FRONT WHEEL DRIVE

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 85, 13 April 1929, Page 27

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE

SOME ADVANTAGES

CARS ON TIIE MAItKET

The airival of a front wheel diivon British car in Sydney call attention to the most striking change in chassis design which has occurred ior borne years past, if not in tho history oi motoring, states the motor waiter or the Sydney "Herald." Although, however, this is tho first ear of the type to reach Sydney, and ono of the ursl m Australia, it is really only the pioneer of a development which seems to have attained some magnitude in Europe and the United States of America. The car is the property of Mr. Harry Taylor, and has already successfully competed in a reliability and touring contest promoted by the Eoyal Automobile Club in Australia. The most obvious feature of the car is its low build, tho floor being only 13 inches from the ground, while ,the top of the seat cushion is only 10 inches higher than the floor. A low centre of gravity is further assured by the fact that the car has nine inches of ground clearance, this making it very stable- on corners. i

' In the United States^ the front wheel drive has come into prominence largely because of the achievements of several racing cars of this description, which have accomplished some wonderful performances. It is stated that the idea of building them was conceived by the late ''Jiniiny " Murphy, the famous re-cord-breakings driver, who: pointed out that-on, the-more difficult tracks, such as Eidianopolis, ay little time ■ could .be saved every lap if ■ the car was pulled instead,'-of pushed into, the corners ,by its"' engine.. : ■,'-' -i ...."',. . .... •■■."•"'. Writingiin; the-^f Autocar," Mr. W. P Bradley points out that the front wheel drive, like four wheel brakes, is not nearly as modern an idea as many believe; in fact, ;he had experience of the Walter Christie American front drive racer, while. for more than .20 years a, Trench lorry with this type -of drive has been manufactured;':: Advan>' tages of the front wheel drive 'are that the car gains stability on corners ;, suspension may be as unsprung weight, is reduced to, a minimum. iThe. long driving shaft between the gear-! box and'the back 7 axle is eliminated with,.benefit to-the car, as the tendency to ./iyhip ', is;, .'abolished.. Unsprung weight on thVfroht axle, is reduced, as the brakes can effectively be' us.cd: with:--out .fitting" drams oii the front .wheels. With .the gearbox in front of the engine the car should be quieter, al-though-any- noise made by.(it.will be heard more, clearly. The body and the mechanism are separate, and 'any mechanical repairs necessary can,bo carried out without interference to or soiling of'the body. ■■■'■ - .' .;.-'• /

Objections to tho system are that there are difficulties in making. use of the;front Wheels.for-both traction. and .-steering,.; which'■■'have.' only lately been overcome. The greatest objection however, has been that, with the /Whole' 6ft the pngino■: and transmission in -front, 1 the .'bonnet of the car: is so' long that passenger space is restricted. This. applies .particularly .to, thomodern tendency {owards the. six or Qven. eight cylinder engine, and should front wheel drive become popular it indicates a possible return of- the four cylinder to favour. From an engineer's point of view a real objection to the front drive system- is that it \ prevents the axis pins for the stub axles from being set .at an angle, and thus "there is no' caster ; actionj which is so important for ensuring efficient steering and'also for the-elimination of "front wheelwobble.-",. : Tho - weight- on the . front wheels is sometimes found to be insuffi-cient-,to prevent' slip on a wet road. A-tfront-wheel driven car has been on the French market for some, year's. It. ■has"- independently sprung front wheels, and two. parallel tubes, one .above, and one below the-- main frame,., instead of axles. - A new car with a , straight eight engine of about three litres capar city recently, appeared, so designed that the bonnet length is hardly any* greater than that of the normal car.. The gearbox is so designed that the clutch is just behind the differential, and whole of th^gearboi-is in front of the front axle.: Another front-wheel driven car has the;de_ Layaud automatic transmission,, duplicate steering and system .of springing, by. rubber blocks contained in a: cylinder; half-axle housings 'are used, each-received in a' spherical"casing- on the frame; 1 the wheel and brako .supports-are mounted in a sphere at" the other end. Each axle casing is connected by a vertical arm', to a piston _in a horizontal cylinder on top 6f •the gearbox.' In the cylinder are rubber disc block's separated by thin sheet discs,.which constitute the suspension' -A..;- car similarly driven is (manufactured in Germany. It, has a suspens£n P?- twP. complete transverse seniieiliptic springs one above and one below the front axle. An Italian factory a few years ago made a set of front drive racers which, however,' never raced. ../.-■ . '