CAR SICKNESS.

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 December 1937, Page 11

CAR SICKNESS.

diet is important Car sickness is more prevalent than is generally recognised, but every form of it can be prevented if simple rules are followed. Headaches, vomiting, bodily aches, and pains all have definite causes, and those who suiter from these ailments while touring should endeavour to determine and remove the causes. . . The most common form ot car sickness is headache, and it is usually the driver or the front-seat passenger who is attacked. As headaches are rarely experienced on dull days the obvious cause of the trouble is concentration on a road made glaring by strong sunlight. The remedy is to wear tinted glasses, not the cheap things that aie sold for the beaches, but properly made glasses with a good lens. The rims are not visible, and no motorist susceptible to headaches should drive' without them on sunny days. I Then there is a form of illness simi-j lar to seasickness. It affects many j people on winding roads, particulailv in the mountains, and it is not so easily prevented. Drivers rarely suffer from this kind of “caritis,” probably because their hold on the steeling wheel prevents them from swaying. Back-seat passengers are most apt to i be affected, and precautions should be | taken by them before the journey be-, gins. If possible, people who are sub-1 ject to sickness should sit in the front, sent. b , . i An English doctor, in discussing this’ subject, suggests that travellers should! eat sparingly before leaving, and avoid strong tea or coffee, pastry, and other fatty or starchy foods, which are too heavy. He recommends eggs, cheese, lean meat, green vegetables, and fresh fruit. A heavy meal at mid-day should be avoided, particularly by the* driver, whose position causes the upper abdominal muscles to press against the stomach and give him the pains he deserves for over-eating.

Sucking barley sugar is said to be an excellent preventive of car sickness, and efficient ventilation will do much to keep the passengers in a fit condition. The best drink to take on the journey is milk. It is nourishing, and has no bad after-effects. The aches and pains arising out of driving can be avoided by five minutes’ rest every hour. Better still, leave the car and walk about briskly for a few minutes. Adjust the seat occasionally so that the driving position will be changed. Always sit well up to the steering wheel. Avoid leaning the arm on the window ledge. Not only is this habit apt to cause pains in the shoulder, but frequently leads to rheumatism and neuritis or aggravates those complaints. When you first drive in a car with knee action you may finish a journey feeling as if you had spent the day on the sea. The feeling may persist for a few hours, but it is not unpleasant, and after a few trips, will not be ex-, perienced.

CORRECT MIXTURE It has been estimated that at least 20 per cent, of all motor cars in use, waste petrol througli having an incorrect carburettor adjustment. This faulty setting may be responsible for a fuel loss as high as 20 per cent., although the engine may pull well and run. evenly. For this extravagance, there is less excuse to-day than there was a few years ago, when carburettor setting was done by hit or miss methods. Lately, modern service stations have adopted the scientific method of analysing exhaust gases in order to arrive at the proper mixture strength, and there seems little doubt but that this enables a carburettor to be adjusted with an accuracy which was not possible before the instrument now used became available. A modern carburettor, properly adjusted, is about 95 per cent, efficient at full load, and from-85 to 90 per cent, efficient under lighter loads. Using petrol of normal grades, an air to fuel ratio of approximately 151 b of air to 11b of petrol, gives a good consumption figure, with reasonable performance, while for maximum power, the ratio is about 131 b air to lib petrol.

The proper mixture gives the least objectionable exhaust. When the mixture is over-rich the exhaust is heavily loaded with the deadly carbon monoxide gas, and, in extreme cases, the tail pipe will emit black smoke. Blue smoke, it should be added, usually denotes oil pumping, and has nothing to do with the fuel. The exhaust gases, therefore, become an important guide to mixture strength, and by analysingthem it is possible to arrive at a mixture which gives good power and a reasonable rate of fuel consumption. When the mixture is too weak, which also in indicated by the exhaust gas analyser, over-heating, lack of power, and burnt exhaust valves and plug points are the usual troubles.

WHEN PETROL SUPPLY FAILS When engine stoppage is traced to the fact that there is no fuel in the carburetter do not immediately jump to the conclusion that the delivery pump is at fault. Indeed it is most likely not the pump at all. This is particularly so when the trouble occurs.first thing in the morning, or at any time after the car has stood for a period. It is in all probability due to the carburetter float needle being stuck up and not allowing the petrol to pass through. Take down the float chamber and clean out. Examination may show that there is a film of sediment around the carburetter needle of a rather tenacious nature, which actually holds the needle on its seating. This film is composed of deposits from special fuels combining with sediment, and, in some cases, rubber dissolved out from flexible connections in the fuel system (such as the filler pipe on some cars). The needle should be cleaned with a rag. and to get at the seating, push a match into the orifice with a piece of rag around it. This is generally sufficient to clear away the dirt. When the trouble occurs, the first thing to do to make sure that the stoppage lies not in the pump but in the carburetter float needle, is to disconnect the supply line from the union actually on the pump. If the pump is working, and is of the electrical type, fuel will flow when the switch is turned on. If. however, no fuel is deliver-

cd, in this ease it might be due to the pump diaphragm, to loose or broken wiring, or to the contacts needing attention.