MOTORING & MOTORISTS

Evening Star, Issue 20655, 1 December 1930, Page 17

MOTORING & MOTORISTS

[BY RADIATOR.]

TIMES FOR LIGHTING UP, To-day 8.40 Tuesday 8-41 Wednesday 8.42 Thursday 8.4-j Friday 8.40 Saturday 8.46 Sunday PREPARING FOR SUMMER. SIMPLE TEST OF CAR. Those who use their motor oars most in the summer—and they arc the great majority—should now begin to ensure that the mechanism is capable of meeting ’the demands about to be made upon it without showing any ill effect. Overhauls will be needed by engines which have begun to malic knocking and other unpleasant sounds, but if there is no sign of slackness in bearings or between other surfaces a sound policy is to " leave well alone.” The valves and their actuating gear, however, may require attention, and other adjustments and cleaning may bo desirable. It is suggested that the car owner who knows little about the mechanics, but wishes to treat his machine well, should go for a drive on one of our smoothest roads at some time when there are few traffic noises and listen for extraneous sounds from his motor and transmission gear. If no such sounds can be detected, and if after five or sis miles'at a speed of about thirty miles an hour the engine is milling well and is not over-heated, there is not very much wrong with the car. The oil level in the differential housing and in the gearbox should bo checked, and if it is low the supply should be replenished, for crown wheels and pinions and gears are too expensive to be spoiled by inattention. It is . undoubtedly a mistake to attempt t 6 save money on oil, the function of which is to maintain a film separating all moving parts and preventing wear. Oil loses the ability to maintain this film when it is allowed to remain in the sump of a car so long that it becomes diluted with petrol, which finds its way past the pistons, or when it is subjected often to excessive iieat. The advice of an experienced motor engineer should be obtained as to the kind of oil which should bo used in a particular make of car. Sparking plugs should have attention; they should be carefully cleaned and the spark gaps should be adjusted. The contact points in the magneto or the distributer should also bo adjusted and cleaned. A careful examination should be made of the steering joints and of tho braking system to ensure that there is no undue looseness and that wear has not impaired their safety. A general examination of the ear should be made for loose nuts, broken bolts, or other defects. "SPOT” THAT MOTOR BANDIT. DEVICE TO FOIL QUICK-GET-AWAY HOGUES. It is stated that interesting experiments have been carried out by the police of oue of the Homo counties in the- presence of representatives of Scotland Yard with a device for use against motor bandits. It is a miniature searchlight, the lens of which is about the same power as that of a lantern projector. In the course of tho experiments the beam cast by this “ searchlight ” proved sufficiently powerful to bring to a dead stop the drivers of all cars against whom it was directed.

Brief accounts ef holiday trips, roads, and places of taterest ars invited for this column.

It is suggested that the apparatus, which is conveniently small, could be mounted on police cars. In the event of, a bandit chase those cars would be sqnt to strategic points which tho bandits were expected to pass. CRUDE OIL. OVER-PRODUCTION IN U.S.A. A remarkable difference lias come over the situation as regards the world’s supply of crude oil, from which the major portion of the fuel for consumption in internal combustion engines is derived, as compared with that of twelve or thirteen years ago. To-day American petrol interests aro said to bo deeply perturbed over the deluge of crude oil flowing and being pumped from thousands of . oil bores which _ are to-day in production in tho United States. Towards the end of the war period rumours, followed by increases in the price of petrol, were being given world-wide circulation that the oil wells were failing, and that the end of the supplies was in sight. To-day the supply is greater than over, and drastic steps have had to bo taken to regulate it. Furthermore, improved methods of distillation have resulted in a far greater yield of petrol from a gallon of oil that was the case a few years ago, while tho higher efficiency of the modern engine has also had an influence in making the supply of petrol go farther. It is now computed in the United States that the daily output of crude oil is 3,196,000 barrels of forty-two gallons each, or a total of about 134.000. gallons. By the methods of refining and distillation now in use a gallon ofi oil yields about 40 per cent, of petrol as well as other valuable by-products, so that the daily production of petrol in the United States is about 53,000,000 gallons. To this output of course, must also be added the production of the Russian, Balkan, Anglo-Persian, and East Indian oil wells. The concern in America, of course, is with the overproduction now admitted in that country’, which doubtless was the principal factor in the sensational reduction in the price of petrol in California recently, it being stated that it -was selling at as little as 2Jd a gallon. BORES TWO MILES DEEP. So much oil has been tapped by tho deep bores put down in the last few years that tho indications aro that there aro subterranean oceans of oil under the United States. Sonm of_ those bores are said to he nearly two” miles deep, and the deeper they go the greater the volume of oil obtained. It is estimated, in fact, that, if necessary, America could produce 10,000,000 barrels of oil a day. One bore in Texas, known as the Yates Pool, would, if permitted to run at its full capacity, give nearly 5.000. barrels a day, almost double the whole production of oil in tho United States. .Another well in Oklahoma has restricted its output by 1.158,000 barrels, and there aro hundreds of other prolific bores working on reduced output. It is worthy of note that from one bore in Miliiam, giving 3,200 barrels a day, almost pure petrol is being obtained. It is clear white oil of GO per cent, gravity, and usable in automobiles without refining. Altogether, some 350,000 bores have been sunk for oil in the United States. The cost ranges fpom £3,000 to £50,000 each, according to location and depth; the estimated average cost is £5,000. It is staggering to learn that, despite the oceans of oil now available in the United States, in 1929 more than £40,000,000 was lost in sinking “ dry ” bores. Last year, ,of tho 26,000 bores which were drilled, 8,000 nr nearly one-third, proved " dry.” Vast reserves of oil arc stored in tho Unitcl States, the figures last April being 039.000. barrels, and it is clear that America has more oil than she knows what to do with. All fears of future oil famines have vanished, in fact, and although it is estimated that in ten years’ time 2,000,000 gallons of petrol will be used by motorists every hour in the United States. MARKET PRICES. The market price of crude oil in America to-day is stated to average 6s 3d a barrel—about IJd a gallon. Petrol is selling in the United States at an average of about seven gallons for a dollar, or 7id a gallon; yet New Zealand motorists aro paying 2s for an imperial gallon, 'which is slightly larger than the American measure. It is little wonder that, with petrol at this price and tho price of high-grade cars also being moderate, big cars have become so popular in America that so many families can afford to run several cars each. According to a recent publication of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, there aro 22,000,000 automobiles in tho United States; their average price, at a rough estimate based on tho dollar prices published as ruling at factory for the most popular makes, is less than half that for corresponding models and body styles in the dominion, and petrol sells at little more than one-fourth tho price it does here. Naturally, also, lubricating oil will be cheaper, and the genera! running costs all proportionately lower. Undoubtedly, however, it is the recurring necessity lor purchasing petrol which makes the greatest impression on the motorists’ mind, and tho fact that tho spirit is so abundant and so cheap in the United States has exerted a tremendous influence on the growth of motoring. So great has been this growth that to-day there arc 340 oil refineries, 350,000 petrol depots, and 800,000 roadside pumps engaged in that country in supplying tho needs of tho myriads of motorists there. It is estimated that there aro 2,500,000 people in America earning a livelihood working for the oil industry. SPLASH AND FORCE SYSTEMS. In tho present motor car engine the oil is poured into the crankcase and then, by what is known as tho splash, the pump or pour over, or the force systems or by combinations of these, is fed to the various moving parts. While the force system or lubrication is fast displacing all ' her systems, tho splash system, or a combination of the splash and force systems, still is found on many cars. In the splash system the oil is poured into the tower crankcase to such a level that when the crankshaft involves the lower ends of the connecting rods dip into tho oil, and in doing so splash the oil around. As the oil is tnrown out from the connecting rods it will strike the sides of the crankcase and from there, alter breaking up into small drops, bounce out, and be hit h.y some moving part of the engine. It will then be broken up into still smaller drops, until in time tho crankcase and nl! the space under I lie pistons is filled

with what might bo termed a mist of oil. As this mist comes into contact with the various surfaces it will ondense and adhere to the surface. Thus some will collect on the bottom portion of the piston and on its upward stroke bo carried up and so lubricate the piston and cylinder; some will gather on the underside of tho piston head until there is so much uhere that it drips from tho centre into a hole in the top of the connecting rod and so lubricates the gudgeon pin; some will gather on the main crankshaft bearing brackets and run down the sides of these into holes in the bearings, often being guided into them by a sort of gutter; tho camshaft will be covered with oil. As tho pressure on the crank pin ison the top, the oil must get to it through the bottom portion of the bearing. For this purpose a hole is drilled in the bottom cap of the connecting rod or crankpin bearing, and immediately at the back of it a flat of hollow scoop is placed. As the connecting rod passes through the oil, the oil will run up the scoop and through the hole, much the same as the water ran up your arm and wetted your sleeve when, as a child, you stuckyour hand into the water while in a rowing boat. In may cases, when a straight splash system was used, it was found to have one fault—namely, when tho engine was running very fast so much of tho oil would be splashed about and gather on tho walls and parts that the oil in tho crankcase would bb so low that the connecting rods would not have oil to dip into. To overcome this fault what is known as the constant level system was introduced. In the constant level splash system tho lower crankcase is divided into two parts; the upper, consisting of a series of troughs, one for each crank and the lower simply being the oil reservoir. The collecting ml dips into the oil in these troughs, tho level of which is maintained constant by means of an overflow aad a pump. Tho overflow will keep the level from getting too high, and the pump, by pumping more oil as the engine runs faster, from getting too slow. The usual practice is to pump tho oil up to a glass placed on the dash or instrument hoard, from which it flows by gravity through a pipe, which pipe lias branches or holes, so that an equal quantity of the oil will he fed into each trough. The glass will indicate to the driver how the oil is flowing or circulating, and also its condition. The oil pump is usually a gear rotary pump driven by the cameniti’t. A screen of wire gauze is placed around the pump so that the oil is strained from all grit and other injurious matter before being pumped. At least once a year this screen should be carefully cleaned or the flow of the oil will be impeded. To keep the oil from working out through the main bearings the ends of the crankshaft arc packed with felt, which is the best-known material to keep oil or grease frfini working out along a revolving shaft. While felt is used to keep the oil from working out along moving or revolving parts, it is kept from getting out between bolted joints by the use of “ gaskets.” WHEEL WOBBLE. PROFESSOR LOW’S VIEWS. Recently reference was made /to the investigations and conclusion made by a great, research laboratory in England into tho problems of front wheel wobble, and the allied troubles which have afflicted modern motorists, and which are sometimes ascribed to balloon tyres, four-wheel brakes, setting down of front springs, and wear and tear in steering gear, king pins, or steering pivots, and other causes. The researches of tho English laboratory indicate that all cars aro subject to it provided the dangerous speed can be attained. Probably it was not so noticeable or prevalent, therefore, in tho earlier days of motoring because tho less efficient engines did not permit the cars to attain the speeds at which the maleficient oscillation could arise. Wear and tear and want of balance in. wheels can set up a very’ unpleasant oscillation at a much lower speed than tho maximum of which a car is possible, is the experience of many motorists. One particular car is known which, when a sleeve is fitted To a front wheel, will set up a violent vibration in the steering and front wheels at a speed of about twenty-seven miles an hour; this will increase in intensity until at thirty-five miles an hour it almost tears the steering wheel cut of the driver's hands. Yet this car has never been capable of exceeding fifty-five miles an hour even on the Maroubra Speedway, its engine apparently being incapable of attaining more than 3,000 revolutions a minute, while the vehicle is massively constructed. PROFESSOR LOW’S VIEWS. Professor A. M. Low, writing in ‘ The Motor,’ remarks that cars are frequently seen with a flapping motion of the wheels duo to worn steering gear and pivots. This flap, which can ho amusing at low speeds, may bo very dangerous if it reaches a resonant condition at about forty-five miles an hour, and takes charge of the steering. Tho trouble can sometimes be cured by increasing tho speed; this is not uncommon on motor cycles, but suddenly to open the throttle during a bad wobble requires great nerve, oven if it is practical. Tho typo of wobble which occurs at tho higher speeds, ho continues, is usually duo to gyroscopic action, and is often associated with largo tyres. Thanks to the motion of tho earth, a gyroscope is able to maintain its position wlicn it is not fixed in one particular plane. For a gyro to exercise a righting force in a ship, it is necessary for brakes to bo used, and for a movement known as precession to occur. On a motor car travelling at fifty miles an hour, witli a comparatively heavy tyre, tho gyroscopic forces arc considerable when tho bouncing of a wheel allows one end of the axle to vi bra to up and down. As each revolving wheel lias moved out of its vertical piano of revolution tho ascending when' is turned outwards by gyroscopic action, so that when again reaching the ground caster action tends to straighten the wheel and generally to flap the car from side to side. A somewhat simjlai effect is noticed when a flywheel bearing is very loose, because the initial vibration is very easily given by bouncing of the car on its tyres or springs.

This is only ono example of the prohloins in ear design whioli has arisen since the increase in front wheel weight hy the use of heavy tyros and front wheel brake.-. Thorn are a number of eases of lyre wear due to reasons quite apart

from the actual construction ot the tyres themselves, Professor Low concludes. CASTER ACTION. Professor Low’s reference to caster actio’ll in steering also touches on a matter of importance to both motorists and motor cyclists, as this action has a very important bearing on the case of control of the vehicle. Caster action was found very necessary tor perfect steering in bicycles very early in tho history of their development, its effect being to make the machine naturally follow a true course without a tendency to wobble erratically. It is because the correct caster action has been secured in tho design of the bicycle that a cyclist can without effort ride without touching the handlebars at all, steering merely by slight variations in his body position and the machine automatically straightening up after making a turn. Caster action makes its value apparent in- cars by tho automatic tendency to straighten up also, or, as it is frequently termed, by the self-centring action of the steering wheels. In a bicycle dr motor cycle caster is obtained by setting the steering head at such an angle that a line drawn through tho centre of the steering post and down the front forks will strike the ground at a spot just two inches ahead of the point of contact of the front tyre, or of a line dropped from the centre of the front; hub with the ground. In a car castor is obtained by an alteration of the angle, of the steering pivots or king pins. It is a matter to which a great- deal of attention is given by British car designers, but English motoring journals frequently contain claims that it is entirely' absent from American cars. It can be obtained, however, by the insertion of wedges between the front springs and the front axles, arid these are often inserted with a view to the correction of steering troubles set up by a tendency to front wheel wobble. In this connection a correspondent to an English motoring journal recently stated that a moderately priced American ear he owned in its early life fiad no self-centring dency until it had covered about 15,000 miles. Then, without any apparent reason, full caster action set in, giving bettor control. The car was absolutely free from wander, and always corrected itself after a Skid. There was no wheelflap, even on the roughest roads. Very slight play had developed iiv tho front kingpins, and he kept everything well filled with grease. Another correspondent suggested that this development was probably due to the steering joints having worn sufficiently to make greasing more effective, and so enabled tho eastm action, which really Was always present cn the car, to operate.

- —— MUST BREAK LAWS. MOTORISTS’ RISES. There are so 'many rules and regulations restricting motorists that they must break one of them occasionally, argued the Supreme Court of Michigan (United States) in deciding an insurance case.

The action arose from a clause in a motorist’s insurance policy, which read : “There shall be no liability under the terms of this policy unless the driver shall comply with the States and municipal laws.” After being involved in aai accident, the motorist was sued, and the insurance company denied liability, alleging and proving that the motorist urns exceeding the speed limit and was driving on the wrong side of the street. A lower court gave a verdict in favour of tho insurance company, but the Supreme Court reversed the decision. It stated that to hold that every violation of the law would void a motorist’s policy, and thus relievo the insurance companies of liability, would be untenable.

Notwithstanding this violation of traffic lan's, contrary to tho terms of his policy, the motorist was considered to ho entitled to protection under his policy. NEW PISTON RINGS. There is unfortunately a belief in many quarters that whenever a cylinder is losing compression or there are signs of piston slap, a new set of rings will soon put matters right. Actually, if tlie new rings are ill chosen or badly fitted that niay make the last stage of tho cylinder worse than the iirst. To understand the position clearly the motorist must picture to hi in,self that each piston ring is to all intents a perfect circle which makes uniform and close contact with the walls of the cylinder. If the cylinder wears regularly—that is to say, retains perfect circular form, but merely through wear and tear lias its diameter enlarged by a few thousandths of an inch—then now rings may effect a cure, hut whenever the cylinder has worn seriously it will almost certainly have taken on an elliptical shape, and so until it is lapped, honed, or robored again to a cylindrical form it is to try and force in new rings and pistons, since a perfect circle cannot make a gas-tight joint with tho elliptical contour of a worn cylinder. The fitting of new piston rings is not a job to bo undertaken by the amateur, and it is very often necessary for some lathe work to he carried out on the pistons themselves in order to true up and reface the piston grooves. Similarly, where the cylinder wear is so serious as to call for treatment, the engine must, of course, be entrusted to some properly-equipped machine shop. “ SILENT THIRD ” GEARS. PIONEERED BY GREAT BRITAIN. , Each year (states the 1 British Commercial News’) the Olympia motor show is responsible for some marked, improvement in design. Ralloon tyres, as they were called at their introduction, and four-wheel brakes aro prominent examples. This year tho tendency seems to bo towards the “silent third ” typo of four-speed box—and a very good tendency it is. too. Such gears, which usually employ helicallycut teeth, iire expensive to manufacture, but they more than pay for themselves in tho long run in that wear is reduced to a minimum. They are silent in the first place, and remain so, whilst the amount of nerve strain they prevent is incalculable. It is sometimes thought that, the “silent third” is an American invention which has been copied. Actually, however, this is not the ease; it was pioneered by the Riley Company, of Coventry, and made its appearance at the 1926 Olympia show in the first Riley “nine”—some time before any similar American product was on the market. So successful did it prove that it is substantially the same on the latest models.

MOTOR CYCLING FIXTURES. December 13.—Paper chase. December 17.—Monthly meeting, SPEED RECORD. MOTOR CYCLE FEATS. A position has arisen in the motor cycle world with regard to tho maximum speed record, comparable with that of motor cats of a- few years ago, when a number of brilliant drivers, such as Mesrs H. 0. D. Segrave, J. G. Pary Thomas, Malcolm Campbell, and tho Americans, T. Milton, 8. Haugdahl, Ray Keech, Frank Lockhart, and others, many of whom unfortunately have met with tragic accidents, engaged in a contest for the honour. Within a short space of time the record for cars was raised from a of about 110 miles an hour to 132; then took an upward leap and exceeded 150, 170, and to tho astonishment of tho world, 300 miles an hour. For a while its progress was stayed at about 203 miles an hour, and then rose to 207, and finally was raised by Sir Henry Sogravo to tho present figure, 231.3 miles an hour, nearly two years ago. Considering the comparative superiority in point of touring speed so frequently shown by motor cycles over cars, it is surprising to many motorists that the maximum speed attained by them is so much inferior to that of the four-wheeled vehicles. Their ratio of power to weight, tho lower friction and correspondingly smaller drain of power caused by two wheels instead of four and the nigh state of efficiency of tho modern motor cycle engine all justify this belief to a certain extent, but the absence of an official limit on the power which may be installed in special racing cars like the Golden Arrow, Silver Bullet, Triplex Special, and other famous record-breaking cars, as compared with the piston displacement limit of 1,000c.c. enforced for motor cycles by the Federation of International Motor Cycle Clubs; the perfect streamlining which can be done witli racing car bodies, and other factors, give the car the ultimate advantage. However, even with the inefficient streamlining of motor cycles so far attempted, some really wonderful performances have been accomplished during tho past year or two. What could be done with unlimited power at his disposal was shown many years ago by the late Glenn Curtiss, who, on a specially constructed motor cycle, fitted with an aeroplane engine, covered a mile on the Daytona Beach in 26sec (138.46 miles an hour), bub this was a freak performance. The engine was an eight-cylinder of about 36 nominal hoae power, and the record was never accepted by any official body. HUMISTON’S RECORD.

Probably tho first genuine motor cycle record at an average speed of 10U miles an hour was that of an American (Lee Humiston) on a wooden track at Los Angeles. Some fine records were also done by British and European motor cyclists at Brooklands, and many experiments were made in the direction \of improving tho performance by modified streamlining, especially of the tanks. Restrictions imposed on engine capacity by all the principal governing bodies stimulated research into the problems of efficiency, and tho proof afforded by cars of the importance of streamlining attracted attention to this. One experiment made, with a measure of success, was to eguip the rider with a kind of streamlined tail constructed of some light, but stiff material. This was tested at Brooklands by J. L. Emerson. About the same time some interest was aroused in France by the appearance of what was termed tho- torpedo bicycle, invented by an enthusiast named BiinauVarilla. He devised an egg-shaped body of celluloid on a very light framework, in which a racing bicycle rider was almost entirely encased. It was a bizarre-looking arrangement, as all that could bo seen outside the casing were tho bottoms of the two wheels and tho eye'ist's feet alternately appearing and disappearing, but it appeared to have some practical points. It was tested by a great French cyclist, Marcel Berthet, who attained recordbreaking speeds with it. It was never convincingly proved to lie immune to the influence of a side wind, however, and its unconventional appearance militated against its general adoption. Nevertheless, there was talk for a while of applying the torpedo bicycle idea to a record-breaking motor cycle, but it never came to any more than Emerson’s streamlined tail, excepting as applied to -tho huge freak machines used for pacing record-breaking cyclists iu Europe. These machines, like Glenn Curtiss’s, are pure freaks and not admissible as racing or record-breaking motor cycles, some of them even having four-cylinder water-cooled, car engines and installed in specially constructed frames. Around engine _ and rider arc constructed light aluminium streamlined bodies, providing protection for the rider. ACCELERATED PROGRESS. In tho battle which has boon waged during the past eighteen months for the honour of holding tho maximum speed record, however, the streamlining has been left to enclosing the engine, together with whatever effect tho rider can secure by crouching as low as possible along tlio top of tho frame. Americans and British were tho first really to inaugurate tho campaign, Paul Anderson, an American, while in Australia, the late Eugene Walker, at Daytona, and others demonstrating the possibility of a motor cycle covering a milo in less than fiOses;, while in Europe tho Englishmen, Herbert le Yack, and C. F. Temple, were prominent; the Americans, J. Seymour, J. Davis, and others all kept tho speed rising. 0. M. Baldwin, of England, however, gained tho most general recognition by averaging 124 miles an hour in Europe, and his average was raised to 129 miles an hour by Le Yack. Then tho Germans came on the scone, Ernst Honnc, on a supercharged 748c.c. B.M.W. machine, raising the record to 134 miles an hour. This remarkable feat, with a machine of only 75 per cent, of the permissible piston displacement, aroused British manufacturers to stern efforts to recover tho record, as a result of which several special machines were built. The most successful of these was an 0. E. C. Temple twincylinder, designed by a former holder of the record, C. F. Temple, and fitted with a 998c.c. supercharged J.A.P. engine, to whoso production many months were devoted It is stated that it proved highly successful as far as speed was concerned in tests at Brooklands, but was too fast for that course, and when taken to thj road course at Arpajon, aftei some preliminary ignition troubles had been overcome, it at last really exceeded the speed averaged by Glenn Curtis? nearly twenty-five years ago. It was tho fifrst machine to attain an indisputable speed of _ more than 140 miles an hour, but this was for a run in one direction only. Its average in tho opposite direction, which was so much lower than its mean speed, was given as 137.32 miles an hour. Three weeks later, on tho Ingoldstadtcr read, near Munich. Hemic covered a kilometre in fwu directions, with flying

starts, at a mean speed of 137.G6 miles an hour on Mb 750c.c. machine. WRIGHT’S HISTORIC FEAT. Wright, however, was convinced that his machine had not done itself full justice during his trip to France, and on a remarkable concrete road near Cork, in Ireland, ho decided to make an attempt to regain the record tor Britan}* and at the same time raise it to ' a figure which would place the superiority of his 1,000c.c. machine beyond doubt. This road between Cork and Carrigrohane, ran along the banks of the river Lee, the section used being almost perfectly straight, two miles in length, and with a maximum gradient of one in 20f on the middle half-mile. It was 21ft in width. Tho surface was very favourable the concrete having a cambc of only 3in on each side of the road. On this fine stretch Wright averaged 1502 miles an hour for the mean of the two runs in opposite directions. Wright thus became the first motor cyclist in the world to ride a mile in less than 24sec, which would represent an average speed of 150 m.p.h. TOLD AT T’HE WHEEL. A new driver writes in to ask what stops a ear’s skidding. Well, usually it’s another car nr a conveniently placed lamp post.