THE NEW CAR.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 21 May 1927, Page 14

THE NEW CAR.

“RUNNING-IN.” Almost every motorist takes iat pride in the ownership o.f his new car, especially when, it is the first he has had. It is well that this should be so, for it leads him: to take care of it, and thus prolong its useful life. • His pride in liis new possession should not, however, lead him to make premature tests of its utmost speed and power. The parts of a new car, and especially the engine parts, aie inclined to be a little tight at first, but as the car becomes “run in” these parts begin to bed correctly upon one another and move with freedom. The car then improves , with every mile of .its running, until it is in the pink of condition. This may mean 200 to 300 .miles on the road at a gentle pace, say, about 25 m.p.h. on the .level or 30 m.p.h. on a down grade. But it is not much use being moderate on the level if one opens the throttle fully on a hill in, the endeavour to maintain, the same speed. Some expensive cars are fully “run in” by being driven a considerable mileage in road tests before being delivered to the purchaser, but in the case of moderate-priced cars this is not usual, owing to the fact that expense involved would immediately send up the price. It is therefore necessary to resist the temptation to drive the car all out for the first few hundred miles; otherwise the engine will be likely to suffer. Advice to this effect is often printed on strips of paper and stuck, to the windscreen as a gentle • reminder. Oil Morris cans, instead of leaving this /to the judgment of the purchaser, a washer is placed in the induction pipe, which restricts its available diameter, so that if the accelerator pedal be pressed down' as far as possible, the effect is only that of a halfopen throttle. This, of course, keeps down the possible speed, even when the driver is- forgetful. It also limits the hill-climbing powers of the ca.r and makes an early change necessary, and if the driver learns .in consequence to change down early when climbing hills, it does good in this way also. After a certain number of mi levs, the washer can be ,removed /and the car will be in firstrate condition. In the early periods of the, car’s life the lubrication should also be carefully watched. Jfe is desirable to go gently when first taking the car out, so that the engine may have time no warm and the oil to flow nicely before any hard' work is attempted. The pinions in the gearbox also move with more freedom after the car has run a mile or two. Every adjustment on a new oar must be checked more frequently than will be necessary a little later on. This applies especially to the brakes, and upon these the safety of the car may depend.