines in a way they would'not be guilty of if hand starting were still the order of the day. In such a, case they would make sure that the engine was in proper trim for the easiest start, and would look to their plugs, timing, and carburettor, setting so that the minimum of cranking would have to' be indulged in when a start was to be made. In too many cases these conditions are not attained, arid.the heavy duty of starting an obstinate motor.is imposed upon the electric starter,, with a very serious drain

and strain upon the accumulator and the electrical equipment generally. If motorists would make a hauit now and again of getting a start by hand they would become acquainted with the state of their engines from the point of view of easy starting, and , would be constrained to see that everything was in ship-shape order for an easy hand start —always a desirable condition, for it is generally under adverse conditions that a compulsory hand start has. to be made. This little attention would have the effect of ensuring that the engine was equally ready for the electric start and would obviate heavy and unfair loads bei-ug put upon the starter motor and the accumulators, which would thus be allowed to give their maximum of life and efficiency and economy of ojieration. The precaution would also lead undoubtedly to economy of operation all round, for carburettors and ignition systems would, of necessity, be kept in the most favourable conditions for economical usage and the minimum of expense in running and upkeep. The Nelson Automobile Association is forwarding the following remit to the South Island Motor Union: "With reference to straying stock and the Impounding Act, that the fees be considerably raised, or that power be given to rangers, to return .animals direct to the owners instead of impounding them, and to demand the fees- 1 on return. That power be given to sue for the fees as though the animal had been impounded under the existing Act, and further that if at preesnj; the police have not pow-er to impound stock that it should be given." j The Muriwai beach motor races are set down for sth March. Access to the beach was .cut off by washouts during _ the recent, severe floods, but the Waitemata County .Engineer has notified that the road will be repaired in plenty of time for the fixture. The new track to 'the beach is to be cut out of the solid rock, which will prevent a recurrence of past troubles. The Muriwai beach races are the leading motor sports attraction of the Dominion.

Despite frequent protests, the obnoxious din so characteristic of motorcycles continues everywhere. The matter, was mentioned by a member of the executive of "the Taranaki Automobile Association at the last meeting of that body, and a resolution was passed that the secretary should bring the subject up at the next meeting with a view to making the use of "eiit-outs" illegal. Considering the ease with which oifenders in regard to noisy motor-cycles can be traced, there are astonishingly few prosecutions. A little police activity ought to go a long way, but possibly complete'abolition of the "cut-out" is necessary. The "cut-out," however, is not the only cause of noise. Pew of the so-called "silencers" are anything like silent. Thousands - and thousands of motor-cars run constantly about the streets with only a purr, but one or two cycles are enough at any time to rouse a while city.

"Oh, I've got one of those things, but I don't know* how to use it," said one of a small knot of motor-car drivers pulled up on the Great South road in the Lower Waikato, to watch a ear blazing. "One of those things" was an extinguisher,;; which tire „ latest arrival had rushed with from his car. Of six motorists "who •had: :lpulledaip,--:.only- two : pos-. sessed -extinguishers, and the one .who didn't know how to use it was driving a car worth the best part of a thousand pounds. Morris Motors expect this year to turn out about 60,00 cars. Clyno are expected to manufacture 30,000, the Standard hope to sell 25,000, Austin 20,000, 'Bean 6000, Armstrong-Siddeley 6000, and Humber 6000. Roughly, this only leaves 50,000 cars, to be made by the remaining thirty-six-firms, providing jthat these.^estimates of production are correct., Naturally, the. expensive, high-class British factories, such as Daimlers, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Vauxhall, Lanehestor, Sunbeam, and Crossley, do not expect to make very large quantities .each year. They can pay dividends without any mass-production, but the figures seem to give point to the suggestion that it would b- better if some of those smaller mak'rs combined forces and produced, a car that could be sold as well .abroad as at Home, and so help the export business, at the same time lowering their own costs- and benefiting the British public by offering them cheaper cars.