MOTORING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 20 June 1936, Page 12

MOTORING

STEERING AND BRAKES

! SHOULD BE TESTED AT REGULAR INTERVALS In the old days the testing of steering gears and braking systems was carried out with hit-or-miss methods, in which the human element, with all its capacity for making mistakes, was the strongest influence. These old inefficient ways have given place to more scientific methods, and any service station worthy of the name possesses machines by which toe-in and camber of front wheels, and equalisation and stopping power of brakes can be tested. With these machines very accurate .results can be achieved, and, in his own interests and those of his car, the motorist should visit some establishment possessing this equipment regularly——at least once every three months—to allow the people operating these devices to be turned loose on his car. SAFETY AND RUNNING COSTS The reason for this advice is that, these parts are very important in the safe and economical running of a motor car.

In the steering gear the amount of camber, which is the slope from the vertical, and the amount of toe-in, given to the front wheels vary slightly with different cars. In some cases, for instance, there is no front wheel camber at all, the wheels being vertical. However the designers have arranged the front wheels, their measurements should be maintained throughout the life of the car, and this can be achieved by paying regular visits to some establishment properly equipped to carry out an accurate test. Toe-in and camber can be deranged by striking some heavy object, or even by pounding a car over rough roads at high speed, and the effect of running a car in which all in this direction is not as it should be, will be to subject the front tyres to uneven and excessively rapid wear, and, perhaps, to affect the accuracy and i ease of steering. Furthermore, clej rangement in the steering geometry 1 will possibly result in the excessive I strain on some of the bearing surfaces in the steering system, followed by excessive wear on the parts concerned. The tyres, however, are the most important consideration, for it is | amazing with what rapidity a tyre, not running truly, can wear iright through to the breaker strip, and, although tyres are much cheaper items than they used to be, they still are an expensive part of motoring. It was pointed out in these columns some little time ago that it is fairly general modern practice to arrange the stopping power of brakes not evenly between front and rear brakes, but with most of the force on the front ones, the proportion generally being 60 to 40 or thereabouts. It is rather important that this distribution of effort be maintained, but, because most of the work in braking is done by the shoes in the front drums, it is possible that their linings will wear more quickly than those of the rear brakes, and, after a while, this will have the effect of upsetting the distribution of braking effort, quite apart from The fact that the efficiency of the brakes as a whole will deteriorate.

Not only is it desirable to see that the distribution of braking force be maintained in the proper proportions, but also that the front pair and the rear pair equalise. Testing for this may show that one set of shoes is not doing its work thoroughly, and further examination may disclose an unsuspected oil leak from the axle, which is allowing oil to get on to the linings of the erring shoes, and stopping them from doing their work. These things aside, it should be obvious that, even if the owner is only worried about a falling-off in brake efficiency and decides that they need adjusting, this work can be done much more accurately and efficiently by using a machine designed for the purpose. Speaking generally, it is not wise to have brakes adjusted by hand alone, with no following check on the proportionate distribution of braking effort as between front and rear wheels. REDUCING OBL WASTAGE REMARKABLE FILTER CLAIMED Although American automobile manufacturers have nothing new to offer in the way of spring wares, the accessory companies are, as usual, displaying additional devices to increase the ease and comforts of motoring. Special attention has been diverted in Detriot to the plants for marketing a filter that promises to remove all the old difficulties about changing oil. Provided the motorist starts out with a good grade of lubricating oil when the car is first put into use, he may drive thousands of miles without ever draining the crankcase, the manufacturers of this new device declare. “Tests have shown no deterioration in the oil after 10,000- miles of operation of a motor equipped with this filter,” claimed Mr Arthur A. Bull, president of the company that will produce the device. Once the efficiency of such a filter is demonstrated it becomes an item of appeal for owners of buses, taxi cabs, and fleets of trucks. In the multiple ownership of cars that are in constant use, oil changes each thousand miles often run into hundreds of dollars a month. Oil bills can never be eliminated, since a shrinkage occurs in the lubricating process, but engineers generally see a wide field for devices that reduce oil wastage. The sponsors of the filter just mentioned expect to launch a campaign directed, however, at the individual passenger car owner as well as the operator of commercial vehicles.

CARS FOR THE MASSES GERMAN DIESEL AT £75

On many occasions Herr Hitler has demonstrated his keen interest in the production of cars and motor cycles for the million. Instance the decision

to sweep away taxes on new vehicles, the fact that users of motor cycles under 200 c.c. need not undergo driving tests, and the Government’s encouragement of alternative fuels to petrol. Now, however, comes the promise of the biggest step forward of all in popular car production in Germany.

It is said in authoritative circles that the celebrated designer, Dr. Porsche, has been commissioned by Herr Hitler to design a popular Diesel-engined run-about, that the design exists, and that it embodies a two-cylinder engine at the rear of the chassis. With Government subsidy the little run-about is to cost the equivalent of £75. It is termed the Volkswagen. Dr. Porsche is not the only designer at work upon a small Diesel-engined vehicle; there are reports of a small four-seater saloon on the stocks which is to cost £IOO, and the intention is to market it next year when road tests are complete. NOTES TIGHT WHEEL BOLTS Tyres and roads have so improved in recent years that punctures are few and far between, but when they do occur, particularly during hours of darkness, there is nothing more annoying than to find that the hub nuts of detachable wheels are partialy rusted and difficult to loosen.

This difficulty can be easily safeguarded against by always smearing a little graphite grease on the threads of the bolts whenever a bolted-on wheel is detached; in fact, tyre troubles are generally so far apart that it is a wise practice to have all the wheels of this type taken off every few months and graphited as mentioned. This little attention ensures easy removal of a wheel when the necessity arises. TARNISHED CHROMIUM Chromium plating is excellent if it is kept clean by wiping occasionally with a leather and polishing afterwards with a duster, or, better still, using one of the special chromium polishes now on the market. On the other hand, now that so many small fittings of awkward shape , are chromium plated, they are often neglected, and eventually spoil the car’s appearance. In time the finish becomes porous, and a heavy, rusty deposit forms, giving the impression that the plating is ruined. Too vigorous polishing, even if the shape of the components permits it, may complete the damage, but an old toothbrush dipped in paraffin will quickly restore the original bright surface, assuming, of course, that the plating has not actually peeled off. It is not advisable to use a very hard brush, and, in any case, the treatment is not recommended for big surfaces, such as headlamps, radiator, and windscreen, which would show scratches; but it works wonders on stone guards, bonet caps, exposed screws and nuts, and other awkwardly shaped components which cannot be kept clean and bright by polishing in the normal way.