ITEMS OF INTEREST

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1932, Page 15

ITEMS OF INTEREST

The motor regulations state that a motor vehicle must show not more than two lights in the front, and must not have two head lamps and two side lamps burning at the same time. Tho 6ide lamps, whether on the wings or cowl, are for use when the car is parked or for driving through a well-lighted city street. If the car is so wired that when the headlights, are on the side, lamps are em also; then it is advisable to make sure that the side lamps are fitted with low candle-power bulbs, so that they -will not dazzle, yet show oncoming drivers the width of the car.

The time is not far distant when cars will be manufactured with rotary valves instead of the present poppet valve. The thermal efficiency of the poppet valve engine is limited by its valve system—notably valve bounce at high speeds. However, simplicity will count a great deal with rotary valves, for no motorist will buy a car which has a very complicated rotary valve system that requires careful lubrication and adjustment and must be protected against seizure.

We shall never drive cars oa which the rear wheels are used for steering— although such cars have been designed for experimental purposs. The chief objection to this type of chassis is the difficulty of driving away from the kerb.

When closing the door of a car, particularly that of a closed-in car, do not slam it. Slamming of the doors is one of the factors that give rise to squeaks and rattles. Around the edge of the door the paint will be seen to crack and peel off as a result of the shock of continual slamming. If the door will not close without exerting considerable force have it attended to. Tho correct ,way to close a door is to almost close it and then give a small but sufficient slam to make sure that it locks.

The white rectangular blocks used to replace the old white traffic lines on the corners of The Terrace and Salamanca road, Salamanca road and Kelburn parade, and the corner of Glasgow street and. Kelburn parade, have been considerably chipped and in some cases broken away by traffic One or two of the blocks have completely disappeared, leaving holes about an inch and a half deep, four inches wide, and eight inches long.

The wrong grade of benzine or an inferior benzine will not do any great damage to the motor, except perhaps cause excessive "pinking," form carbon,' quickly affect acceleration adversely, and create difficulty in starting. An inferior oil or an oil of the wrong grade, however, will do a tremendous amount of damage, in that bearings, cylinder walls, and piston rings will soon show signs of wear and compression. The few extra pence required to purchase the best oil will be repaid in smaller repair bills.

Tho ammeter should register zero when the lights and ignition switch are off. If it shows discharge, disconnect one battery-terminal. If the indicator remains stationary and does not drop back to zero, the trouble is in the ammeter. However, if the indicator drops back to zero when tho battery cable is disconnected, a short circuit in the system is no doubt causing the irregularity.

Streaks have been known to appear in shatterproof glass that has been allowed to stand in the sun several hours daily. No doubt this is caused by sun rays, and can be avoided by parking the car so the sun does not always strike the glass.

Driving at night through a lighted thoroughfare such as a city street, is apt to be made dangerous because of the reflections of the various lights, etc., on tho windscreen and sido windows of tho car. it is recommended that tho windscreen, if not a sloping one, should be opened out two or three inches so that there will bo no reflection of lights on it. Similarly by lowering the glasses in both front doors the driver will not be troubled in the least by dangerous and confusing reiloctions. Of course this will not be practicable in wet and stormy weather.