MOTORING MOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17662, 24 December 1920, Page 5 (Supplement)

MOTORING MOTES.

CLEANING CONTACT POINTS. Tha contact points of the ignition system or tbo surface of the motor commutator can best bo clea-ncd by -what is known aa cuttletish paper, which is finer than the finest sandpaper. This paper cannot always ba obtained at hardware fct crrcF, but is on hand in dental supply fctorca. DISCOLOTJEED BONNETS. ]' mav often be noticed that the bonnet ' and radiator of a car become duller and thabbv looking, while the paintwork on tno remainder of the car is still neat. The , cause of this is found in the prac- i l <:o cf washing and polishing the car i i- alio the engine and surrounding parts ! a.' ti si.ll hot. Tbo drying of soap ajid. owing to the effect of the heat, w.ll injure the finish in a short time f i .ntitiued. It is therefore 'wiser to wait :. ! eugine has coded before washing 1:10 e.ix down. With light-coloured cars ft dirty bonnet is anything but a credit to tne general appearance of the outfit. SNGINS DESIGN. "I ha American automobile industry is ei'ti-ring o-u a new era as regards the aefijii of its products. Many factors have ■ 'tnnined. to make necessary certain i .i-u'gea iii the design of automobile r icui.-'s. ["he increasing demands lor j '-trol ha.ro made the supply such a tight n: that steps hav a got to be taken°to hi serve motor fuel as wejl aa to increase t':e supply. If the aut-oSiobile engineers! <-i!i design engines that will use onty hall i tho quantity of fuel for a given niileagb j r. is the same as increasing the supply of I per cent. Practically all j American engineers are working on this problem and one cf the first points of a tuck is going to he weight. Light wfi-ht, together with proper distribution i'. weight m a motor-car, means low petrol consumption, low oil consumption re at est t}Te mileage, comparative corn J rem expensive repairs and easy ridAUTOMATIO SIGNALLING. An automatic signalling device for cse V,' nio . r '^ ar r 3 ha-s jitsfc been invented H consists of ;a metal cylinder attached Preference, to the tail lamp of the having a series of signals, " Stop," ! and laige white arrows pointing i to the rig.lt or left, which show up 1 "y ' n l e h y " a y nnd are illuiru-| .. at , m £ ht - orl motor-cars the! ; p And ';olow"_ signals are automatic, j -.10 controlling wires being connected I 7™ r u )h « clutch pedal or either I of the brakes so that the driver's intentions are at once communicated to t"i, owing traffic without his havinz to worTc any levers. The pointing arrows figni.ying his intention to turn to or left, are worked bv cables operated by small levers which may be fixed "at anv convenient point near the driver. The s'pials can be Feen from anv angle whereas the waving arm of a driver is often hidden from traffic behind when his car is ,i covered one and is being driven at an angle to th 9 stream of traffic. mqtob trucks in emergency. fhe value of a motor truck in an emerpency was never better illustrated, when floods threatened to destroy the levea protecting the Spring Lake farming district, o - m o^ Ca - Was nec essarv to secure cement sacks t > be filled with sand and earth to protect the crumbling embankment. These sacks -were located in various sections of Central Illinois and a of motor trucks wag utilised for the purpose of collecting them. One of these owner! m, and starting from, Bloomiiwton made the run with 5000 sacks, weighiiig i? tons, from Bloc-minpton to Mam to, miles in o hours and 10 minutes, moving: over poor roads, rough in many place* rnd interspersed with mud holes. Tha performance demonstrates that with decent highways and motor truck equipment t )9 united States could be made immune from serious effect upon business due to railroad btrikes and greatly increase its ability for defence i n event of a foreign invasion. ® AN ANTI-SPLASHING DEVICE. Considerable attention and ingenuity ° Pell ]o d rected at the present time to ttio design of anti-splashing devices. A recently-produced device consists of a metal frame supported on the stub axle of the fronfc wheel of from the axle casing ot a. rear wheel. Pivoted in this frame by two small cranked arms is a metal oar, from which short lengths of a soecial chain are suspended. The links of the chain are so formed that should a link nreak it may be replaced quite easily. The chain forms a screen which should effectively interrupt any mud-splashes thrown out by the contact of the wheels with the road. In order to prevent damago to the fitting, a small ball-ended '.ever engages with a cam secured to the forward spindle or pivot of the swinging bar, so that when the ball comes into contact with the kerbstone the swinging bar with its dependent chain screen is lifted clear of the tyre, and cannot be caught between the kerbstone and the sido of the tyre. To effect this lifting movement it is necessary for tha ballended lever to be moved' sideways, and one imagines that should the device encounter an obstacle with a direct blow, the flexibility of the chains would effectively prevent the possibility of any damage. ENGINE TESTING UNUSUAL. Kngine testing in the average American factory differs very considerably from European practice, says the Autocar. The dominating idea is to get as high a degree of manufacturing accuracy as possible, and to assume that the finished article is right. In many cases the socalled test is nothing more than a run-ning-in. ford, for instance, has the sngme s placed on blocks and driven by electric motors, the resistance being measured and indicated in an instrument room quite independent of the test room. The instrument room operators can read at all times the resistance being absorbed by the motors, and, when this has been reduced to the required figure, it is they who give the signal to the test room operator that the engine can be taken off the block. This system limbers up the engine and assures uniform fr6eness throughout the serie3, but it does not constitute a test of the power developed by the engine. In many other cases, alf hough the engines wore run under coal gas or petrol, they were only really being worked in, and wera not tested for power. In only a few cf the highest class factories was thero a real engine test for power, cvrisumptioi;, Doise, etc., with an examination of the power plant on coming off the block. SUSPENSION. h has, "ften been suggested by comfort enthusiasts, says the Autocar, that there is no technical reason why a small car should not be as well sprung as a big car. Rut theory is often complicated by pract'oil factors, and when the small car is on the road, its suspension is usually tampered by two special considerations. Tno first is that its load bears a very high proportion to the total weight, and since load i s variable, the springs have to cater B for kq unusually high range. The load " of the average 10 h.p. two-seater varies from one Bst. adult without luggage to four 12st. adults (allowing for a crowded dickey) with luggage, say 50st. in all. it tho chassis weighs 12cv<t., the difference between Bst. and 50st. is far more serious than it would be on a 40cwt. chassis. Secondly, the big car has big tyres, which in ay be run at pressures ranging from 40 to 801b. But the little car has little tyres, w hich "feel their rims" if they are not blown up pretty hard and which bump Hk 6 solid tyres if they are inflated hard. Tha small car man "who lives among bad roads must allow for these factors. All ha can do is to fit th& best • chock absorbers, restrict his car to a definite ioad, specify springs that. JG&d^-acd overage %j. reik 1