MOTORDOM

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 July 1932, Page 10

MOTORDOM

NEWS OF THE ROAD

(By

“Gearbox” )

“CLIMBING" POWER-TOP-GEAP For some years top-gear performance was so extensively advertised, and used as a sales argument, th^t .it is little wonder many people still have a distorted idea as to its value, writes a motoring expert. Actually, the abi..ity to climb freak hills on top gear means simply that the car is overpowered from the very practical viewpoint ot economy in running, and should really be regarded as one of the privileges of the wealthy owner, or else that it is under-geared. Older motorists will have memories of under-powered cars which required recourse to the lower gears at every rise, but this type of vehicle no longer exists: even the smallest cars now have an adequate power-weight ratio. Probably the best definition of a car having an all-round satisfactoiy performance is that it should take all ordinary main road hills on top gear when driven at the average speed of about thirty miles an hour, although if it has a modern silent-third type of gearbox, slightly improved speed should be given on the third gear over the steeper grades. Comfortable traffic performance, with a safe margin of acceleration, should be given in third gear. With the better class of cars it is possible to make the mistake of staying in third instead of top gear. Extreme top-gear performance is usually bought dearly at the expense of fitting an unnecessarily large engine, an unnecessarily low top-gear ratio, or a combination of both. In every case it is extravagant. If -Ihe engine is too large fuel and oil consumption Will suffer, and the freedom from repairs due to the engine always working well below its maximum be tound to be largely imaginary. If, on the other hand, the engine is of reasonable size, but the top-gear ratio is low, the number of revolutions per mile and per minute will be increased to an undesirable degree. The engine will be “fussy” at ordinary speeds, may require more attention, will have a higher fuel and oil consumption than it should, and the maximum road speed of the car, both' on top and the lower gears, will be unreasonably low. Although American manufacturers were the first to make use of the “top gear everywhere” argument, their recent productions show that the error is being rectified. The rapid adoption within recent years, of synchro-mesh gearboxes and silent thirds, devices which are aimed at encouraging inexpert drivers to change gear when necessary, are evidence of this; while rapid development in Britain and on the. Continent of automatic gear-chang-ing devices indicates that eventually the gear lever will nd longer be a standard fitting. Instead, the correct ratios, will be automatically selected, to the vast improvement of both performance and economy. In the meantime, efficient use can be made of the gearbox if the driver remembers always to change gear as soon as the road speed has dropped to a point whether the engine seems to be labouring or is incapable of giving satisfactory acceleration. Attention to the latter factor will be found of great assistance in traffic driving, and will materially increase safety. Six or eight cylinders are not necessary to good performance, as many motorists seem, to think. A. good, modern four will do all that is necessary, and usually at a lower first and upkeep cost. It is often possible, however, to obtain a reasonably good performance in a six at a lower manufacturing cost than that of a four, particularly as regards smoothness of running.

DUAL VEHICLE. Just on 18 months ago considerable publicity was given to the road-rail motor coach being tested out by the Condon, Midland and Scottish Railway Company in England. The motor coach was equipped with duel sets of wheels, one set being ordinary metal flanged rail*. type, and the other pneu-matic-shod road wheels of the conventional type. The chassis was adapted by the Karrier Company (England), to be used as a duel purpose motoi* coach that could be driven on rail lines e.s well as on the highway. The changeover from road to rail use is made possible by a mechanical device which enables the road "wheels to be raised by means of concentrics, and lifted clear of the rail wheels when the vehicle is driven on railway lines. The operation of bringing road or rail wheels into position is simply and quickly effected by the manipulation of levers by the driver and conductor. Passengers are not disturbed while the change is being made. Fox* 18 months this ro-railer has been engaged on experimental work with a view to further perfecting the dual purpose vehicle. The outcome has been to lighten considerably the construction of the coach, and the adoption of a simplex* device which enables the pneumatic wheels to be raised higher, so that when the flanged wheels are on rails', the lowest point of the tyres will have a six-inch clearance above the rail level. This was found necessary to avoid risk of tyres striking signalling apparatus.

The improved ro-railer now weighs about six tons, or nearly a ton less, while many constructional improvements have been effected. The vehicle which seats 26 passengers is now being tried out on a road-rail service, carrying passengers by road to Stratford-on-Avon railway station, and thence by rail to Blisworth. The highest speed attained by the coach on the rail journey is about 55 m.p.h., while when travelling on B the road, the vehicle compares favourably with normal motor bus service. The ro-railer is stated to bo a marked success both upon the roads and upon the rails, and indications point to there being a definite future for this type of dual vehicle.

The petrol consumption on the road is about eight miles per gallon, while on the rail at similar speeds the consumption is approximately 12 m.p.g.

CORRECTING SKIDS. WIZARD’S ADVICE. Mr Thomas Dale, the skidding wizard, has just retired after 46 years in the service of the London General Omnibus Company, during the last 11 years of which, as a driving instructor, he has corrected well over 1,000,000 skids. Here is his advice on how to correct a back-wheel skid: Don’t touch your brakes when the car begins to skid. Release the accelerator pedal and ease the clutch.

‘ TUrn the front wheels in the direc-, Hon of the skid; that is, if the rear' wheels skid to th£ left or near side, turn the steering wheel to the left or near side. Turning the front wheels into the skid will check the spinning back wheels;

If possible, as soon as the wheels begin to grip, change into a lower gear and accelerate. The car should then straighten up. For front-wheel skid, which is rarer and even more dangerous, the skidding champion advises: —

Try to create a back-wheel skid by jamming on the brakes. This, will swing the tail round. Then act as for a back-wheel skid.

Skidding, according to Mr Dale, can be avoided to a great extent by: — Driving in a careful manner on greasy roads so that sudden braking is avoided. Accelerating gently. Taking corners at slow speed. Avoiding sudden diversion , of direction, such as pulling over suddenly to pass another vehicle. LAYING UP THE CAR. When a car is likely to remain in its garage for several -weeks on end, one or the other of two precautions against undue deterioration of the tyres should be taken. The idea is to prevent any one small section of each tyre sustaining the weight of the car for a long while without break. So the first of the alternatives is to jack up all four wheels and leave them thus until the car is about to be brought into use again; the second is to visit the garage, say, once a week, and push the car forward or backward 8 to 10 inches at a time, so as to bring fresh sections of the tyres under the axle centres.

If one part of a tyre continues to bulge, even to only the natural extent of carrying the weight of the car for a month or two, the rubber will be prone to crack at that point, particularly in cold weather; subsequently, the cracks —possibly minute —will admit moisture to the cprd fabric, and encourage premature decay, or even a burst.

Should the second, of the above alternatives be adopted, it will probably be necessary—distinctly advisable, at all events —to test the inflation pressures every fortnight or so, and to use the pump if and when the pressures have fallen appreciably belc-w normal.

THE CAR AND CRIME. The alarming increase of motor banditry in London and the seeming inability of Scotland Yard’s Flying Squad to cope with the situation is dealt with in the following editorial iii a recent issue of -‘Tlie Motor”: — “The authorities appear to be concerned, if not actually alarmed, at the daring aiid resourcefulness of the motor banditry. It is at last being realised that the planning and scheming of the raids are the work of a master mind, followed up by clever and, if necessary, desperate confederates. Something much more effective must, therefore, be done to cope with a type of crime which is developing alarmingly, and the perpetration of which goes on unchecked at the constaxxtly changing seats of operations, while the criminals, by the aid of fast cars that have been stolen get clean away with the spoils and remain undetected.

“It is obvious that those forming the gangs are expert motor drivers capable of taking control of any car, the faster the better. The car, however, is only a very important means to an end, and in the case of nearly every raid is found abandoned later on. The difficult problem with the police is that it is never known when and where the raider will strike. It is evident that all the details and circumstances of a chosen scene of action are carefully studied, the raid is. swift and the car then constitutes the most important factor in the whole scheme of operations.

“Aftei* the first cornex* has been turned the vehicle used by the raiders becomes a common unit in the ordinary flow of traffic and, therefore, cannot be expected to arouse suspicion on the part of either police or public. The drivers must be men who know the London streets well, and they use theii best efforts to elude pursuit in the early stages of their flight. It, seems to us that so swift are the operations that before the Flying Squad from Scotland Yard can get moving, however promptly the telephone is put into operation, the chase is a hopeless one.

“We are of opinion that the organisation of the mobile police should be overhauled. It is obvious that most of the cars in use arc powerless in a contest with the type of car selected by the bandits. There should be an efficient force of police mounted on motorbicycles, and as detection in the act seems the first, essential in putting down smashing and grabbing, these should be used for constantly patrolling the streets. With police mounted on fast motor-bicycles there would then be a chance that a car used in connection with this type of crime could be followed on something like equal terms in the early stages of a get-away.

HEROIC MEASURES SUGGESTED. “Strange and wonderful are the plans which are being put forward for dealing with the motor bandit menace in some of the daily papers. Private car owners in particular will be interested in the naive suggestion that drivers shall turn their vehicles across the path of carsbeing used by bandits in get-away rushes, and that they shall receive compensation in respect

of any damage occasioned by such drastic performances. .

“The originators of these heroic plans are reticent regarding the problem as to how the driver of a nice new saloon is to he able to distinguish a raider from an ordinary peaceable citizen going about his lawful business. Nor do they tell us how to proceed when the discovery has been made that the car stopped is not that of a smash-and-grab bandit, but a doctor; and who, in such circumstances is going to recompense either party or both. It is an intriguing question, and it might be interesting to hear the opinions of some insurance authorities about it.”

WHO PAYS THE DOCTOR?

If you are a witness of a motor accident, ought you to seek medical aid for an injured person? A French business man is wondering about this. His doubts are not founded on moral or charitable, but on financial grounds. He was an occupant in a car which knocked down and seriously hurt a child. He at once sought a doctor, who attended to the child and later performed the operation of trepanning. But the doctor’s effort to obtain his fee, amounting to about £24, failed. The family of the injured child would have nothing to do with the bill. “Collect it,” they said, “from the person by whom yqu were summoned.” The passenger in the car asked, “Ain I to be expected to pay simply because I perform an act of elementary charity?” He repudiated any responsibility and also. denied an assertion by the doctor that he had undertaken to defray the expenses. The judge in the Paris court which is considering the case gave the impression that he regarded the passenger as a, responsible party. But he reserved judgment, to give the doctor an oppor-' tunity of proving the alleged undertaking to pay.