Motoring

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVI, Issue 11, 24 December 1925, Page 14

Motoring

AMERICAN BID FOR OVERSEAS TRADE. American automobile interests are still endeavouring to secure holdings in leading English motor concerns, it will T)e remembered that General Motors (U.S.A.) negotiated for die controlling interest in the Austin Manufacturing Co., England, but the shareholders were not agreeable to the proposition. It is now reported that the same big American Corporation is negotiating with the Vauxhall Co., another prominent English car manufacturer, with a view t ( > securing an interest in that concern. It is apparent that at least the American automobile manufacturer is awake to the fact that the development and growing popularity of the high efficient British and European light small car is beginning to effect the export automobile business of America. That the matter is seriously regarded in U.S.A, is evident from a recent warning issued by the Government Department of Commerce at Washington, informing the United States motor manufacturers that they must immediately cope with the promlem of the rapidly growing popularity of the British and European type of small high efficient engined car if they desire to maintain their export trade. The result is that a campaign is to be organised with a view of building the American export trade in automobiles up to 2,000.000 cars per annum. Considering that America only exported 278,7'30 cars last year, it will be realised the effort U.S.A, is going to make to hold and increase its overseas trade.

ENGINE CAPACITY. In pre-war days a car engine with a capacity of less than three litres (IoUO c.e.) was considered, says “The Motor” (England) to be under-powdred lor really serious touring work, and practically all the more popular cars at that time exceeded this capacity. Nowadays, however, a three-litre engine is considered quite large, and most of the well-known English and Continental makes provide a road performance equal to. if not better than, the pre-war car of perhaps twice the capacity. Economy, too, has been enected, at any rate, in respect to the amount oi petrol and oil used and the number and size of tyres necessary for a given distance. In a total mileage 01, say, 30,000 or 40,000 these economies total a considerable amount. Has the limit been reached where the engine capacity cannot be reduced still further without affecting materially the performance of the car on the road ?

lb turn for a moment to Brooklands Racing Track (England) it is certainly a very strange sight to see one of the old-time giants wnh an engine of, perhaps. 10.000 c.e. or 12,000 c.c. capacity, being handsomely beaten by a tiny projectile with a miniature engine within the light car limit (i.e. 1,500 c.c.), and at a most astounding speed, too. As would be expected, the large car is also very heavy, and, by virtue of its size, present's considerable wind resistance when in motion,' so that, although the available horse-power of the larger engine may be slightly greater than that of the smaller one by which it is beaten, these factors of weight and size are of great moment when performance on the road is being considered. , To illustrate this point, imagine one of the racing Austin Seven engines installed in, say, a 45 h.p. Daimler chassis equipped with suitable gear ratios for the tiny power unit. The performance would’doubtlessly be quite i passable, but, at the same time, would not by any means equal the performance of he Austin Seven engine installed in its own chassis. It will be appreciated, then, that a reduction in engine size fand, incidentally in weight) permits a general reduction in dimensions of the car all round. Providing the horse-power available from the engine is something approaching that ol the larger prototyue. a road performance is obtained which in all probability, is better than that of the larger and heavier vehicle. ♦ * ♦ 4

CAMP SITES.

Two camp sites have been established by the Wanganui Association, one near the town and the other about ten miles out. One, Aramoho Park, is a beautiful reserve on the north bank oi the Wanganui river, about four miles from the centre of the town, about live acres in extent, lit bj electric light and right on the tram hue. It is an ideal .spot for camping, there being tearooms, shelter sheds lor picnickers, a children’s playground, all conveniences and a general store op- , posite. Cars can be parked on the site and camp pitched alongside. To get to Aramoho Park, follow the riverbank road, town side Somme Parade) past Aramoho. about I.} miles. The ■ park is on the right hand side, opposite the cemetery, just at the tram terminus. Ihe Okehu camp site is on i the banks of the Okehu stream, about i 10 miles from Wanganui, on the Great North road. Ihe actual camping site 1 -av? n a t ?y-[ oad (Fukerimu road), about 3UJ yards from the main road. There is «i laige sign on the main road indicating the direction and a further sign on the site itself. Exact infm mat.on as to the localities can be X i tamed from an v Wanganui garage.

dual sparking plugs.

Iho use ol dual sparking p]ug S j n nigh efficiency motor car engines opens up the question as to whether greater efficiency and economy could not be nad m the ordinary touring car engine it the plugs were duplicated. It is certain that rapid and complete ignition Ot the expansive charge could bo better effected at two points of the combustion space than at one. The added complication of an extra magneto might be a. point against the method. But, after all. magnetos today are so efficient that it could ha,-div be said that a second one would cause much more trouble or complication The high speeds now obtainable in the small car engines, which are becoming the popular type, do certainly call for the most efficient and the rastest form of ignition of the gas charge. We find the advantage in the ?ase of overhead valve engines whore there are no pockets and the (harem is compressed and ignited as a ina’ss immediately above the piston. In the case of engines with side valves tlio general practice is to put the spark plug in the valve chamber or passage. Fhe delay in ignitin.r the gas charge inder these conditions must bo appreciable. If a second spark plug were put at the opposing side of the cylinder perhaps we could get the full idvantage and the complete efficiency .vhich modern conditions demand. The natter is one which is well worth enquiring into. W e have already scon die advantage of dual carburetters in he case of multiple-cylindered engines such as sixes and eights. Similar fur:her advantages might be gained by Tie use of dual plugs and even a ’ouple of magnetos. Modern tendency to high piston ipeeus demands something a little nore advanced in the way of both ntroducing and igniting the charge. Probably dual carburettors dual igTiiion, and supercharging will be comnon features oi the speedy touring : ars of the immediate future, and conomy may come with tin- increased lower and efficiency.

REMARKABLE tests

It is remarkable what the presentday can’ is capable of when put to the test. In a reliability demonstration made with a 12 h.p. Mathis in France recently, 18630 miles were covered on the road, before it came to a stop. Three sets of drivers were used and the test lasted 30 days. The test was controlled by the Automobile Club of France. In reality the car did two years’ running in one month.

Particulars are to hand of one of the finest sustained speed efforts yet recorded by an automobile. The achievement was one by Messrs. Garfield and Plessier, on a six-cylinder. 45 h.p. Renault, upon which they covered 1.000 miles in nine hours 49 minutes, 45 seconds, and 1204 miles in 12 hours. To average 100 1-3 miles per hour for 12 hours, including stops for change of drivers, fuel, etc., is indeed a wonderful performance. The record was .nut up on the Montlhery track near Paris. * * JF THE SPARE WHEEL. USE MEANS LONGER LIFE. Detachable wheels are most useful things to have on one's car, and a spare wheel should always be ready with an inflated tyre in case tjr'e trouble is encountered—that is to say, so far as is possible, fop a second puncture, or. if two spare wheels are carried, a third, will make it necessary to do some tyro repairing on the road When away touring, it is a wis c precaution to always repair or replace a punctured tube and inflate same to driving pressure at the conclusion of a day’s run, or before nightfall if the run will extend into darkness. The degree to which the tyre on the spare wheel should be inflated is open to argument. Some motorists inflate up to front wheel pressure, in which case it is necessary to use th c inflator if it fias to be fitted to a rear wheel, but it would be rather less trouble in the end to inflate it to rear wheel pressure and let out sonic of the air if it is wanted on a front wheel. Releasing air is less trouble than inflating, but m any case the pressure should be tested with the gauge before resuming one’s journey after changing a wheel, and if the spare wheel tyre has not been kept up to the regulation pressure it may be necessary to go to the trouble of getting out the pump in any case.

* 1 his brings one to another point. ) It sometimes happens that a wheel is I very difficult to remove, especially if ; one has to work single-handed by tne roadside. If the car be new, this may b e due to the enamel or paint making it stick on the hub; if the car has seen ' much service, it may be because the j parts are rusted. It is therefore a very good plan to make a practice of m removing all the wheels from time to time and thoroughly greasing the in- , side parts. This may be done at the ’ time of the periodical overhaul or the wheels may be taken singly at any time which happens to be convenient. Some owners have a habit, which mdy be strongly recommended, of changing each wheel in turn with the spare wheel at moderate intervals. In this w’ay all the five tyres get approximately an equal amount of wear. The owner becomes an adept at wheelchanging, and the wheels may be relied upon not to stick. The last two items will be the means of saving many minutes—and perhaps very valuable minutes—on the road. Tlie first is perhaps not quite so obvious; but tyres depreciate like all rubber goods with time and exposure, therefore the spare tyre should be used from time to time to prevent perishing of walls of casing. Some motirists leave their spare tyre unused or exposed for ihanv months at a time, with the result that its useful life is considerably shortened. It is more economical to use a spare tyre than leave it unused in tlio carrier for a lengthy period ♦ * * * LAZY CAR OWNERS. COST OF NEGLECT. The lubricating chart that accompanies your car demands that the chassis be greased every five hundred miles. This, however, doesn’t interest you even though the modern method of greasing requires a mere twist of the wrist. This laziness on the part of you and other motor-car owners in the United States enables repairmen to put away over 100,000,000 dollars in repair money each year, states an American writer. It is directly due to the fact that you neglect to grease th® chassis. your car depreciates badly, too, so again yoij lose when you trv to dispose of it. Can you afford this neglect? Must Avoid Rattles. Yet it must be done if you arc to avoid stiff brakes, rattles, squeaks, | hard steering and dead springs. : These all mean excessive friction/ and friction means wear, a breakage of parts, accidents and repair bills. Ihe repairs mean a loss of your valuable time—and good hard cash that you need badlv for something else. The lubricating gun jind its fittings are a marvellous improvement over the grease cups vet once a week you must shoot grease into the bearings if the car is to run quietly and properly. But you don’t do it. Possibly it is too much trouble to change into old clothes. Hence the reason for the manufacturers of these ear greasing equipments establishing thousands ot greasing stations where you can have this done for a dollar. Even at one visit a week to the grease station the bill only runs up to 52 dollars a year. Surely it is worth that in comfort if not repair bills.

Just For Fun Of St.

But just for the fun of it, now that, you’re in the mood, get out and get under as vou did in the old days. Grease the universal joints/ Clean, grease and adjust the wheel bearings. And the same with the steering gear. Ten to one you will find that the ball joint on the steering rod is badly in need of grease. Pack it well with lubricant now! It may mean a life saved. Jack up the car body and lubricate the springs. Do a good job here and don’t be afraid of too much lubricant. You can wipe it. off later. Drain the transmission and rear axle. Wash them out and fill with new lubricant. That “howl” that has annoyed you will then be gone, unless you have waited too long. If it is still there—good night!—because you are shortly to pay expensive repair bill for your neglect. The man who neglects his car pays and pays—and it is no fault but his own.