MOTORDOM

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 August 1929, Page 7

MOTORDOM

NEWS OF THE ROAJ)

(By

“Gearbox”)

GRUMBLING PASSENGER A DEFINITE HANDICAP Few motorists invariably take the road alone; one’s complement usually varies considerably as to numbers and as to composition. Now passengers can have a very great effect upon a driver’s enjoyment of scenery, and of motoring itself. It is a not over-com-mon frame of mind which allows its possessor to derive the same pleasure, for instance, from a magnificent view on occasions when alone as when there is a companion with whom to share the many varied charms of the countryside. Yes, passengers are important (writes H.S.L. in the “Autocar”). May they live up to their responsibilities. Better none, though, than the type that jars upon one’s sensitiveness. It is a subject of which I have written before. There are passengers who in minor fashion grumble on every possible occasion, who seem almost to take delight in ruining the smoothness of a keenly anticipated journey. Others lose their nerve, or become fretful, if one travels at speeds which, though unquestionably reasonable, to them appear dangerous. It is a difficult situation. To sympathise with the genuinely nervous man or woman is possible, but no passenger is really competent to criticise his driver’s behaviour unless he is himself a driver - of some experience, or has strong reasons for forming an unfavourable opinion of a certain pilot’s methods. A passenger who conspicuously lacks confidence in his driver and betrays his uneasiness by repeated word and gesture is a very definite handicap to anyone at the wheel of a car. Comparatively few motorists enjoy so much confidence in their skill that they can remain completely unshaken by such an attitude on the part of their companions. The best drivers try to cultivate the habit of acting sensibly and normally irrespective of those whom they happen to have on board. The crux of the matter, as far as the question of speed and methods which seem to be risky to the man sitting beside the driver is concerned, lies in the sense of inaction necessarily uppermost in a passenger’s mind. He knows that, whatever he feels, he can do little or nothing; he is entirely in the hands of the other man. The advice has been put forward that drivers should select their* passengers with extreme care, that they may carry with them those who soothe rather than fray their nerves. To simplify the situation still further let it be suggested that passengers choose their drivers with equal care! There can then be but little room for misunderstanding. RUBBER IN TYRES A great deal has been written about rubber and its use in tyre construction, but very few people outside those closely associated with the manufacturing end, realise the importance that devolves on the strength and elasticity of the fabric casing. In a standard 30 in. Dunlop balloon cover there are approximately 180,000 Egyptian cotton threads twisted into cords capable of standing the terrific stresses imposed upon the tyre when m hse. Each cord that is used in the Construction of a casing is composed of 15 single threads, which in groups of 5 are twisted into 3 strands, and in turn, again twisted into one cord. Exhaustive tests all over the world have established that this formula is the best for cord tyre construction, from the points of view of strength, the resistance to flexing, and ample elasticity to meet road conditions. The strength of these cords may be judged from the fact that 120 of them will support a dead weight of one ton, and there are 12,000 cords in a cover of the size mentioned. The degree of stretch in these cords is important too little means that the tyre will not have the elasticity and flexibility to withstand the shocks and blows it receives in use; too much means that the tyre will stretch unduly when inflated, and will give rise to excessive Internal stretching and working in the casing, causing friction between the plies and their ultimate separation, which will render the tyre flabby and not lively, and will absorb much more engine power to drive the car. Experience has taught Dunlop experts that strength is not the main factor in tyre “cord”, nor is stretch, nor is resistance to flexing. The best coid for casing construction is that which has the three qualities combined, without one factor being developed at the expense of the others; in fact, a properly balanced cord, developed to best meet the conditions required to build a cover that has been well illustrated in the epic achievements accomplished by Messrs. Segrave, Campbell and others in recent high speed performances ranging from a maximum speed of 231 m.p.h. to 128 miles in one hour, and 113.3 m.p.h. for 24 consecutive hours. PARAGLARE GLASS Every motorist knows the inconvenience of driving a closed car at night when some other car is following. The headlights of the rearmost vehicle make it nearly impossible for the driver of the front one to see what he is doing, as their glare is reflected . on the wind-screen through his rear window. The blind, of course, can be pulled down, but this is not always convenient nor altogether satisfactory. Some cars in England are now fitted with a new kind of glass in the rear window. This glass is quite transparent and easy to see through, though it has a slight blueish tinge. At night, however, it 'Will absorb the rays .of the headlights of any following car, and all the driver of the front vehicle sees is two small glowing discs reflected on his. windscreen. All dazzle is thus eliminated. The Splintex Safety Glass people in England, have, after lengthy experiment, obtained the right tinting to get this result, and the glass is known as paraglare.

COASTING THE DOWN-GRADE

A HARMFUL HABIT Some motor car drivers—and good drivers too—have what may be de-1 scribed as a surprising habit, on every down grade of pushing the clutch out, and coasting as far along the road as the gradient will take them. It is therefore well to warn such people that if this bad habit is indulged in frequently, retribution will follow as certainly as day follows night. The man who designed the clutch on any particular car, made his calculation on tile assumption that this particular unit would only be used for a few seconds at a time when gears were changed. He never contemplated that the drivei' of the car would hold the clutch out for minutes on end. As unnecessary weight on a car means unnecessary consumption of petrol, the designer very naturally decided to employ the small ball-thrusts and bearings consistent with reliability that would stand up to the job which is usually allotted to a clutch. The user, by turning his clutch into what one might term a “free-wheel”, is putting a strain on the thrust races and bearings for which they were never intended. For a time no trouble may develop, but like every other machine, constant abuse will eventually break it down. If the driver of a car desires to coast on a down-grade let him do so, but he must slip his gear-lever into neutral and allow his clutch to come back into its normal position. By this means no harm whatever will be done to the car, but it entails just a little skill to return the gear-lever into its previous position without causing the pinions in the gear-box to shreak in agony. Whenever' such “coasting” is in progress it is well to strike a note of warning to drivers whose cars are fitted with vacuum servo brakes. Every motorist who has had experience of these brake assisters must know that where the engine is not running he has practically to depend on his hand brake. “Coasting” down a hill in neutral may permit the engine to stop, and unless this has been noticed the driver may receive a shock should he desire to pull up suddenly. Of course, if he is prepared to apply the extra pressure to the brake pedal and makes all the necessary plans beforehand all will be well. On some cars, of course, the danger of an unexpected engine stop in these circumstances is not so great, especially on a car of which the pressure on the brake pedal, that has to be applied, does not vary to any great extent whether the engine is running or not. PROGRESS IN CHINA The greatest array of workers in China since the building of the Great Wall is now building roads in Kweichow Province. Not long ago the firfß car reached the provincial capital after a 50-day jurney from Canton, being transported in., pieces on coolies backs over the mountain ranges when water transportation ended. The province was bandit-infested and famine-strick-en Kweichow is an inland province in Southwest China. Narrow-tracked trails over steep mountain passes provided its only contact with the world. Over these trails a coolie tracker could transport £5O worth of opium with less labour than it took to carry £1 or £2 worth of rice or other products. Opium traffic flourished; other trade was demoralised. As a method of correcting this condition it was decided that better means of transportation would be constructive. Within two years, 600 miles of road have been built. The Tsunyi-Chiuhi section of the system in the extreme northwest tip of the province will connect with a small tributary of the Yangtze River. Steam launches connecting with river boats at Chungking will provide a river transportation outlet for the products of this province for the first time in history. But Kweichow is not the only province that has awakened to the need of better transportation. All over China, provinces and districts are constructing highways. To-day between 10,000 and 13,000 miles of graded dirt roads are opening up many areas to modern means of transportation. Hard surfacing has been done in but a few districts outside the foreign concessions in the larger treaty ports.

KAYE DON’S NEXT

It is publicly announced in England, that Mr. Kaye Don, the racing motorist will attempt next February to beat the world’s speed record of 231 miles an hour, set up by Sir Henry Segrave at Daytona, U.S.A., in March last. The motor car which Kaye Don will drive is designed to travel at more than 280 miles an hour. It is stated that it will cost £25,000 and its engine will develop over 1000 h.p. The decision to build this new racing monster followed definite news from New York that the United States intends to make an attempt next year at Daytona, to lower the recent British world's speed record of 231 miles an hour. The n&w car will be called “Hush Hush No. 2”, a successor to “Hush Hush No. 1”, the car that raised the world’s speed record to 150 m.p.h. a few years ago. The designer of the car is Mr Louis Coatalen the famous motor car draughtsman and a director of the Sunbeam Motor Car Co. of Wolverhampton, England. The problem—it is stated—that Mr. Coatalen has had to face has been largely connected with wind pressure. He had had to plan foi’ a stream-lining which will prevent the car from trying to fly instead of keeping on the ground. In this he believes he has been successful. The problem facing the dri-' Ver is whether it is possible to control a car at a speed of nearly 5 miles a minute, and this can be answered only by actual experience. Mr. Kaye sprang into the front rank of British motor racing drivers last year, when he won the international Tourist Trophy car race near Belfast, against the best drivers of seven nations. .