THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21267, 23 February 1931, Page 4

THE MOTOR WORLD.

By ACCELERATOR.

FIXTURES. OTAGO MOTOR CLUB. MOTOR CYCLE SECTION. February 28. —Club run to Oreti Beach races. March 14. —Annual hill climb. March 18. —Monthly meeting. March 28. —Beach races. April 15. —Monthly meeting. April 18. —Speed judging contest. May 2. —Paperchase. May 16.—Club run. May 20. —Monthly meeting. June 6. —Sporting trial. SOUTHLAND MOTOR CYCLE CLUB. February 28. —Oreti Beach races. WASTING PETROL. The following are several methods of wasting petrol;— Permitting brakes to drag. Letting the engine run at high speed when idling in traffic. Dashing up to a stop and then jamming on the brakes. Driving too long in first and in second gear before shifting to high. Racing the engine in sptxrts when waiting for the traffic “go” signal. Uneven accleration; that is, stepping on the accelerator unsteadily. Driving with fouled spark plugs. Tms wastes about 20 to *25 per cent, of the petrol used for every plug that is out ot commission. SELF-ADJUSTING SPRING SHACKLE. Motor cars bought in 100 different countries this year will incorporate a device invented by Rupert L. Rand, of Amhuret, Nova Scotia, that contributes definite .y to trouble-free motoring. The invention, which has been bought by General Motors and is regular equipment on all its cars, is a self-adjusting spring shackle. The new self-adjusting spring shackle eliminates the bushings formerly used. A bolt passing through the centre of the shackle is provided with a heavy plate spring which automatically takes up any play produced by. wear. The result is self-adjusting, noise ess .spr'ug shackle. Alemite fittings leading into the oil re servoir make* frequent lubrication unnecessary. SOME COMMANDMENTS. 1. Brakes, steering gear, and lights should be shown by frequent tests to be in 2 S °Smply kl wxth rd aU speed regulations, so that a stop may be made when the unexpected happens. . 3. Respect the right ,of way of other drivers and pedestrians. . • 4 Make proper signals before stopping, starting, and turning, so that other drivers may know your intentions and avoid colli sions and traffic jams. , ... 5 Drive at a safe distance from children whenever they are in sight on all the highways or adjoining pavements. 6. Keep to the left so as to permit full use of the roadway for overtaking cars and a clear road .for approaching from the opposite direction. ... 7. Give scrupulous obedience to all tr 8* Appreciate the parking privilege wherever extended, and avoid its abuse. 9. Use more than reasonable care at all crossings, whether highway or railroad. 10. Be familiar with trail c rules and comply with the so-called “ minor as well as the more important regulations. DEFINITION OP, A GOOD DRIVER. "If asked to define a good driver, I would say that he must be one who can take another good driver as his passenger and maintain a fair average speed_m such a manner that his passenger'is sufficiently at ease to admire the scenery and, if the way be long, enjoy an occasional nap. This definition of a good driver is given by Captain Malcolm Campbell in a special article to the Shell Company’s recent publication, “Tour Car —Its Care and Maintenance” In the world-wide campaign towards greater safety on the road he makes the following suggestions:—- “ Whilst driving, never turn to look at your passenger. Even if conversing, cultivate the habit of keeping your gaze ahead. If you must watch your instruments, do so on the open road and never, under any circumstances, look down at your gear lever. “Always ensure that your headlights are properly focussed and set; you gam nothing from seeing the telegraph wires overhead, and cocked-up lights are dreadful things to meet. “ Acquire the habit of listening when approaching cross roads; it is surprising how acutely one’s hearing can be developed, and an uncanny sense of unseen, approaching vehicles attained. “Minor signs, such as a famt blue exhaust haze, a little dust, or the smell, of burnt petrol will often indicate a vehicle ahead around the next corner; such information is always useful.” THE YEAR’S MOTOR IMPORTS. A very considerable decrease in the value of motor vehicles, both passenger cars and commercial lorries and buses, imported into New Zealand during 1930, compared with the total for 1929, is revealed in a return compiled by the Comptroller of Customs. During 1930 the total value of the imports was £2,478,140, compared with £4,278,000 in 1929, a difference of £1,799,860. The number of vehicles imported shows a corresponding decrease, last year’s total being 17,363, compared with ’29.156 in 1929, a decrease of 11,783. Of the total of 17,363 vehicles imported into the Dominion last year, there were 13,238 passenger vehicles other than buses to a total value of £1,876,657, and 1076 chassis for such vehicles priced at £118,976. In addition, there were 567 complete commercial vehicles, representing £54,425, and 2482 chassis for commercial vehicles costing £428,082. Of the complete motor cars, by far the largest number, over 50 per cent., came from Canada, which contributed 7469, at a cost of £888,150. The United Stqtes was the next largest exporter to the Dominion in this branch, sending 2893. valued at £494,543, while the United Kingdom, was a very close third with 2687, costing £490,595. The largest number of chassis for motor cars came from the United Kingdom, there being 544, representing £72,996, while 463 at a cost of £35,022 came from Canada. There were 64, costing £9677, from the United States, while Prance and Belgium sent three and two respectively. Canada practically monopolised the complete commercial vehicle section, sending 564, at a cost of £54,054, out of a total of 567. the remaining three, priced at £371, coming from the United Kingdom. Canada also sent the largest share of commercial chassis, being responsible for 1474 out of 2482. The United States sent 730, the United Kingdom 269. Belgium six, Germany two, and France one. OIL DOES NOT “ WEAR OUT.” Most motorists are under the impression that the lubricating oil used in their motor engines "wears out in use.” and that is why it is necessary from time to time to draw-off the old oil from the sump, and replenish with new. According to experts, the used oil, contrary to the general assumption, does not wear out, hut has to bo changed, because the used oil. by degrees, becomes charged with impurities which prevent the oil from doing its work efficiently. This pollution will, in oil that has seen long service, reach as high as 12 per cent.; and, needless to say, when the oil reaches this state, damage is gradually being done to the engine. The imnurities embrace three types—solid particles, such as carbon, road dust, and metal particles; liquid impurities, such as unburnt fuel, and water; and impurities resulting from oxidation and acid compounds. The pollution resulting from 1 the gradual collection in the oil of these three forms of impurities causes tho lowered viscosity, the black colour and gritty feeling associated with oil that has done long service. These facts (says the Dunlop-Perdriau Company) will servo to bring home to motorists how essential it is that replenishment of the oil in the engine sump be given the necessary attention, thus ensuring greater efficiency and longer life of engine. Overseas some big fleet operators have installed special reclaiming plants for removing pollution from used oil, and cases have been known where the same

[ltems of nows —short descriptions, of tours, the state of the roads, etc, comment, or inquiries will be welcomed by “ Accelerator.”J

oil has been used continuously for years with complete satisfaction. It is stated that the general characteristics of purified oil are about the same as new oil; in fact, the carbon content is said to be less in the reclaimed oil. While the cost of purifying is an economic proposition when large volumes of oil of the same quality are available for treatment, the installation of the reclaiming plant is said to be a costly matter. PISTON SLAP. One of the problems that most frequently trouble motorists is that if an engine produces a tapping noise when it is cold, due to piston slap, does this indicate excessive wear in the cylinders? The answer is that only, a slight clearance is needed between the piston and cylinder to produce an audible tapping in a cold engine, and consequently no notice need be taken of this. When the piston is rising on the compression stroke the angle at which it is pushed upwards by the oblique connecting rod is such as to force it sideways against the cylinder walls. An instant later it is driven downwards by the burnt gases, and as the angle of the connecting rods is by then reversed the side thrust becomes reversed also. Consequently, there is a tendency to “ throw ” the piston across from one side of the cylinder to the other, and a clearance of even 4-1000ths of an inch in an engine of medium size will be sufficient to cause tapping. No anxiety need be felt on this score, and “ tapping ” may continue for a long time before a big increase in oil consumption shows'that reboring is required. To prevent rapid cylinder wear a cold engine should always be allowed to run for a short time before being called upon to propel the car. This allows the oil to circulate and be thrown up from the big ends on to the cylinder walls. New types of piston rings have recently been developed which tend to hold the piston centrally in the cylinder bore so as to prevent slap occurring. ATTENTION AFTER TOURING. Considering the thousand and one things which can go wrong with the internal combustion engine (says an expert), it is a matter for great commendation that the mechanical principles have been so combined and devised that the complete operation of these ,is so free from trouble. If we sit behind the steering wheel and just think over what is actually happening as w el go purring along, the perfect mechanical harmony of the various operations must impress itself on the least mechanically minded of us. From the initial pressing of the starter button to the final switching off of the ignition, the whole business is really very wonderful. We press the starter and, close the battery circuit to the starting motor. The magnetic fields are excited and immediately the armature jumps to rotation, the very suddenness or the action leaves the inert and weighty pinion on the armature shaft at rest, and this inertia is what really engages its teeth with those of the ring gear on the flywheel, for the armature shaft is fashioned into a very coarse thread on the end where the pinion rests. The sudden turning of this thread winds the pinion into mesh with the ring gear before the pinion has actually had time to revolve, but when properly in mesh the pinion reaches the dead end in its travel along the shaft, and as it can go no further it must necessarily rotate with the shaft, and being in mesh with the ring gear of the flywheel the latter turns also, and over goes the crankshaft. The pistons then inhale their gas, and compress it, the little make-and-break mechanism breaks the ignition circuit just at the right moment, and the sudden cessation of the current in the primary winding of the coil induces an enormous, let us say, “ rebound ” in the secondary winding, and this hot current, with enormous pressure behind it, partly absorbed by the coil condenser, to save actual wire burning, dashes off in an endeavour to reach “ earth ” along the shortest possible path. ' . This path is provided by the high tension wire from the coil to the little rotor brush in the commutator, which finds itself at exactly the right moment opposite the correct segment, to which the current passes and then away to the sparking plug of the cylinder which is ready to fire. Down the centre electrode of this it goes, until it reaches the gap at the end inside the gas charged cylinder, aerose which, with a flash, it reaches its objective, “ earth.” The flash does its job of work and the gas is exploded, pushing the piston before it under enormous pressure, then again at the correct moment the exhaust valve of that cylinder is liffed and releases the pressure just when the piston has travelled as far dowswards as possible and is about to start on the return journey up the cylinder once more for a fresh charge of gas. I need not (continues the writer) go on enumerating the four-cycle principle with which all my readers are probably familiar, but when one considers all these various operations, perfectly synchronised and perfectly reliable, the present-day motor vehicle ranks, as one of the marvelsof our time. We . think little of the individual workings of each component in a trip of a few hundred miles or of the millions of times each part does its job of work until some fault brings the fact home to us that something has gone wrong. A chafed wire, a broken connection, tiny atom of grit, a chip of carbon, any of these and a thousand other things can put the whole sequence of operations wrong, and yet we sit, mile after mils to-day, free from even a splutter in the note of the exhaust. What a tribute to the brains which have foreseen all the possible difficulties and overcome them one by one. It matters little to us who sit in well-uphol-stered seat on top of our balloon tyres on a good road, but what of the man in the air, with mountains, ravines, and heavily timbered country under him, or perhaps miles of relentless ocean? What must a splutter in the exhaust note mean under such conditions? It was my privilege to have a friendly chat with a member of the crew which piloted the Southern Cross over the ocean from America to this country, and I remember how his words impressed me when he spoke of the occasion while flying through the night—watching the long regular tongue of flame from the exhaust pipe of the port engine—when for a brief period it commenced to splutter and the flame appeared intermittent. I could feel the chill run down my spine as he related the experience and described his own feelings at the time. He said that his mind raced from one possible solution of the trouble to another with such speed that thinking was actually painful.

They had been sitting up there in the air for hours in the dark listening to the continuous drone of the motors and watching the feather of flame from each with a feeling of more or lees monotonous security. He realised in a hazy way that there was an almost boundless ocean below but that thought presented no feeling of misgiving, so regular was the beat of the two motors, and then came the splutter, caused, he thinks, by some slight air lock in the benzine supply, or perhaps by a particle of some foreign matter in the jet of one of the carburettors. However, it passed as quickly as it came, but he said Smithy’s expression was a study—the quick turn of the head, and the tense poise of expectancy, was prophetic—nor did any member of the crew relax a muscle until the offending motor settled down to its regular beat again. But I am digressing from what I set out to speak about. All the operations mentioned are dependent for their efficient working on the amount of care and attention which has to be left in the hands of the operator by the engineer who creates the machine. If you have been touring over the holiday period and your car has covered a big mileage there are some very important details to attend to now that the trip is over. If you want to be sure of continued efficient and reliable operation you must give some thought to what lias been happening and what are the necessary items needing attention. In the first place have the whole car greased, renew' the engine oil and the lubricant in the gear box and rear axle. The universal joints in the drive shaft have been busy, so give them special attention. The battery has been subjected to long periods of uninterrupted charging, which produces heat, and has

probably boiled a lot of the distilled water away—replenish this, seeing that the battery plates are just covered. The dynamo, which does the charging, gets pretty hot when doing its job, and this heat uses up the lubricant fairly quickly; put a few drops of light oil into the two places provided—i.e., there are usually two oil caps at either end of the dynamo. Don’t forget the fan behind the radiator —this travels at a tremendous rate and will now need attention with lubricant. If the car is fitted with a magneto, oil this; if not, put some oil into the distributor case, where the previously mentioned rotor brush operates. I would also strongly recommend an adjustment of the breaker points located in the same housing, and also an adjustment of the valve ■ tappets. The points of, the sparking plugs will need attention, as the continues sparkling across these will have probably burned the ends so that the "gap” will now be slightly on the “wide” side. In conclusion, if the clutch is of the “ wet ” type flush this • out and add the required quantity of correct lubricant. SPARKS. One effect of the Road Traffic Act in England is the increase of the number ot pupils at motoring schools. * * * An epidemic of “ joy riding ” has broken out in Dublin, In 90 per cent, of the cases the “joy riders are not brought to book. ♦ * * “Are you positive,” demanded counsel, "that the prisoner is the man who stole the car? ” “Well, I was until you crossexamined me.” ** ' # Chromium plating was used on automobiles for the first time in March, 1927. At that date it was introduced by Oldsmobile, a division of General Motors. * 1 * * Large brass studs have been placed in the pavements of Paris to show pedestrians where they may safely make a dash to the other side of the street, and pedestrians are expected to use this space and no other. The century-old custom in France of allowing persons to cross the road where and when they will has been abandoned. * # * “ Can you estimate the speed of the car?” asked a solicitor at an English Police Court recently. Witness: “No, I am no hand at exaggerating a motor car’s speed.” . * * ♦ Roads laid by the Caesars 2000 years ago in Italy have been modernised into fine highways of a most distinct type. The new roads are motor speedways accommodating six automobiles abreast. There are no sharp grades and no crossings. No speed limit prevails, and it is said that in the seven or eight years the roads have been in operation, no serious accidents have occurred. These roads have been so successful, it is said, that the French Government is planning to build several like them near Paris. * * * The police of Constantinople in a recent raid made wholesale removal of mirrors attached to the windshields of taxicabs, which a new forbids. It seems that a number of drivers had been so interested in watching their passengers through these mirrors that they neglected the operation of their cars, with the result that .they sometimes crashed into other cabs. . *' * * European tourists who have had difficulties in procuring petrol in more or less remote places and paying for it in currencies with which they are not entirely familiar, will welcome the suggestion being made in European automobile circles for the internationalisation of a system of “ benzine coupons,” now in use in several countries. If the proposal ia accepted by the principal benzine companies, it will be possible for the traveller to stock up in London, Paris, or any other large city with coupons good for fuel and oil at any of the fuel stations carrying the company’s products.