MOTORING & MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 19441, 27 December 1926, Page 9

MOTORING & MOTORISTS

[BY RADIATOR.}

LIGHTING-UP TIMES. To-day ... ... ... 8.30 Tuesday ... ... 8.31 Wednesday ... ... ... 8.31 Thursday ... ... 8.31 Friday ~.. ... ... ... 8.31 Saturday ... ... 8.31 Sunday ... : 8.31 PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. The ‘Radiator’ for December and ‘ Big Tree Bulletin 1 for the same month. HINTS AND TIPS. —To Cut Rubber Easily.— If at any time yon wish to cut thick rubber, such as paring down old tvres to make sleeves' for repairing blowouts or for any other purpose, keep the rubber and the knife wet, and see how much easier it will cut. The difference is remarkable. If it is a job that requires a smooth finish, the knife marks can bo quickly removed with sandpaper. If it is only a small job, cut it under water. —Lubricating the Steering Pivots-. The lubrication of steering pivot pins is doubtless well attended to when an energetic owner buys a car fitted with grease-gun nipples. He can force plenty of grease in and keepl the old grease moving, though the grease-is too thick to circulate through the hearings of its own accord. The car with the lazy owner and the obsolescent grease enp is in evil case. The pressure procurable by this system is strictly limi-

Brief emmn&r tit IroMay trips, roads, asd places M&mfc in invited lor tills coiman.

ted, and may not readily suffice to expel dried grease from the lower ©nd of the component, andj as stated before, the grease is too stiff to circulate automatically.' The super-method of lubricating this part consists in substituting a spring-lid cup for the original nipple ,or greaser, and filling it with castor oil. The lubricant will never set immovably nor yet leak away too fast. If the cup is replenished occasionally the bearing will be continuously lubricated by the natural penetration of the castor oil, —Take Care of the Wings.—The most prominent point to the casual observer, so far as appearances are concerned, is the condition of the wings. Leaving out any question of accidental damage, there are still several methods of ruining their appearance by carelessness, such as sitting on them while talking to friends, placing the feet upon the lower portion instead of on the running board, and by leaning over the wing to attend to the engine, and scratching it with the buttons of the coat. —Close the Doors.— It is advisable to make sure that the doors are all tightly closed when parking a car in a public place, as an open door is a temptation to children to swing on it, with the result that either the paint work is damaged or the hinges are ruined. In addition, of course, it provides a means of access to the interior of the car, which is denied to many children who cannot reach the handle if it is an internal one. A CAR’S DRIVABILITY.’t Although there is no place like the road for testing the way in which a motor vehicle handles, it is possible to form a pretty g od idea of its “drivability ” in the garage or anywhere that the car may be standing. The quality which a car possesses to a greater or lesser degree of being handled with ease and comfort in widely differing circumstances is called controllability. It includes such points as ease of steering, safety in cornering and when driving fast on any kind of road surface, while the questions of braking and gearchanging are closely involved. In a word, a car which is really controllable is absolutely safe to drive in all circumstances. A car with stiff or heavy steering is unpleasant to handle, for not only does driving become fatiguing, but there is_ generally a difficulty in correcting skids on greasy roads, while occasionally, when one hand is removed from the wheel for the curpose of signalling to overtaking traffic, the car may tend to follow its own sweet will. with, possibly, unfortunate rasults. Therefore the steering must, first and foremost, be light and accurate.

Stiff steering can be da© eltner to inadequate lubrication or to bad fitting, generally the former. Therefore every driver should carefully grease all the joints and connections in the steering mechanism. Steering that is heavy becomes quite light as soon ns th(? front axle is jacked up, so that both wheels are clear of the ground, but stiff steering is still difficult to handle in these conditions. If by the jacking up just mentioned the steering is found to be free and ‘easy, no further greasing is necessary, although it sometimes occurs that under load part of the mechanism is strained or may rub against some part o| the chassis, so bright spots on the drag link or track..rod should bo looked for.

Heavy steering may bo due simply to excessive castor action, which is often instantly betrayed by wheel wobble at high speeds. Turning corners when driving slowly will require considerable effort, while when the steering wheel is released it will instantly .fly back to central position, quite automatically, if there is insufficient castor action the car will have to be, as it were, steered the whole time, and wheel wobble may be perceptible at low speeds. Other

features, such as easy gear changing, easy carburettor adjustment, and so on, are, of course, always desirable, and the owner-driver should see to it that there are no deficiencies in this respect. GROUND CLEARANCES. Useful data in regard to ground clearances is contained in the ‘ Autocar Buyers’ Guide’ for 1927 models. It compares English and American cars, showing that there is little difference between the two. However, it should be noted that while this is the case the American car is only low at one or two points. Many English cars have low running-boards as well as front axle and differential. AMERICAN. Inches. Essex 7 i Ford gi Oldsmobile 9 Buick 9 Chrysler 9 Dodge 91 Chevrolet 9| Hudson 91 Oakland 9j, Chandler ... 10 ENGLISH. Inches. Rover 9 Morris Cowley Morris Oxford ... 85 Austin, 12 8j Crossley, 14 9 Armstrong Siddeley 9i Standard, 14 9| Standard, 18 10 j Triumph 10 DRIVING LICENSES. Failure to produce a driving license on demand renders a motorist liable to a fine of £5, even if he can prove that one had been issued to him. The only course in the event of a loss of a license is to obtain another for the regular fee of os. An absurd provision of the Motor Vehicles Act states that a driver cannot obtain a license while another held by him is in force, and that a duplicate cannot be issued during the currency of the original license. If this regulation was observed the driver who lost a license would'have to refrain from driving until the expiry of the missing document. The confusing position has been considered by the Auckland City Council (states the I Herald ’) and referred to the Government. Probably the Act will bo ajnended to provide for a fee of 5s for a duplicate, but it would be more reasonable to charge a reduced fee, as in England. The City Council has also considered a suggestion that the photograph of the driver should be attached to the license to prevent its unauthorised use. The idea was rejected, as it w hs pointed out how useless is the average small phbtograph for purposes of identification. SUPERCHARGERS. Supercharging the motor is a subject concerning which many articles have been written, and owing to the widespread use of forced induction systems for racing purposes, prophecies have not been to the effect that supercharged touring cars would, before long, be quite common. Racing has played a wonderful part in the development and improvement of the touring car. and it may he anticipated that superchargers will follow the path of other improvements which- have originated in racing cars, such _ as aluminius pistons, forced lubrication, shock absorbers, front wheel brakes, etc., and be generally applied to touring cars before it is hardly realised. The supercharger has created an unusual amount of interest with car makers, and it is interesting to note that the Amilcar sports model and the II h.p. Riley were cars fitted with superchargers at the Olympia Show (England) this year. Supercharging was also employed on several cars shown at the Paris Salon—one of the best-known examples of supercharged standard models was the Mercedes. _ Owing to the undoubted attractions and the advantages obtained in speed and power to the engine of small horsepower, some form of a forced induction system will undoubtedly be adopted on many touring cars in the near future. CAR v. RUNNER. It is not generally known that a good runner can beat a car over a 100 yd sprint from a standing start. A car with a fairly high power-weight ratio can get off the mark and do 100yds in llseconds. An_ exceptional car might make the sprint in 10 seconds. This 4 is assuming _ that the engine _ is running. Interesting tests in America showed that a light car just introduced with an engine rated at 15.6 h.p. accomplished 100yds in 10 3-ssec alongside a sprinter who managed the distance in 9 9-10 sec. In 200yds the runner would, of course, be left well behind. TYRES AND HOLIDAYS. Many motorists when starting away on then- first holiday motor tour are inclined to take risks by starting out with tyres that have seen good service, and approaching the end of their days. This is a great mistake, for nothing spoils a holiday outing more than roadside tyre troubles. It is only to lie expected that partially worn out covers are more susceptible to blowouts, punctures, etc. than new tyres, and this is specially so when travelling comparatively long distances over rough roads in mid-summer heat. It is a far better proposition wdien starting out on tour to take off the old tyres and fit new covers, and use the old tyres later on for runabout purposes. This will ensure yon freedom from tyre troubles, enhance the pleasure of your trip. Sooner or later new covers have to be bought, and it is a far better plan to weal out the old covers for general running about than to risk spoiling your holiday trip by inviting tyre troubles which can bo avoided. AFTER THE WRECK. There does not seem to be any authority to compel a motorist to supervise the removal of debris trnm the highway in the event of an accident to his car (states an exchange). Probably tho law considers that the motorist whoso car is damaged is too agitated to pay much attention to broken glass and other puncture agents. The fact remains that broken glass from headlamps or windscreens can bo found on the main streets almost every .day. Nobody attends to its removal, and probably two or three punctures are the sequel to this, carelessness.. It is illegal to throw a bottle on the street, but the motorist who leaves a mass of broken glass on the road breaks no law. He merely offends against the courtesies of the highway, in many American States a motorist who walks away or is driven from the scene of an accident without having cleared away the debris is liable to a line ranging from £2O to £IOO. The only valid excuse is that personal injury caused the oversight. CAR WIRING COLOR CODE. To simplify the identifying of the various wires used in the electrical systems on automobiles, tracks, and motor coaches in maintenance and service stations, a subdivision of the Standards Committee of the Society ot Automotive Engineers has recently proposed, a color code to be used for;

tho covering material of electrical cable (states ‘Automotive Industries’). In this code unprotected live wires would be colored red, while protected live wires would be yellow-. In passenger cars low- tension or primary ignition wires would be red with a yellow tracer strand, wire from the ammeter to the battery w-outd be red with a black tracer, that from tho lighting switch to the junction block for the parking lamp and for all ground connections would be brown with black tracer, that from lighting switch to tail lamp would be black, wires to the bright head lamps would be black with red tracer, and wires to dim head lamps and signal lamps .would'bo gret.i. The color scheme for motor coaches and motor trucks is very similar. This proposal will go to the electrical equipment division of the Standards Committee, and, upon its approval, to the Standards Committee as a whole and finally to the council of the society for adoption. EASY LUBRICATION. A recent article on the choice of a car, addressed to motoring novices, contained the following advice: —■ “ A request every novice should make to the salesman before finally deciding on his car ds that he should be shown aii oiling chart of the car. He should mark each spot requiring lubrication, and ask the salesman (who will possibly not be at all pleased!) to lubricate each part before nis eyes. Ho will then see exactly what is needed, and how- easy or _awkward it may be to carry out this necessary work. Cars vary enormously in this matter, and the easily lubricated car remains a permanent joy to the ownerdriver, whereas that with oil and grease nipples difficult of access is bound, sooner or later, to become neglected, with perhaps costly results." WOMAN DRIVER’S SUCCESS. The Dewar Trophy for 1926 has been awarded by the Royal Automobile Club of Britain to Miss Violet Cordery of Surrey, England. This trophy, which was first presented in 1906, is awarded annually for the most meritorious performance in a certificated trial, carried out under the observation of the club; and Miss Cordery is the first woman to win it. At the Montllery track (Paris) she drove a car day and night for 70h 59£min, and covered 5,016.2 miles at an average speed of 73.8 miles an hour. The total stopping time during tho test was only 3h 34sec.

BURNING LIGHTS IN DAYTIME. Many a battery has been saved by this apparently foolish practice. An over-charged battery overheats, wiwi the result that the active material falls out of the plates and causes internal trouble of the worst kind. Many ears have a battery switch in circuit which is supposed to be automatic in action; but this switch often fails to disconnect when it should, owing to the fact that, like all other more or less delicate mechanisms, it gets out of tune and fails to open the circuit when the battery is fully charged. In the case of the hand-operated switches the driver, being only human, often forgets to switch the charge switch off. r lo be safe, then, it is advisable for the driver, when on a long tour, to switch on the headlights for at leant a portion of the daylight hours in order to keep the battery off tho “ boil.” _ When, therefore. you see a motorist coming towards you with his headlights full on, don’t veil alfhim, as he probably knows what he is doing, and his battery will outlive yours if you don’t go and do likewise. STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN. When a clatter is heard as if some part had dropped from the car it is wise policy to stop and make a thorough search for tho cause; of the noise; and it is a very unwise policy to assume that the noise was caused by running over a tin can or something of that sort. License plates, license brackets, tyre-carrier fitting, tail _ lamps, crank handles, and tools are just a lew of the things that have been lost in this way. - In fact, there is very little on a car that cannot drop off. SOME PROVERBS. Take care of tho machine, or thieves will take care of it themselves. Time, tide, and road hogs wait for no man. An oiling a day keeps the repair hill away. A little knowledge of driving is a dangerous thing. Take care of the car; the ditch can take care of itself. A fool and his license are soon parted. It is a wise driver who knows his own failings. Spare the brakes and spoil the outfit. Hooters speak louder than words. •'A stop in time saves a fine. When in doubt as to who has the right-of-way slow up: the other man may have more definite views. HERE AND THERE. A booklet describing fifty motor camping grounds in the North Island has been issued by the Auckland Automobile Association. The information should prove very useful to motorists who are touring tins summer. In some cases there arc custodians on the grounds and a small charge is made. In a few cases electric light is available. Tho better-equipped grounds nro under the control of borough councils. * * * * The police of Newark, New Jersey, have just added twelve armored motor cycles to their equipment for an offensive against motor bandits. _ The Now York police has already six armored motor cycles. Aggressive vehicles of this type would look strange on any British street, but they are quite the correct and fashionable equipment for an American police force. » * * » “ A Doctor,” writing recently in a London paper, put forward some strange theories on the subject of motor cycle accidents being the result of “ air intoxication,” caused by the rider's swift passage through the air. # * # * The Dunlop Rubber Company of Australia is in receipt of a cablegram from London stating that the English motoring Press confirms the adoption by Michelin,. of France, of the Dunlop well-base rim principle and wire edges for motor tyre equipment. This is a great triumph for the new Dunlop rim, as Michelin is one of the lending tyre manufacturers of Europe. In this connection it was recently announced that the Ford Company, of England, had also adopted this rim as standard. - «■ * * * Generally one now speaks nr writes ot the “engine” of a car, and not the “motor,” so that, logically, motor car and motorist are old-fashioned terms; and one recalls other terms of bygone days, such as “horseless carriages,” “ autoniobilists,” and “ scll-propellcd vehicles,’' and in those days also there were those dignified persons who preferred to bo described as “autoists.” « * * * The census of the automobile try of America shows that in 1925 there were in use 2,163,131 dosed cars and 1,676,171 open cars. * » * * A West of England cleric says that motormania is “the curse of the era.” 1 n 1903 another clerical gentleman politely described motor cars as “ damnable engines of Satan.” Is there anything new under the sun? » 1 » * * A headline, “The Petrol St. Leger.” Following up this idea it is hoped next year to run a Benzole Derby and an Alcohol Grand National.