MOTORING WORLD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVIII, Issue 205, 28 July 1928, Page 14

MOTORING WORLD.

At the beginning of June there were 173,529 motor vehicles registered in the Dominion. Of these 114,628 wt.. cars and 22,216 trucks and vans. Too much “play” in the steering system of a car or truck is dangerous. The steering mechanism should be kept in perfect condition at all times in the interest, of safety. Importations of motor spirit into New Zealand during the first five months of 1923 totalled 23,736,184 gallons as compared with 19,493,814 gallons in the J anuary-May period of last year. - , A new record for road construction has been set by America in the 195mile continuous stretch of concrete road laid in Alabama. The 135-mile session on the Minnesota highway was previous rated as the longest in the world. Dave Lewis, one of the best known and most daring of American race drivers, has been shot dead, it is believed, by robbers, who started a fire to cover up the crime. He was the. pioneer of the front-wheel drive racing cars, the winner of many races, and the holder of many records in short and longdistance events. Automatic windscreen wipers are being fitted to some locomotives in Great Britain. Portugal has changed its rule of the road and vehicles must now keep to the right as in France. Three motor-cyclists summoned in the North of England for dangerous driving are said to have argued hotly among themselves in court as to who was the fastest; , It is false economy not to be insured, and everyone, more especially those who take pillion passengers, should insure, if not for all possible contingencies, at all events against third-party risks (says an exchange). ■ j Indications are that motor vehicle imports during 1928 will about equal the'l927 quota. During the first five months of 1928, 5598 cars, chassis, and commercial vehicles were imported into the Dominion as compared with 5662 in the corresponding period of 1927. The saloon motor car is now so popular that 82 per cent, of the cars manufactured in the United States in 1927 ivere of the closed type. The experiment of having an “allwhite” traffic policeman is being made near Manchester. Ho wears overalls, white rain-proof coat, and a white helmet • Of 245 motor-cycles imported into Holland in the month of February, 137 were British machines. The reduction in speed caused by a head wind is slightly greater than the increase caused by a following wind of the same variety. USE FOR OLD TYRES. Where do the old tyres go? An innovation in footwear is found in Greece, Macedonia and Thrace, where discarded tyre casings are converted into shoes, supplanting the leather tcharik. A shoe made from an old tyre is good for 10 months or 12 months of wear as compared with less, than three months for tchariks made of hide. Economy and protection from winter dampness have given the new footwear universal popularity among the Macedonian peasants and villagers. The demand is so great that the local supply is insufficient and the imports of used casings amount to 50,000 a year. Each casing yields three pairs of shoes, selling for about 2s 6d a pair. The imports come from France, and a generous proportion of the old tyres thus brought in finds use on motor vehicles before _ reaching the shoe factory In Mexico, also, there is widespread use of old tyres for footwear. The custom of the Mexican peon is to cut a piece of rubber to fit the solo of his foot, and bind it to the foot by means of leather thongs. CARBON DEPOSIT. When decarbonising an engine, how often do owners ponder over the question of how and why the carbon got there? Variations in the rate at which carbon forms are not entirely due to' variation in the amount of lubricant entering the combustion chamber. The other factor which must always bo considered is the normal working temperature of tho engine. If overheating, not necessarily to a very noticeable extent, be a constant condition, tho piston and cylinder heads will bo found to be nearly free from carbon, since the high temperature of tho metal surfaces of these components will not be conducive to the formation of deposit. However,the underside of tho piston crown will be thickly encrusted with rock-hard carbon which has been protected from the heat of the flame of combustion. RACING EXPERIENCES. CAPTAIN CAMPBELL’S ADDRESS. Captain Malcolm Campbell—the famous English racing motorist —in a lecture recently given to the motor trade at Manchester, England, took for his subject, “My motor racing experiences.” He set out to show (a) how racing improves the motor industry. and (b; how it improves the breed. He referred to his twentytwo years’ interest in speed work and to the progress of the records from 126 m.p.h. on a car in 1914 and the post-war figures from Iv. Lee Guinness

up to the latest achievements. Up to 1924, lie remarked, nobody could tell whether beaded-edge or straightsido tyres were better. Both crept round the rim on acceleration. Deciding on tho oformer tyres with an ample number of security bolts, he did 145 m.p.h. in Denmark, and two back tyres came off. “The car swayed; but we managed to control it.” Therefore, straight-side tyres with security bolts were fitted on the rear and hcaded-edge on the front. One of the latter came off and killed a boy. Tho lesson of it all was that beaded-edge tyres were a thing of the past, useless for high speeds. “It shows racing does help to bring improvements,” said Captain Campbell. After describing various other re-cord-breaking runs, the speaker said : “I never seem to hold the record for very, long.” The lecturer described his record attempt in America. At 180 m.p.h. ho met a bump on the sand, causing tho car to leap and jump 30 feet. “It was lucky rlie car did not break in half and that the springs held; but it made the springs soggy. We broke all our shock-absoroei brackets and cracked the body. But I have a wondersul set of mechanics. On Sunday, February 19, wo got the rocord.” As to the sensations at high speed, he declared : “There is no exhilaration. The actual feeling of speed at 220 m.p.h. is not as you are sitting here may visualise it. He declared the big job was to keep tho car straight for 5) miles, and told how his wrists ached on tho return run after a bump on tho outward stretch. “I had an awful job to get into second; I had to tako my foot off the accelerator twice then was 199 against 214.7 outward, oi an average of ‘206.95. Ho described average of 206.95. He described "White's six-ton car (the American car which now holds the world’s speed record of 2Q7.55 m.p.h.) as a means of trying to get records by brute force; but in generous terms lie referred to the sportsmanship of his American rivals, and told how the late lamented Lockhart just lived for his job. Racine improved the industry he declared helping British goods to grip foreign trade, and, incidentally, developed international good-fellowship. He spoke highly of modern tyres as being now in front of the speed, whereas formerly it was the reverse..

KICK OUT MULES. AUTOMOTIVE ARMY. AMERICA’S DECISION. After studying the question deeply, officers of the American Army have decided that “the army mule is not as efficient and tractable as tile automobile.” Lots of overseas artillerymen could have told them that in 1916. But the point behind this deeply considered statement is the order issued by the Secretary for War “for a thorough study to determine the extent to which automobile power should bo substituted for animals in military transportation. Curiously, the American army is not mechanised to the same extent as the French or British forces, though the country depends upon automobiles for almost all other kinds of transport. ONE-FOOT CONTROL. DEVICE FOR THE DISABLED. Fitted with a device recently patented by a French engineer, a car can be driven with speed and safety by a onelegged driver. The device is designed for a car with servo brakes, and is a samll box fitted over the clutch pedal. By means of curved rockers connected by bowden wires with throttle and brakes, the driver has complete control under one foot. Tho top of the box slides under pressure. A push to the left gives acceleration, and a thrust to the right operates the brakes. This does not interfere with the ordinary motion of the clutch pedal, and allows the clutch to be disengaged and brakes applied with the one motion. SUPER STREET. 10-MILE ELEVATED ROAD. At least residents of Chicago (U.S.A.) can boast they do things on a grand scale, whether the actions are bootlegging, murder, politics, or construction (says the Sydney Sun). Tho biggest and most darling con--1 ception of traffic relief ever proposed jis now under consideration by the | civic authorities of Chicago. ■ Tho proposal is an elevated city street, ten miles long, to accommodate i full speed traffic over intersections, tram and train tracks, without the necessity for a stop. LOCK AND SIGNAL. NEW DANISH DEVICES. Though it is not a motor manufacteuring country, Denmark has produced many car accessories and improvements. ’ . The latest two patented v,.ere are a keyless lock and a traffic indicator. Operated by a cipher combination, the lock is worked by simply turning a knob and pressing a button. It is capable of 15,000 combinations. The traffic signal is a double arrow placed on the back of the car, but also visible from tlio sides. _ Lights indicate the direction the driver intends_ to take, and warn following motorists when ho is about to stop. _ A miniature replica of tho signal is fitted to tho dash, so that tho driver can see his current signal. Control is by a simple movement of the foot.