THE MOTOR WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21983, 19 June 1933, Page 2

THE MOTOR WORLD.

Ey ACCELERATOR.

WASTING PETROL. Here are some of the ways to waste petrol:— Permitting brakes to drag. Letting the engine run at high speed when idling. Driving too long in first and second gear before changing-to "top.". Racing the engine in spurts when waiting at traffic stops or for passengers to embark. . Uneven acceleration, that is, jerky use of the accelerator pedal. m , . Driving with fouled spark plugs. : Iniswastes about 20 per cent, of the petrol used for every plug that is out of commission. When plugs have been in use for 10,000 miles they should be replaced with new ones. DRIVING IN FOG. Certain localities are more than others subject to fog and drivers who use 6uch roads regularly should be equipped to reduce the danger and inconvenience of driving in the foe to a minimum. The ordinary headlamps are useless in a dense fog, be-« cause the white light they emit is composite, and is made up of the blending of light of a great many colours. The blue and green part of the light given by the headlamps will riot penetrate the fog, and is reflected back to form a glare through which one canrlot see, what lies ahead of ! him. The red and yellow components of , the light from the headlamps are more penetrating, and are the only rays suitable for driving in the fog. These rays can be used by preventing the glare producing blue and green components from leaving the headlamps. The best way to achieve , this is to carry some form of filter, con- | sisting of a circle of glass or celluloid, tinted yellow, which can be slipped over the lamps when a fog is encountered. The filter will reduce the apparent power of the lamps, but despite this it will be found that one can see farther ahead when it is in use than when the light from the lamps is unfiltered. MANY INVENTIONS Among inventions of interest protected this year are a number relating to new metal processes by means of which alloys I and metals are rendered impervious to j corrosion and increased in strength in a way hitherto regarded as impossible. In j motor engineering fields there have been j a number of new cycle engines of the sleeve valve type, by which it is hoped to improve and simplify radial aero engines, . particularly 'where efficient _scaveng-;j ing and high pressure are required. There has also been an invention for a new form j of petrol tapi which will positively pre-I vent leakage, and in the advertising world new inventions for Neon gas illuminations have been numerous. INDISTINCT NUMBER PLATES. "The new white and brown number plates for motor vehicles are not as distinct as last year's yellow and black ones," said the chairman of the Mount Roskill Road Board (Mr C. M. M'Cullough), at the last meeting of the board, j "At night, especially, the numbers are j more difficult to distinguish." It was decided to take action against motorists travelling without lights at nighty Another complaint, voiced by "Focus in the Auckland Herald, is that mans cars have been noticed recently with the front number plate obscured by. the bumper bar. Owners of cars fitted with j bumpers should; note that it ie an offence to have the numbers obscured, and would be well advised to mount the plates in such v a manner that they are clearly visible. f A PERSISTENT VISITOR. - An amtfsing story,has reached us concerning an old Morris car which, being hit by a large saloon at a crossroads, was sent down a short incline, over the pave-1 merit' aid] into.' - .a shop'■"window." Nobody was hurt,-and after the police had taken the usual details, local garage men began to tow the damaged car' out of the shopwindow at the bottom of the hill. But as the towers and towee reached the crossroads again, another car, negligently driven, came round the corner and hit the Morris for a second time, 'severing the tow rope and sending the unfortunate vehicle back once more;!, into the shop window. , The astonished'sbbpkeeper, who could hardly believe.;, his eyes, gasped: "What! You again!" ■ ."■." 'night-driving, risk. ":; v "Now that the wet, murky evenings of winter have set in in earnest, an appeal is made to all road users, particularly motorists, to use the greatest care," says the'latest safety-first message of the 1 Canterbury Automobile Association. "It is most essential that windscreen wipers should be throughly effective, and that the ventilation of closed cars should be well enough regulated to obviate the frosting over of the inside of the windscreen and the rahfer windows. The effect of rain on the windows and windscreen is to create many blind spots for the-driver, and shadows and reflections on the'roads make road travel at night fraught with danger. The lighting equipment, should be faultless, headlights should- be I used consistently, there should be no, doubt about the effectiveness of both hand and foot brakes, tyres should not be; worn smooth if they are to serve on slippery roads, and thorough attention should be given to the road ahead. This is the most dangerous motoring time of the year, and no risks should be taken. The hours between 5' p.m. and- 7 p.m., when thousands of cyclists and pedestrians are hurrying homewards, arc the two trickiest hours for the motorist.;.-'; : -'.f " These nights, in fact any ■ nights, phould be the signal for all careful, com-, petent drivers to reduce speed. Do not take risks." MOTORING ON RANGITOTO. The first privately-owned motor car for permanent use on Rangitoto Island (Auckland Harbour) has been taken ro the island on the scow Pono. The vehicle carries five and is the property of Mr Roy Brinsden, who is a frequent visitor to the island, where he has a bach. Now that Sue roads have been formed on Rangitoto by prison labour, it is possible to drive round the island-, and almost as far as the-'summit. --■ The only othor, motor vehicles kept on -Rangitofcb are a bus used for the conveyance of "holidaymakers during the summer .months and a truck. '?f- -■ .-• •; DRIVING AND BRAKES. Habits in driving are among the prime factors in the success of the motorist with his brakeß. Leading authorities have t>:pressed the conviction that proper use of brakes will not only save them, but also improve them.

fltemt of newa—«hort description., of tours, th» otata of tha rosda, •to., comment, oi inquiries will be welcomed by " Acc«lejr»i4«.''J

Some of the practices which prevent brakes from maintaining maximum efficiency include the following:— Allowing the wheels to slide where the road surface is wet or slippery, thus wearing the tyres unevenly and permitting uneven traction to upset brake equalisation. Failure to time one's driving to match the action of automatic traffic signals. Going too fast over the top of hills so as to require excessive use of the brakes on the down grade. Driving with the holding brake partly engaged. Failure to have the moving parts of the braking system lubricated and kept free from rust. Insufficient operation of any one set of brake shoes means excessive wear on the other three, which 'then must carry the whole load. Service men frequently find individual brakes which do not release properly. This results in excessive wear on the lining, and ' throws the entire system out of equalisation. Brakes should have frequent inspection, but constant readjustments should not be necessary, A RECORD-BREAKING ENGINE. Very great interest was aroused generally by the recent news that the world's air speed record had been broken by an Italian seaplane at a speed of nearly 424 miles an hour, and tkere is a decided link with motoring interests in that the engine used in the Macchi type MO 72 machine was of Fiat manufacture, says ; the Autocar. To meet the necessary requirements an engine had to be developed to give considerably over 2000 b.h.p., with as small a frontal area as possible, and a unit of entirely new design, but based on previous types as regards welltried details was evolved. The cylinders are divided into two groups of 12, placed one in front of the. other, the 24 cylinders having a total : capacity of over 50 litres. There is a common crankcase, bub each bank of cylinders has its own crankshaft, the two crankshafts rotating in opposite directions, coupled by spur gear reducing units driving two air-screw shafts, likewise rotating in opposite directions and situated close together, one in front of the other. There is a common induction system from an eight-jet carburettor attached directly to a centrifugal super-charger at the rear of the engine unit, and driven through a special clutch coupling the main induction pipe being carried along the top of the engine. Each bank of cylinders has two overhead camshafts. Four valves and two plugs are used for each cylinder, and each 12 cylinder unit has its water pump and pair of magnetos. It is said that the engine develops 2900 b.h.p. at 3200 r.p.m., the weight of the engine being 20451 b, giving a powerweight ratio of 1 b.h.p. for each 0.7051 b. A COVETED AWARD. The Austin Seven heralded its return to motor racing by winning the team prize in the recent J.C.C. International Trophy Race over a 250 mile course at Brooklands. This race employed a novel system of handicapping in which courses of varying difficulty were provided for the three main groups of cars, thus enabling all entrants to start together, the first over the line then being the winner. The strenuous nature of the race is indicated by the fact that, from 28 starters, only eight finished, of which number three were Sevens, the only Austins entered. These baby cars put up a remarkably consistent performance and covered the 250 miles course at an average speed of 74.9 m.p.h. for the team. The Austin Seven driven by Charlie Goodacre also won the Vacuum Trophy presented for the best performance in Group T, this car finishing fifth in the general classification, i covering the course at over 78 m.p.h. The successful . drivers, including Donald Barnes'and Pat Driscoll as well as the above mentioned, _ drove throughout with great skill and judgment." ■_.: . THE, LIFE .'SENTENCE. "The motorist was lined £2O and disqualified for life from holding a driving license." So quotes R. G. in the Motor from an English daily paper. He proceeds: < What a terrible finality there is about that " for life " ! Never again on this earth to know the joys of controlling a motor ear. The crime in.the above instance is not reported in full, but the bare statement is made that the unfortunate driver was under the influence of liquor. ......... No mention is made of previous convictions for the same offence or if this case embraced a serious accident. But, whether or no, a man has been deprived for life of a faculty which is almost as much a part of his nature as his sight. Jungle law is satisfied. A sentence of this kind is primitive as the jungle itself, from which, in most things, we are now so far removed. It is harking back to savagery precisely similar in principle to • the tribal law which cuts off the hands of a convicted thief. A man just cannot steal if he has no hands, and, it is hoped, he cannot drive a car if he has no license. .... ■ ' "That," says impersonal Jaw> "will protect the public so far as they are able to be protected." But how far is this in actual fact? People have slipped to death and disablement on banana skins and wet pavements. Life is full of uncontrollable perils. But to protect them I against a man's foolish lapses the criminal 1 must yield his driving skill, his right 1 arm in this era of rapid mechanical transporting, and that without crime ' or criminal intention. '.•-. Fortunately, however, the exaggeration j of the sentence provides its own ridicule. It is manifestly absurd. A life sentence may mean anything, up to, say, 60 years. The motor car itself is not so old, and what enormous changes have accompanied its progress-to date. ~Sin;ce,j.ts invention, and largely owing to it, our ways of living have changed entirely, and they will go on doing so as improvement and ..invention jostle each other in the quest for perfect transport. As it is now, the motor car will soon be so imperative a necessity to all that " lifers " will be able to appeal against their legal handicap on humane grounds. On the other hand, control may become almost or entirely automatic in our time and the dtunk expert or sober .fool alike.-will have lost their menace. Or it may be obsolete, when i the lifer will be no worse off. j Over-emphasis defeats its-ends in most i things, and "disqualified for life" is no ] exception.

MAGNETIC BRAKES At the Olympic Motor Show of, 1931 an original and very interesting magnetic braking system was displayed on certain six-wheel /commercial vehicles, and during the ensuing year many modifications and improvements were effected iu this mechanism, which it i 9 now claimed can be applied successfully to both heavy-duty vehicles and light-passenger cars, states an English motoring journal. In its latest 1933 form this magneticservo brake consists of a compact unit, which is attached to the gear-box or any other point in the transmission line from which it is practicable to take a drive. The actual servo mechanism comprises an electro-magnet of annular shape, with a disc type armature plate, between them being a spinning disc, driven from the transmission. The current of the storage battery is used to energise the magnet, and the control Can be arranged to operate either by means of a contact on the ordinary foot pedal or through a switch gear, with finger-tip control mounted on the steering wheel. When the current is switched on and the magnet is thus energised it attracts the armature, plate to itself, and consequently the spinning disc is gripped between those two parts, which are faced with friction material. The effect then is that the positively driven disc tends to rotate the whole assembly, and by this means through a cam, which is attached to the magnet, and which bears upon a roller-ended lever, the brakes are operated. Certain striking claims are made for this device, which, it is_said, not only provides very great braking force without any call for physical effort on the part qf the driver, but also automatically adjusts the braking effect so as to obviate any risk of skidding or locking of the wheels because of abrupt application.

It is claimed that the dimensions of the parts and the degree of magnetism exerted are such 'that there is a wellbalanced and progressive diminution in the "slip between the disc and the frictional surfaces referred to above, so that as the speed of the car decreases the braking effort applied becomes more severe. The importance of such a safeguard is obvious, since it affords definite protection against the effects of unskilled manipulation which might otherwise cause the wheels to lock and the car to skid if the brakes were applied with full force from a high speed. This apparatus does not supplant the ordinary foot control, which is still availaisle in the event of a failure of the servo mechanism, and can also be used to supplement it if a specially abrupt emergency stop is called for. Where the operating switches are attached to the steering wheel, two separate contacts are provided; one for gentle braking, and the other for more rapid deceleration. There is also a small rheostat in the circuit, which can be quickly adjusted by the driver so as to regulate the amount Of, the energising current fed from the storage battery of the car, to suit changing conditions of road or weather. Another very commendable feature of the outfit is its low current consumption, which is said to be only two amperes, a rate which could not possibly overtax the battery. Tests were recently conducted in England with a saloon car equipped with "magnetic servo " brakes, and it was found that from a rate of 30 m.p.h. the vehicle was halted in one-third quicker time with the servo device than with the normal foot control, and that when both foot and servo controls were operated simultaneously the stopping time was reduced still further to almost half that taken when the foot-pedal mechanism only was employed. THE MOTOR CYCLE OTAGO MOTOR CLUB CYCLE SECTION. FIXTURE June 20.—Annual" meeting. JOTTINGS. At the request of " Squib " Burton, who secured a variation of contract under which he went to England, Alf. Mattson, the New Zealand dirt track champion, is riding for the Sheffield team this season. Last season Burton announced hia definite retirement from the dirt track, but he has returned again as keen as ever. Handley's T.T. record is second to none, and he is generally bracketed with Jimmie Simpson as. one of the finest road race riders in the world. After the 1929 Junior Race a writer, said:—" Handley came second to Hicks's Veloeette only because, to the best of my belief, he was on a machine which was about 10 m.p.h. slower, than the winner's; and he only got as close as he did because he is the world's finest road racer. My Adam's apple absolutely jammed up tight when I saw some of his 80 m.p.h. kerbrshaving." ..■#..'.#•■■# ■ ' .--. The undoubted supremacy of British motor cycles is largely the result of their v racing, prowess, remarks a northern writer. This prowess has produced quality. Each year the world is reminded of that quality by the T.T races in which, since the Great War, no foreign machine has gained a single victory. This year, however, it seems as though the foreign competition will be stronger than ever before. One foreign entry in particular seems to have the necessary qualities for victory in both machine and rider, and that is Wal Handley on the Swedish Husgvarna twin—the machine which defeated all'the British cracks in last year's Grand Prix of Sweden. NEW ZEALANDER'S SUCCESS. Finishing thirteenth in a field of 27, Sidney Moses, the New Zealand representative in the International T.T..races in the Isle of Man, was close enough to the winner to gain a replica of the junior tourist trophy, such as is awarded to riders finishing within a limited tune. In a cable to his.parents, "Sid," as he is known in Auckland, says:—-"Finished safely thirteenth, gained a replica . in junior race, riding a Veloeette." j Hitherto the dominions have eachsent two representatives to the International Tourist Trophy races, at the expense of the Isle of Man authority, but' this year the grant to New Zealand was sufficient to send only one, and Sidney, Moses was chosen as representative by the New Zealand Auto Cycle Union. Moses won the first New. Zealand Tourist Trophy race on Waiheke Island and was second to A. Mattson in the second year's race. In the third race, on January 30 last, he was the only man to finish.

SPARKS Driver: I wasn't going 40 miles an hour, or 30, or even 20. Constable: Steady, now* or you'll be backing into something?' * ~..,:.* , # * Sixty per cent, of motor accidents occur in daylight hours, say an exchange. Well, as most ears go to bed with the fowls this is not surprising. * * * A junk shop near a railroad crossing in Denver .carries a sign with thie hint to motorists: " Go ahead; take a chance. We'll buy the car." ;■ • ' ,/■'* . * •* Forty-three new members were elected by the council of the Canterbury Automobile' Association at the ' meeting last week. This makes 428 for the year to date. ''*"■" The' Otago i Motor Club, second oldest in the South Island, will come of age on August-31. The Canterbury Automobile Association will be 30 years old in a month or two. '»..* *'. * Surgeon (to attendant): Go and get the name of the accident victim so that we can inform his mother. , Attendant (thvee minutes later): He saya his mother knows his name. *. * * Those motorists who switch off the headlights when approaching an oncoming tram will be showing a much-appreci-ated courtesy to the motormen. Particularlv on a wet'night on a paved road, the headlights of cars are very irritating to the motoi'men. * * * "Ijookj young man," said the father, "you have been calling on my daughter now for six months. What are your intentions? And who are you? " "I am with the Snifter Car Company, sir. and I am trying to persuade your daughter to persuade you to; buy one of our-cars."' A recent decree by Herr Hitler abolishes the tax oh new motor cars, and the cars will be free, of tax ■•so long as they reriiain in the hands of the original owner. When sold, however, the old tax I of 12.6 marks per 100 c.c. will be imposed. ';, ' ■''; "What's happened, George?" she asked of. her .husband," who was watching the chauffeur's examination of a tyre. " Puncture," he said briefly. »" You ought to have been on the lookout for this,"- was the helpful remark, "you remember the. guide warned you there was a fork in the road." * h- * An entirely new line in car salesmanship has been adopted by a London concern. The idea is that the prospective purchaser shall have the services of two demonstrators—one for his own car and one for the new model he is trying. He can change over anil drive whichever he likes as often as he desires, and is thus I able to form a comparison between his I old car and the new model.