MOTORDOM

Greymouth Evening Star, 8 December 1933, Page 3

MOTORDOM

NEWS OF the road

(By

“Gearbox” )

1934 MODEL , CARS. OUTSTANDING FEATURES “The tendency to produce cars which each year seem to go one better than models of the previous year in the matter of speeds seems to have been checked,” states an editorial in “The Motor.” “Instead, outstanding features of the 1934 models are easier handling and better control. More simple gear changing, definitely makes for better driving, and that, of course, is very -prominent in the new cars, but there are other features which also increase the factor of safety. “One of the most important is a general improvement in brake design. The desirable attribute of progressive action, without violently locking the wheels or providing an inadequate, retarding effect, is conspicuous in modern brake layouts. “The use of safety glass is extending until it is becoming rare to find a new car without all the glass being of the unsplinterable kind. As old cars with glass of the easily shatterable type are displaced by new ones there should be a: diminution of injuries due to broken glass in the accident returns. “The battery master switch is now being taken up. Many car fires could have been prevented if it had been possible for the -driver to cut off the battery current at its source, Another innovation which will also have some effect in reducing the. risk of fire is the use of flexible petrol connections, which should be unbreakable. These are the sort of things which definitely make for safer motoring.

“Increased visibility is also noticeable in the latest bodywork. Screen pillars of narrower, section are reducing blind spots, while the craze for a high waistline and inadequate windows is giving way to dropped window frames.and higher roof lines.

“It will be seen,, as .new car. programmes are published, that.-manu-facturers are giving serious thought to the possibility of reducing the number of accidents by increasing the driver’s mastery of the vehicle.”

HAND SIGNALS IMPORTANT “One great discourtesy by motorists on the road is the habitual neglect to give hand signals to following or converging traffic of intention to change direction,” says the latest safety first message of the Canterbury Automobile Association. “Unfortunately, discourtesy seems to breed discourtesy bn the roads, because- the failure to give signals is a prominent feature of, driving nowadays, so much so that for,-traffic inspectors and motorists a cdurse of thought-reading -seems to b’d a necessary requisite to success. An almost callous indifference is shown by many 'drivers towards the .safety and wellbeing of the other fellow. Particularly is this so when, without any Earning, the car in front suddenly turiis to the right d,r left. The driver of such a car is most selfish and cannot be classed as competent. “If drivers approaching an intersection knew their job they would consult their rear-view driving mirrors, give a warning honk of the horn, and then hand-signal clearly to the driver following. The hand sigiials for the left, right, or stop are simple enough in all conscience, and should be properly given. It is not a case of dangling a few fingers out of a window. The arm and hand should be fully extended. All hand sighals should be given out of the window near the driving wheel, and a warning honk is an added precaution which should not be overlooked) “Where roads converge, a motorist as a duty to other motorists by hand his intended direction. And here, let it be stated, the courteous driver will give direction signals for the guidance of pedestrians, cyclists, and others' who might be on the roads. Safety on the roads depends on the fullest measure of cooperation between all classes of traffic, and no class of road user has . a right to act in an unchivalrous or discourteous way to another. Leave nothing to chance or guesswork, by giving hand signals as a habit.”

ANOTHER IDEA A correspondent in an overseas journal recently mentioned the fact that a puncture-proof tyre has been bn the market in the United States, for some time and has proved a conspicuous success, in spite of its price. It takes the form of a special inner tube, in which a strip of canvas is sandwiched in "bet Ween two layers of thick rubber. The canvas strip is so arranged that it comes directly underneath the tread of the tyre, but does not extend opposite the side walls. Instead of being so constructed that it fits the rim, the puncture-proof tube is made to the actual size of the tyre, and is consequently slightly more difficult to fit than the ordinary tube. If a nail should penetrate the tread and reach this tube, oh its withdrawal , the canvas ahtomatically Seals the puncture. It is claimed that under favourable conditions the tubes will outlast the life of the car, but the disadvantage to their use in tropical countries is that the very thick tube results in increased frictional heat, so that sometimes a blow-out is caused. CORRECT BALANCE Owing to the steady increase m driving speeds, the correct balance of road is becoming increasingly .important. If a wheel is not correctly balanced it tends to Vibrate when, revolving at high speed,, and. this vibration may cause rapid wear ' of bearings, developing wheel wobble and other defects. As the half of the wheel containing'the tyre valve is heavier than that opposite it, and as it is impossible to nifike rims, tyres, and tubes absolutely symmetrical in weight, almost every Wheel is naturally slightly out of balance. Front wheels can be tested for ■ balance by jacking up the front of the car, and noticing how the wheel comes to rest 'after being spun gently round a few times. If spoke wheels are used the balance can be adjusted by binding small pieces of lead to the spokes hard against the . rim, and binding them over with insulation tape. As tho rear wheels will not turn freely on their own axles they should be removed and transferred to the front hubs for balancing.

C MOTOR ENGINEERING. | VALUE OF RESEARCH WORK j Car manufacturers throughout the world carry out persistent research in connection with an almost infinite number of problems connected with engineering practice. There are, too, many national and university institutions which devote much of their time to investigating the problems of construction associated with the building of cars, and amongst such bodies the National Physical Laboratory of Great Britain holds an eminent place. Amongst its recent investigations the question of lubrication has received close attention and it is now reported, states a motoring journal, that the experiments performed tend to show that it should be possible to make use of much lighter lubricants in car engines and transmissions than those now commonly used. Progress in that direction may eventually prove of real help to the motorist in that the difficulties of starting the engine in cold weather may be lessened by the substitution of lighter lubricants, which also tend to make for greater power efficiency. Amongst other branches of experiment in which the laboratory is constantly engaged is the testing of various metals to determine how well they resist vibration and constant twisting strains, and the facts ascertained in such tests are, of course, of considerable value to builders of all types of machinery. An ingenious device, is in use for testing the hardness of fine metal plating, such as chromium, and despite tile excessive thinness of such coatings as usually applied protectively to other metals it has been found possible to make accurate comparisons. A small diamond point is applied to the surface to be tested and the impression left by it is then -measured under a powerful microscope.

Ventilation of closed motor vehicles is- also receiving close study, and special attention has been given to the problem of obtaining thoroughly effective ventilation in long-distance motor coaches.

In the department of aerodynamics, models of cars designed for recordbreaking work are submitted to windtunnel tests and the information thus obtained has proved to be of great help to the builders of such speed ma. chines, while, of course, there is even ihbre research of this nature in . con-' nection aeroplane design. These are b.iit a few .of the ways in which th£ National Physical Laboratory is helping the progress of car manufacturing, and form but a small part of the most helpful work which that infetitiition performs.

WIRELESS IN CARS The British Ministry of Transport lias -been carrying out secret tests with radio sets fitted to cars with a view to finding out if car radio is likely to distract the attention of the average motorist from his driving. According to an English writer the officials are convinced that wifeless in the car is not dangerous, and it is highly improbable that the Minister of Transport will find it necessary to deal with the matter by regulation. This disposes of a report that the Minister of Transport is likely to bah wireless in the car. In America some 400,000 cars are fitted with radio and there has been no complaint that this has led to accidents. TO A HORSE O horse, you are a wondrous thing, no horn to honk, no bells to ring, no license buying every year, with plates to screw on front and rear. No spark plugs to- miss, no gears to strip, you start yourself, no clutch to slip, no gas bills mounting every day to steal the joy of life away. Your inner tubes are all O. K. and, thank the Lord, they stay that way. Your spark plugs never miss and fuss, your motor never makes us cuss. Your frame is good for many a mile, your body never changes style, your wants are few and easy met, you have something on the auto yet.—Arkansas Highways.