NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20378, 5 October 1929, Page 14 (Supplement)

NOTES.

In Jorusalom a now by-law forbids^,tho use of all electric 1 liorns. ; / Of forty-four different makes of cars offered in America, twenty-three aro eightcylindor models. Great Britain exported 13,675 tars in" tho first seven months of this year. In tho corresponding period of 1928 the exports;' wore 9812 cars. Traffic on Chicago's Lako Slioro Drive is the fastest in tho-world. . Twelve lines of traffic travel, it is statod, at not less than 45 m.p.h. Battered Motorist (waking up): "Where am* I?" ' Nurse: This is No 13." 8.M.: " Ward or cell 1" " Many people, whon they buv a motorcar, say good-bye to tho usual forms of oxerciso." And some say unkind things about some of tho unusual ones they encountor after a time. "A striking increase in the importation of motor vehicles into New Zealand followed tho industrial improvement of 1928.> The Dominion can now carry on with. New Zeal and Vigour. An Oxford undergraduate, Mr. J. H. Hanloy, is in the United States with a 4i litre Bentlev in which ho is attempting to break tho American coast-to-coast record of 77J hours for 3200 miles. Miss Violette Cordery who passed through Auckland last year on a round ' tho world tour with a nix-cylinder British car, recently completed a record breaking run of 3000 miles on Brooklands track with the assistance of her sister. On tho running time the car averaged 60 miles an houi...

Tho annual report of tho Auckland Automobile Association to bo presented at the meeting next Wednesday shows that during tho 15 months ending August 31; signposting, amounting to £1271 was undertaken. Of this sum tho Automobile Association found £676 and the Higlnvajs Board provided a subsidy of £595.

A gentleman rwalked into thfc local polico station.' - . ; : " I'm very sorry, ho said to tho inspector in charge. " I 'phoned you last night telling you .my car had been stolen. I regret having troubled you; it has been fonnd." , . ~ , , , You have come too late, sir, barked the inspector, " much too late. We ha\o caught tho thief.''

WHAT OH. ACTUALLY DOES

" I believe that if the bore of a cylinder were really perfectly smooth no lubrication would be needed, but it is a fact that the finest cylinder wall looks like tho Alp 3 when viewed'through a very-power-ful microscope," professor,'A. M. Lrftf> tho famous recently. It is tho function Veil! off to return its smooth propcrti<9, to ;'fil&-up tho, mter'stices of HifeS ..g*s> tight joint so that tho tearing fingers of hiqh temperature 4iiay.>uob bolp. le*ikagq to. k occur past' tho pistpu.\ , 'Q)ice>a; , leak.- co'm--mences, the rushing gas raises tho temperature of the gaps and burns patches Oil piston rings which cannot be remedied. On supercharged engines it is often possible to open a compression -cock- at fiicli speeds, and to that the engino will still run without losing all its power. When an explosion'is. very rapid no piston resulting heat; \vhilst ' (?•« cannot full force -of :th«! chargy to:bo wasted.

WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION.

There has been a groat shifting in weight in the construction of passenger car chassis during tho past twelve years; some parts now weigh as much again as they did in the models of 1917, while others weigh little more than half as much as they did then. Tho changes in weight distribution noted have been brought about by alterations in chassis design. For instance,' 1 tho*. adoption of four wheel brakes has added" greatly to- tho. weight., of the front axle assembly which irrcludes' tho front-wheel; brakes and t-lio of closed bodies'has made it necessary: to. use frames of increased rigidity antr Cori* - sequently of much greater weight. It is interesting tou compare the proportional weights of some parts of 1929 cars with "thoso of 1917. Hie weights of frames have'increased more than 40 per cent. In 1917 tho frame constituted only 9.12 per cent, of tho chassis weight, and in 1929 it is 13 per cent. All tho springs of tho chassis together, in. 1917 constituted 9.12 per cent, of the chassis weight, in other words the springs weighed exactly as much as tho frame. In 1929 the front springs represent 2.40 per .cent., of ~the chassis weight and the rear springs 4.20 per cent.—a total of 6.60 per cent, so that tho weight of springs lias been decreased by 27.6 per cent. Tho poportional weight of tho front axlo has increased from 3.04 to 5 per cent. This increase of inore than 60 per cent, is largely accounted for by .the use of. ,four-whpel .brakes on all modern passenger cars. Rear axles now weigh exactly, twice as much as, front axles, on tho average", their weight having come down .somewhat since 1917. (12.1 percent.). - '