THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19068, 14 January 1924, Page 8

THE MOTOR WORLD.

By ACCELERATOR.

Motorists desiring information with regard to mechanical or other car troubles, or on any matter coming within the scope of the sport, pastime, or business of motoring are invited to send inquiries to ** Accelerator.* 1 Special efforts will b© made to give the most reliable advice on all topics of interest. THE OTAGO MOTOR CLUB’S HILL CLIMB. The date fixed for the hill-climbing competitions is Saturday, January 26, at 2 p.m. The entries close at neon on Saturday next, and 11 events are scheduled. These cover cars and cycles of varying capacity for trade and private owners. The club has issued a comprehensive syllabus, containing full particulars, which may bo obtained from the secretary. The hill will- be kept secret until the day of the trial, and no competition will be allowed on the hill prior to the tests. The competition should interest members of the club, and I hope to see largo entries reward the club’s efforts. AN INTERESTING QUESTION. “Dear “Accelerator,” —Vvoukl you kindly give me your opinion on the following matter, which I am sure has been turned over in the minds of many of your readers like myself. To start with I am a married man with seven children with "a salary aI, present of £350 per annum. I have been married 15 years, and quite apart fron» my salary, which is easily absorbed cvety month, I have in that time, by careful speculation and jlealing in a small way turned quite a few pounds into £7OO. I mention this not only to show the capital at my disposal, but to show that my Scotch economical nature which would still be in evidence were I the possessor of a cur. I live in a country district, and do not own a homo of my own, as my calling moves mo to different parts of New Zealand every few years. Now. do you think a man in my position should own a motor car. so that his wife and children could make better use of their holidays and Sundays? Also,'if so. should one procure a light car about £2(O or one about £4OO or £SOO. Thanking you in anticipation.—l am, etc.. Doubting Thomas. P.S. —Perhaps some of your readers would also like to give an opinion on the subject.—D. T. My correspondent’s letter raises quite nnportant points, most of which I am afraid he must decide for himself. One point is clear, however —a light car will not carry nine comfortably. But so mo of my readers may have ideas arising out of the abundance of their experience, and I will be glad to have them. CLEANING OUT PETROL PIPES. Frequently the petrol feed pipes of a ear become clogged with sediment. To save the trouble of taking down the piping and dismantling the joints some enterprising garages disconnect the pipe at the carburettor end and then pump air into the rear tank, which is of course plugged. The sediment is forced out at the carburettor end by the compressed air. A GRAY WIN IN SWEDEN. The following cablegram has been received from Sweden “Stockholm : Gray wins first prize Royal Automobile Club’s economy test at Gothenburg, October 10; 13 kilometres to one litre; second car only nine kilometres to one litre.” When interpreted in terms of English miles the figures indicate that the Gray won this economy test at 38.2 miles to the gallon, while its nearest competitor gave 26.45 miles to the gallon. THE HIGHWAYS ACT. Matters in connection with putting the Main Highways Act into operation are at present at a standstill, pending the receipt of recommendations from the various highways districts as to which roads should be declared main highways. So far only one district recommendation has been received by the Central Board, and there will be no occasion to hold a further meeting of the board until the majority of the districts have forwarded their recommendations. The board is supposed to function as from April next CARS IN WELLINGTON. The Christchurch City Motor Inspector (Mr H. Macintosh) has returned from a visit to the North Island. He was impressed by the inferiority of motor vehicles in Wellington compared with those of Christchurch. This aplied particularly to licensed vehicles. The cars and vehicles of all kinds were generally shabby. There were all sorts of delivery vans. He saw passengers perched on petrol boxes, and others riding on tailboards. The identification plates on most cars were irregular. He did not notice what he called speedy driving; the noise of trams and motor cycle exhausts could not pass unnoticed. EXPRESS RACING. For a wager of 10,000 liras an Italian motorist undertook, with a 10-15 h.p. Fiat, to boat the Milan-Rome express on a run of about 350 miles from Parma to the Eternal City. The Fiat, with Renzo Slawilz at the wheel and the owner (Signor Brandini) by his side, set out from the station yard at Parma at 8.21 a.m., just as the express was moving away, and the same evening came to a stop outside the central station at Romo 47 minutes before the express steamed in. THE LICENSE EXAMINATION. Concerning a British proposal, the Autocar states:—“lt is to he observed that the old ouestion of insisting upon applicants for motor vehicle driving licenses passing an examination to demonstrate their efficiency is once more to the fore. As we have remarked on more than one occasion, the passing of an examination would not, in all probability, serve to show that the holder of the license was to he trusted in charge of a car. The great majority of accidents are directly attributable, not to the novice, but to the driver who is in some way reckless or negligent, though he probably has more than sufficient ability to pass any possible driving test.” NEW RECORDS. Car and motor cycle records wore broken on Brooklands track during the November meeting. Mr E. A. D. Elridgo, driving a Fiat, covered the half mile from a standing start in 23.17 seconds, equal to 77.68 miles an hour. Mr J. E. P. Howcy, the Leyland driver, covered 10 miles from a standing start in stnin 9.235ec. The motor cyclists, Herbert Le Yack and George Dance, each captured four world’s records, while Dance also broke twa British records and Lo Yack a couple. The records are subject to confirmation by the international authorities. TO KEEP ROAD ORDER. It is a hopeful sign (remarks a northern motor scribe) that the Department of Juslice, in replying to the recommendation of the New Zealand Motorists’ Conference, that a motor cycle patrol should l>e established in connection with the police force, did not merely formally advise that the recommendation would receive consideration —it asked for fuller particulars. The idea behind the suggestion is that a fast, mobile unit, such as a motor cycle patrol, would do invaluable work in bringing to justice speed fiends, vehicles without lights, motor cycles without’ silencers, and others who are a menace to the safety of the public. When the matter was being discussed at_ the last meeting of the executive of the South Island Motor Union, a number objected that if a traffic cop was let, loose upon the trail of a'speeding motorist there would be two dangers upon the road instead of one. “It is better to have two for a few minutes than one every day,” replied another member. PNEUMATIC TYRE PRESSURE. The chief function of a pneumatic tyro is to provide cushioning for the mechanism of the car and its load, and this is accomplished by the flexing of the side walls in that part of the tyro under load. However. this flexing must bo restricted to a degree which will prevent healing at the flexing points, because (his, if permitted, would destroy the rubber insulation between the layers of eord or fabric and would also cause these layers to break. According to a well-known trade journal (the Goodyear News), (he proper combination of loads and air pressure gives the maximum cushioning possible without danger of cutting down the life of the tyre. ° If this is not .attended to, and the pressure is allowed to drop 10 or more pounds before the tyres are reinflated, they will have been operated for some time without sufficient support from the air within, and the chances are that the side walls have been damaged so that the time of (he tyre’s failure is brought nearer by several thousands of miles.

{ltems of descriptions of tours, the state of the roads# eto.t comment, or inquiries will bo welcomed by ‘‘Accclerator/’l

A PLEASANT. HOLIDAY TOUR. Mr A. E. Ansell, past-president of tho (Hugo Motor Club, has favoured mo with the following interesting account of a recent tour, “in the iiope that a short account of a motor trip in our beautiful lake district might counteract some of the fairy tales regarding tho ‘dangers’ of the route" ; On the Saturday preceding Christmas our party, consisting of Mr and Mrs P. W. Preen and family, Mrs Ansell and myself ana family, left Dunedin for two or three weeks’ tour of Central Otago and Lake District. The route followed was Palmer-ston-Dunback-Kyeburn, etc. Tho <road from Dunedin to Waikouaiti requires no comment, its quality being well known to motorists. From Palmerston inland tho splendid roads are convincing evidence of the value and suitability of fine gravel for road dressing. We left the main road a mile or so past Kyeburn and went on to Naseby, a picturesque old place with a “past,” but still with a beauty of its own and well worth visiting, despite the few extra miles from the main road.

After leaving Wedderburn wo' travelled via St. Bathans, another relic of the “good old days.” Here wo inspected some of the old sluicing claims, an impressive sight, many of the claims having been washed out to great depths, and very little imagination is required to conjure up the scenes of earlier mining days. Then on through Lauder, Chatto Creek, and on to Alexandra, over the fine bridge and on to Clyde. Clyde to Cromwell involves a short run through the gorge, and is very interesting. Through Cromwell that bugbear of earlier travelling days (sand) seems to have been overcome, as "no difficulties whatever were encountered. The road on to Pembroke is well marked and is easily followed. We left Wedderburn at 10 a.m. and arrived at Pembroke at 6, having made several . stops on tho road inspecting places of interest. We stayed for some eight or nine days at Wanaka and made many short trips from there—Hawea, Cattle Flat, Mount Barker, etc. Tho scenery in this district is magnificent and beyond my powers of description. The modern hotel which has just been completed affords splendid accommodation for visitors, and for those so inclined there is fishing, shooting, bathing, and a. good motor launch to pleasantly pass the flying hours.

And now to the main theme of this screed—“the trip over the Grown Range.” We were strongly advised hy several motorists not to attempt this trip—“it was dangerous.” “You’ll get stuck in tho rivers.” “You’ll blow your radiator to pieces,'’ “You will take 10 years from the life of your car,” were only some of the nieces of warning advice proffered ns. Having made the trip, it is not difficult to say “bosh” to it nil. though it could move easily be described in stronger terms Wo started up the Cardrona Valley about 10 o’clock and ran into rain. We were informed at the Cardrona Hotel that they had had five hours’ rain and that the river was slightly higher, but although the river has to be crossed some 20 times, not at any crossing had we trouble of any description. The bed of the river is solid, and, putting our cars into ’ow goar, every crossing was made without the engine even misfiring. We travelled on to where we considered the last crossing was to be made, and then had lunch, and allowed our engines to cool down sc that wo might fill the radiators before tackling the climb that we had heard so much about. The road up to this point was good, although a bit “greasy” owing to the rain. We started away wondering what was ahead of us. the guide book told us we had to climb 4000 feet, but the climb is so gradual for miles that the last bit cannot be much over, say, 1200 feet. I put my car into second gear all the way up, my speedometer showing 15 to 18 miles per hour. After climbing for some time I saw a mountain peak towering above and said. “Now we will be coming to the climb.” We rounded a bend in the road, and to my great astonishment wo were over the top. I have travelled in many parts of the world, seen much of its beauty, but the view from the Crown Range surely has few rivals. Range after range of mountains, some snow clad, a glimpse hero and there of the river and lake away beneath us —and this was the glorious scene that would he denied me by follow-motor-ists who talked loosely of the difficulties and clangers as though it were a trip to the North Pole or Mount Everest. The descent to Arrowtown is made by a series of zig-zags. easily negotiated. The grade is easy and the surface of the road good excepting for many water tables cut across the road, whefe it is necessary to use the brakes. A good idea of (he grade may he taken from the fact that I put my car, a Studcbaker Special Six, into second gear at the top of the zig-zag, and it required to bo driven down' probably 50 per cent, of the road; that is, the gears would practically hold her on the hill. At the foot cf the hill turn to the right and through Arrowtown. There is an alternative road which mav be used in place of the zig-zag; this road runs to the right from the top of the Crown Terrace, and leads down the hill right into Arrowtown, but at the foot of the hill by this route the Arrow River has to be forded, there being no bridge. I am informed that this road although good, is fairly narrow. We made our headquarters for the next few days at Arthur’s Point, a beautiful spot overlooking the Shotover River and only three miles from Queenstown. It had taken us four hours to do the journey from Pembroke; this included stops wo had on the road taking photographs, etc. Our next trip was back again to Cromwell through the Jvawarau Gorge, a splendid drive, the road quite good and requiring only careful driving. Roaring Meg is worth a quarter of an hour’s stop, this tributary of the groat river leaping down the hill and foaming over the huge boulders that obstruct its path. We journeyed down the gorge, enjoying every inch of the road, and made our next stop to inspect the works carried out by the Cromwell Development Company. This work appears to have reached a successful conclusion, as the water was running high in the race and the damming quite effective. From Cromwell wo drove through Clyde over the hills to Roxburgh, the roads being quite good. On to Rae’s Junction and then turning to the right wo had a good run to Tapanui through very line agricultural and pastoral country. From Tapanui we took the road to Pomahaka and Waikoikoi, but owing to the lack of direction posts wo had considerable difficulty in keeping the right road. A few finger posts in this district would bo a great help to motorists. This road, which leads to Gore, is splendid, excepting a mile or so out of Tapanui, where a long stretch of unblindcd metal is strongly in evidence. From Gore we turned homewards, and from Gore to Balclutha we struck what is probably the roughest road on the route, and (having was not exactly a pleasure. We arrived home showing 760 miles, having had as fine a trip ns- one could wish. The roads in Central Otago and the Lake District are a credit to the local authorities and a pleasure to drive on. Roads in the Maniototo district are well signposted, and in this respect the local county council deserves the thanks of all touring motorists. Petrol can be obtained at convenient intervals, and there is no necessity for motorists to carry spare tins of the necessary spirit. My compulsory stops over the trip wore two —one puncture near Waikouaiti, and crossing a river on the road to Cattle Flat at Lake Wanaka. I drove too fast and got water on the high tension terminals. However, five minutes saw us on the road again, and it was a lessons for the remainder of the trip—take rivers slowly. MOTOR CYCLE NOTES. Both of the 500 c.e. and 350 c.c. hour records have been smashed at Brooklands by Donby (Norton) and Dance (Sunbeam) at 85.58 m.p.h. and 80.22 m.p.h. respectively. There arc now over 150 different makes of German .motor cycles. The trend of design is towards (ho English typo of construction. which no doubt has been taken as the standard of perfection. Fast times are being recorded on Murivvai (Auckland) Beach. Herbert, with his new 0.11.1'. Norton, heads the pack with a little over 80 m.p.h. to his credit. Smith following closely with his Khaki twin, just a few miles p.h. slower. Two nasty spills occurred during the holidays. A. Powell having to be brought homo in a car last Sunday after hitting the sand. On Wednesday another rider was a little more fortunate, receiving only a. slinking after coming off at over 70 m.p.h. SPARKS. The driver who makes quick turns and sudden stops scon ruins his car. The more smoothly a car is operated the longer it wili last without attention. Drivt.-g j s a thing that should be aiwaj a taken a&silj.

Never use a strong- jet of water when hosing- the mud from the body of the oar. It is apt to leave scratches. If you want your varnish to remain bright for a reasonable period, simply allow the hose In run water on it.

Nothing looks worse than- a dirty oil and dust-Covered engine. After oiling, wipe all traces of oil from the outside of the cylinder and crankcase and around the bearings of the fan pulley. Surplus oil gathers dust, and dust works its way into the bearings and wears thorn out quickly. “An innovation for the service of motorists erected by Todd Bros, (Ltd.' beside their kerbstone petrol lamp has aroused local interest. This is a free air and water station and has just been imported from America —the home of the kerbstone petrol service. It is constituted of a tall steel post to the top of which is fixed a swinging arm which carries the air hose. All tyres on two cars can be serviced from this hose without moving the cars. A water hose with' quick-act ion tap is fitted to the side of the column for filling radiators.

The muffler or silencer should be cleaned out occ.isionallv. A sooty mixture forms inside, and slight bank pressure results. Disconnect the exhaust pipe from the motor and remove the nut and bolt holding the bracket to the frame so that it will clear the frame; then slip • it. out. knock it jrentlv on n piece of wood, and tho soot will drop out.

By ACCELERATOR. SAFETY FIRST. Do not take the right of way when it. doesn’t belong to you.

THE OONSTANTINEBCO GEAR AS APPLIED TO CABS.

(By H. 0. D. Segrave, in the Spectator.) To'the new possessor of a car the gear box invariably presents the greatest difficulty, for a certain skill, which can only be acquired by practice, is needed to manipulate the changing of speeds successfully. For many years designers have been working upon the problem of an infinitely variable and automatic gear, requiring no skill in its operation, to replace the existing gear box unit. The gear box is incidentally the source of a considerable loss in power between the engine and driving wheels, due to friction. Mr Constantinesco, the inventor of the well-known “C.C.” Interrupter Gear for machine guns, has been working upon this problem for a number of years, and has now perfected a variable and automatic speed gear which may be described as being the nearest approach to the ideal which has yet been attained. It would be outside the scope o* this articled which is written for the ordinary motorist and not for the engineer, to explain technically the extremely ingenious devices which have been employed in applying the fundamental principles of inertia to obtain these results. Much has already appeared in the daily press, and the engineering papers have given minute technical descriptions, but it remains for the uninitiated person to work out how the gear would function if applied to the average motor car. The following two examples, which assume the existence of everyday conditions, will show this.

Suppose, first, that you are approaching a steep hill with vour car. Normally you would wait until the engine began to labour and then change down. With the Conelantinesco gear you would keep your foot on the accelerator pedal; the engine speed would remain constant (at its maximum R.P.M. and on tho peak of its power curve, providing the throttle was fully open), while the oar would gradually slow up. as it breasted the hill, until it found the exact maximum road speed at which the engine, developing its maximum power, could propel it. Suppose, secondly, that you are in traffic. You come to a block and you are obliged to stop. To do this with the Constantinesco gear you merely take your foot off the accelerator pedal and apply your brakes. Your engine is now running slowly, as in neutral on an ordinary car. To start again you release the brakes and open the throttle slightly. As the engine R.P.M. increase so the power output increases until a point is reached where the power output is sufficient to move the car, which begins to glide forward with a total absence of noise or harshness. If the throttle is novk opened still more, the power output of the’ engine is correspondingly increased, until the oar it travelling at the maximum speed at which its engine, developing its maximum power, can propel it. Whore Mr Cons tan tinesco’s gear differs from all others so far produced is that there is no direct mechanical c( nnection between the engine or “prime mover” and the road wheels.

A statement such as this requires explanation. Take the case of an ordinary car driven very slowly in first speed against a brick wall. When the car actually touches the wall the engine immediately stops or stalls, because it has neither the power to posh the wall down nor to spin the back wheels.

If the Constantinesco gear is fitted the engine would not stop when the car reached the wall, but would continue to run while the car would steadily keep its maximum pressure exerted against the wall. In an ordinary car the engine stops because the engine! itself is directly connected to (he road wheels, and the latter are checked, thus stopping the engine; but in the case of the Constantinesco gear, there being no /direct connection, even though the road wheels are checked the engine is still able to run.

Mr Constantinesco has some 20 models on view in his laboratory, and he has also experimentally fitted a Singer light car engine to a standard Sheffield Simplex chassis, and with this latter obtained results confirming the forogoincr statements.

The gear has ber-n fitted to motor cars because this was the easiest method of giving a convincing demonstration of its possibilities. It is, however, not the intention of the company which has the controlling rights to interest itself at the moment in the automobile industry, its reason being that, though the gear would render the motor car considerably more efficient by lowering running costs, and also by enabling engines of smaller capacity to be fitted to obtain the required results, yet the existing gear box meets immediate needs. There are other fields where the gear may be of even greater importance, as, for example, in connection with the internal-com-bustion engine on the locomotive, and in steamship practice, etc.

In conclusion, it mav almost be said that Mr Constantinesco has discovered the "Fourth Dimension” in mechanics