MOTORING & MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 19777, 30 January 1928, Page 10

MOTORING & MOTORISTS

[BY RADIATOR.]

FIXTURE. February 14.—0.M.G. monthly meeting.

TESTS ON USED CARS,

In milking :i test run in a used car insist upon being driven slowly in top gear. The manner in which the car accelerates from about live miles an hour in top will furnish useful information in connection with the condition of the engine and the transmission. If it pulls away quite steadily there is nothing much wrong, but it there is pronounced snatching and jerking, possibly accompanied by rumbling noises from beneath the floorboards, then it is certain that an overhaul will be necessary before Jong; flic great thing for buyers of secondhand cars to remember is that it is essential to be able to discriminate between defects which are easily remedied and those which would involve a fairly heavy repair bill. It is for that reason that*the services of an experienced and unbiased friend are so desirable when the choice is being made. it is always a good plan, when buying a second-hand car, to ascertain as much as possible concerning its past history. The licensing office can bo very useful in this respect. A car which lias had only one previous owner is pretty certain to be in better condition than one which has been through many hands.

TIRED ENGINES

EFFECT OF HIGH SPEEDS

So rapidly Juis tho automobile progressed that, whereas only three or lour years ago a “ tired ” engine was not an infrequent occurrence on a long run, it is now seldom met with. A good modern engine seems to go better and faster as the miles lade mto the distance. Most keen motorists can remember, even so recently as 1922 or 192 d, being very pleased indeed with a ear that would apparently stick at forty miles per hour all day without sign of distress. Now the same motorist is disappointed if a car cannot oc driven for fifty miles per hour for very long periods and yet retain its silence of running.

in theory, at any rale, engines should not get tired. Alter they have been running fast for a number _of miles the lubricant is circulating smoothly everywhere, the mixture delivered by the carburetter is warmed just sufficiently to ensure its proper vaporisation, and tlio temperature of both cooling water and lubricating oil has reached its most ellicicnt point. The top gear ratio proven!s excessive “ revving,” and the engine, although working hard, is at its highest pitch of efficiency.

Jtvcn in these days one occasionally comes across an engine which docs < not perform in this ideal manner. Thirty, forty, or evqn fifty miles at a good speed begin to make their mark upon the flagging power unit. No longer will it breast steep hills in tho same confident manner, nor will it respond so rapidly to a touch of the accelerator pedal. The engine is “tired.” What is tho cause of this weariness of _ a mechanical unit, which should resist swains and fatigue in a manner superior to the endurance of any animal P There arc, of course, minor causes, errors of maintenance or fitting, but there are other faults due to actual design, which arc eradicated year by year, often in the crucible of a great track or road race.

CAUGHT WITHOUT A WIND SHIELD.

The minor points include the use of an unsuitable lubricant; while the oil is still cool it is keeping in a thin, slippery film between two ntoving parts, but when the heat has been conducted to it through the crown of the pistons and by conduction through the cylinder walls and crank case, the oil becomes hot and thin. It of poor quality it then ceases to do what it should, and consequently there is more internal friction and the engine leels sluggish. The obvious cure for this state of affairs is to use only the finest obtainable blends of oil. The use of unsuitable sparking plugs may also be responsible for “ tiring ” an 'engine. A long, fast run may result in the electrodes becoming incandescent, so that pre-ignition occurs. This may not bo noticeable _at high speeds, in so far as there will be no irregular running or knocking, but the engine will not feel right, and will not develop its full power. The remedy is to fit a. sparking plug recommended by the makers for a particular engine.

CROCK CABS RACE

RATTLING ENGLISH TEST,

To celebrate the thirty-first anniversary of legislation to deal with motors running on British roads, the ‘Daily Sketch' organised a J/ondon-to-Brigh-ton run of llfty-onc old crocks, including the first all-British car ever built and veterans a quarter of a century old.

Cheering crowds Jitied the route, especially the Jail Is, where the morbidminded gathered in expectation of trouble.

Tiie majority of tlie cars overcame the difficulties of the men amid much snorting, grunting, smoking from exhausts, and changing of gears, the last invariably being a “rattling performance.” One competitor stopped and refused to budge. Suddenly there was a big explosion, with clouds of .smoke and spurts of oil, and the old bus went on gallantly.

Brief accounts of holiday trips, roads, and places of interest are invited for this column.

valve cap was not screwed on the Valve tight enough to obtain a secondary seal, which could be obtained were it properly placed on the valve. One hundred and seventy-three tyres, or 16 per cent, of the total, had neither valve cap nor dust cap, and so were entirely dependent, upon the valve inside for retaining the air pressure. Because 36 per cent, of the 581 tyres which were checked for leaky valve insides were found to be leaking indicates the necessity for using valve caps for additional seals in preventing the loss of air-pressure.

PETROL, BENZINE, OR GASP Mr Peter HurJJ, the London representative ot the Standard Oil Company, who has arrived in the United States 'to confer with Standard Oil officials, says; “One of the details of the oil industry that should be attended to without delay' is a universal name for gasoline. In England gasoline is called ‘motor spirit’ or ‘petrol’; in Erance it is called ‘essence,’ and the word ‘ petrol ’ is used to designate kerosene. In Italy the bewildered motorist must ask for ‘ benzine ’ if he wants gasoline, well knowing that the liquid called 1 benzine ’ in’.some other countries is highly explosive and might be dangerous to use in a motor car.” Since the United States handles and uses more than 70 per cent, of the world's gasoline, says tho ‘ Monitor,’ Mr Hindi suggested that motor spirit bo called “gasoline” in conformity with the American custom. FRANCIS BIRTLES. The latest news of Francis Birtles, the Australian pioneer overhinder, who is motoring alone in a Bean car from England to Australia —about 10,000 miles—is from Calcutta, India, where ho arrived safely on Sunday, January 8. He had had a thrilling; but nerveracking experience in getting through to this point, but his bush training and hardships he had had to undergo previously in Australia, have given him the necessary resource and courage to negotiate the difficulties of such a trip successfully. In crossing Persia he was caught in blinding snowstorms, and on one occasion while he was sheltering brigands boro down on him armed with old-fashioned guns loaded with scrapiron and robbed him of his blankets. The exposure to the same cold of this section of the journey necessitated his spending Christmas Day in hospital at Quetta, India, after which he made good progress. _ On leaving London, October 19, 1927, on the same car with which he established an Australian transcontinental record from Darwin to Melbourne, the manufacturers’ serial numbers on tht Dunlop tvres fitted were taken bv Sir Harry Brittain, M.P., with a view of ascertaining if the tyres fitted in London would stand up to the terrific stress entailed on the 16,000 miles trip to Melbourne. So far, according to Mr Birtles, in his report from Calcutta, the tvres are standing the ordeal splendidly. ‘He intends continuing his journey via North Bengal, Burma, and Malavh—which will bo one of the hardest tests of tho tour, the country being wild and hilly jungle and inhabited by very savage tribes —then by water to Darwin and overland to Melbourne.

A windshield wiper is not a person. For the benefit of the uninitiated it may be described a« n mcclnircal contrivanco which is attached to the front windows of motor vehicles lor the purpose of keeping the lino of vision reasonably dear during rainstorms. It has no connection whats-er with the Window Cleaners’ Union. Some windshield cleaners operate automatically and constantly, while others are worked by hand, and.only -it such uitcivnls as conditions may seem to demand. lu passing it may bo truthlully said that there are times when the automatic clcaucrs appear to be on strike. But whether hand operated or mechanical, workable or not, every owner ol a motor vehicle in Connecticut is required to maintain a windshield cleaner on las machine. The Connecticut law, however, evidently overlooked a possibility. Recently the owner of a truck teas hailed into court on a charge of having violated the windshield wiper law. Evidence was submitted which conclusively proved that he hud no windshield wiper. In fact, the defendant himself, undoubtedly an honest man, admitted that he had no windshield wiper, and his defence, which would have ordinarily seemed logical and reasonable, was that ho had no windshield upon which to attach and use a windshield wiper. Jt failed to secure his acquittal, and a fine was imposed. The moral appears to bo that he who is caught without a windshield wiper is no more guilty than he wiio ventures upon the public highway without a windshield.

DIFFICULT GEAR CHANGIiNG. Gear changing on a car often becomes difficult in the ease of those vehicles which have a right-hand gear change, especially among the older types of cars, it is often due to the jamming of the sleeve which carries the hand lever at one end and the selecting lever inside the gearbox at the other. Sometimes there are two sleeves—one outside the other, and both oscillating upon a central rod—the second sleeves being lor the brake. These sleeves require to bo kept clean and well oiled, because the driver has not only to rotate the sleeve around the shaft or other sleeve to change the gear, but in selecting the gear—getting it across from one side of the gate to the other—ho has bodily to slide the sleeve along. The lever being of some length, the movement of the hand at one end of the lever has a tendency to bend the sleeve, and if it is dry or has di;ied oil caked inside it will bend and bind before it will slide. These sleeves should bo kept very clean and well lubricated. It is of the greatest advantage to squirt kerosene into the lubricators and work the lever of the sleeve, so that it oscillates around the shaft and has a reciprocating movement along it. This will have the effect of thinning the congealed lubricant and making tho whole work easily and freely, -and gear changing will again become free, easy, and pleasant instead of hard, jerky, and uncertain. In the case of gears which have a central control, this treatment is not required. These levers and bars are better designed to work with _ little attention, for there is not the risk of bending and jamming as m the case of tho side control of some cars.

little. Tyres as spares should, especially in this country, never bo earned so that tho sun can shine upon them. Their place is inside a strong light ol-dest-colored cover, or, better still, carin a dark chamber inside the rear panelling of the car.

SIGNPOST HEIGHTS. Lower signposts were advocated by Mr G. Henning at the meeting of the Auckland Automobile Association Council recently. The suggestion is interesting in view of the tendency overseas to fit signposts as low as 3ft and 4ft from the ground (states the Auckland ‘Herald’). The advantage is that there is better vision at night. If headlights are adjusted in accordance with the by-laws b b little illumination will reach a post 7f above ground at a distance of 20yds or 30yds. On the other hand, the low signpost ■is likely to be damaged by vandals. There have been many instances of interference with the excellent signposting of the A.A.A., although most signs are out of reach. Radical changes from established practice in road signing are recommended by the United States Government in developing its marking plan for Federal highways. The present plan of placing signs on high posts is discountenanced by the American Association of Highway Officials and the United States Bureau of Public Bonds which prepared the drawings and specifications for new signs. _ . “ Under ordinary conditions, says the Government manual, “the marker should be placed approximately 3Jft above the crown of the pavement or Travelled highway. On ascending nr descending grades this height may be varied, so that the rays from the headlights may properly illumine the marker.”

In discussing “danger” and “caution ” signs the Government manual suggests that “ the use of these < signs should be kept to a minimum consistent with an adequate degree of safety, because a too frequent use of such signs causes them to be disregarded.”

MOTOR CYCLING FIXTURES. February 4.—Souih Canterbury Club gymkhana, at Timaru. February 18th.—Hill climb. February 28.—Club run. MOTOR CYCLE SPEEDS. BIDDING FOR RESTRICTION. The craze for .speed on motor cycles is commented upon by a contributor at Home to the ‘ Motor Cycle.’ Do we motor cyclists realise that wc are simply asking for restrictive legislation? be asks. We shall have no cause/ for gronsings when it comes. Wc shall have no cause for grousing when it comes. Wc shall have brought it upon ourselves. Why? Because our only god is sped, and nothing but speedspeed for which our roads and traffic are utterably unsuitable. I ride quite a, lot, and frequently come across road accidents, and can honestly say that 90 per cent, of them could have been avoided had the speed been less. Why, then, do we ride so fast? Because our machines cannot go slowly except in a most unsatisfactory and uncomfortable wav. But it is our own fault. Listen to'the talk of any group of roadside motor cyclists. Are they discussing petrol and oil consumption, mndguarding, accessibility, tyres, tune price? They are not. The great question is simply whether Tom’s o.h.v. “ Tearer ” is slightly faster than Bill’s o.h.v. “ Blinder.” Nothing else is of the slightest consequence. Manufacturers know all this, and so they build simply for speed and plaster their advertisements wtih the results of speed trials all over the world. As a result, wc cannot go slowly, except at anything under 20, and so we become a menace to ourselves and everyone else on the road, and thoroughly deserve our bad name. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy motor cycling, and consider that there is no sport to touch it. All the same, I am looking forward to the time when motor cycles are forbidden to he made that will go more than 40 p.p.h. —chiefly because I wish to continue motor cycling.

HERE AND THERE Owners of motor cars who have no use for them during the winter have found a cheap garage at the public pawn shop in Paris. This institution takes them in at the rate from 10s to £1 per month, according to their value, and advances 60 per cent, of their value at 8 per cent, besides. There are more than 200 cars now in the pawn shop garage. Owners are obliged to carefully empty the reservoirs before the cars are received. The guardian of the garage furnishes a depository for the combustible and sells it back to motorists when they take their cars out of pawn. * * * * The Souih Taranaki Automobile Association is having a five-mile stretch of road measured and marked for the purpose of providing motorists with the means of checking the accuracy of their speedometers. » * * * One of the most energetic members of the- Mnriwai Motor Sports_ Committee has not seen a. motor racing meeting for several years. In the past Mr G. M. White has undertaken to supervise the collection of admission fees at the entrance to the Mnriwai Domain. This office has kept him two or three miles from the racing. It was decided this week to find another volunteer to attend to the uninteresting duty. • * * * The South Canterbury Motor Cycle Club is holding its annual gynikana in Fraser’s Park, Timaru, on Saturday, February 4. A very comprehensive programme has been drawn up, including football, noyeltv events, balloon bursting, and trick riding. A week-end camp will be held at Whare Flat from the 4th to 6lh inclusive. IK * • * A man who had purchased a cheap car—no, not the make you’re thinking of—took it back to the works for examination. . “What is wrong with it? he was asked. . “We!!, you see,” explained the owner, “every part of it makes a noise except the horn.”

LEAKY TYRE VALVES

Because the valve ;s, of course, the most likely point at which a loss of air can take place, investigations were recently conducted iu America.to determine the percentage of leaky valves in tyres in actual service, says ‘ Goodyear News.’ It should be remembered that the valve inside is a delicate piece of mechanism, and its air-sealing qualities depend entirely upon the little brass cone obtaining a perfect seating into the rubber gasßet which is placed within the brass cup just above the springs of the valve plunger. Any small particles of dirt or even grease might interfere with the proper functioning of the valve inside at this point causing leakage. And, moreover, this seal must be broken eacli time the tyre is inflated, and the small piece of dirt necessary to cause leakage may enter the valve at any time during inflation and lodge upon the seating, so that the owner cannot be sure that when he obtains an airtight valve after one inflation it will continue when the tyre is inflated again. In other words he should make a constant, check to be sure lack of sufficient air pressure is not robbing him of tyre mileage. He should take care that valves are properly cared for and inspected at regular intervals. Another interesting point developed in the survey was that of the total 1,087 tyres checked, approximately 20 per cent, jvere found in which the

CARE OF THE “SPARE.”

Do not forget that new spare tyre, fully blown up and supposedly ready fo rthe compulsory stop that ever hangs over the heads of us all. In other words, give it a spin from time to time, or else when you are forced to prise it adrift from its perch jou find such too perished for use. Bear in mind the fact that light and heat are more destructive to rubber than us-'. Therefore change'’’it with a tyre on active service on the front wheels occasionally, as this will flex the rubber and kepe it young. This short use on these wheels will wear the tread but

TIME FOR LIGHTING UP. To-day 9.15 Tuesday . 9.13 Wednesday 9.12 Thursday . 9.10 Friday 9.9 Saturday . 9.7 Sunday 9.0