CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES

Otago Witness, Issue 3276, 27 December 1916, Page 48

CYCLING AND MOTOR NOTES

BV DEMON.

Delivery of new Oakland ears has recently been taken at Oamaru by Mr F. Obbard (taxi owner), Mr J. Genge (taxi owner), Mrs SI. B. Paterson (Awa-Moa), Mr J. A. Macpherson (Borton.s), and Mr Robert Haugh (JJuntroon). Several efforts are to bo made early in the new year to increase the world's 24 hours motor cycle record, which at present stands to the credit of E. Bakor but established during his visit to Australia this year on a 33 miles circuit at Mortiake (Victoria). The existing record is 1027 miles, and two well-known Victorian riders are satisfied that they can beat these figures, and they are now making arrangements for attempts on same at Mortlake at an early date. The British Medical Journal has recently _ been dealing with the therapeutic possibilities of automobilism. It is mainly a question of fresh air under pressure, and has long since been fully realised by cyclists. Tho matter, however, has been gone into very fully by French savants, who state that motoring is an excellent specific in anosmia, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, insomnia, gout, asthma, tuberculosis, and diseases of the kidneys. In their opinion the value of motor driving is based on the stimulus it affords to the pulse, and to the greater absorption of ozone, due to the rapidity of tho motion through the air, and the facilities the car affords of quickly bringing the occupants from one strata of atmosphere to another. The excitement incidental in driving, and its effect on the nerve system is also commented! on. Of course, this is a factor which can be overdone, but it is certainly valuable ; f the driver is reasonable. and docs not travel at a pace which does not cause too great a strain on the system. It is also suggested that the diseases Which are most baffling are mainly the product of listlcssness and inaction, and that tho most valuable and really sane antidote to such ills, at least at their incipient stage, is the healthy-giving pursuit of such occupation. Neurotic people are seldom physically active; their outlook is the antithesis to such occupations as would lift their minds outside the groove that is really self-centred. Medical authorities, however, are agreed that hiirh speeds are undesirable in respect both of those who drive and those who are driven. All motorists are interested in tyre mileages—not so much in freak firrnres that have little bearing on genuine average results from any criven make of tyre, but in straight-out business figures., that urn recorded under all round conditions, such as obtains in the nun of one's own ear. It is the average result from a large number of oovers that conveys a fair idea of what ser-

I vico ono can expect from any particular ! make of tyre. In this connection it is ! generally recognised that taxicab work is • particularly severe on tyres, the vehicles j carrying heavy bodies, and being- subjected | to continual stopping and starting on short ' runs, which naturally tends to shorten the life of tyres. Figures made available by Mr IT. Burton, manager of tha City Motor Seri vice, Propriety (Ltd.), Melbourne, ft company that controls one of the largest and finest fleets of taxi vehicles in the Commonwealth, afford unmistakable evidence of : what iino work the Australian-made white • tread Ekmlop tyre is now do in?. j The future of the motor cycle will I largely ho determined by the question of : engine type and design, and, as has been i done in car practice, so we are likely to see developments taking place in the direction of increasing the number of cylinders and : the standardisation for certain motor cycle : requirements of the four-cylinder engine I The single and the twin are hardly likely I to go out of favour, and there will bo no | question of the four-cylinder d r >ina: more • than increasing the number of its adherents by small, and at the same time slow, deI {Trees. Yet if wo read the signs aright, there is likely in the future to be a wider I adoption of the typo, and _ eventually we j shall expect to witness its introduction on ' ft much larger scalo than heretofore

PUNISHED FOR SLOW DRIVING. While thousands of motorists have bean arrested and fined for fast driving in Massachusetts, the first case where a motorist was brought into court for slow driving occurred in October. Edward C. Smith was before Judge Utlcy on a charge of driving so slowly that he obstructed traffic. Traffic Officer Lyman J. Gorton testified that Smith came along to Harrington Corners, tha busiest place in Worcester, driving his car so slowly that he held up traffic. He had been drinking, which accounted for his actions, it seems, and he wanted to be very careful rather than reckless. He was sentenced to two months in the house of correction. —Motor Age.

FORD FIGURES FOR YEAR. According to the Economist, the earnings of the Ford Motor Company are astonishing. , Gross sales amounted to £41,373,469, representing an average to the car of £77 Bs, while the net profit worked out at £11.998.823 12s, or about £22 8s on Qach car. The average cost of production and selling is thus £55 a car. The capital of the company is only £400,000, and after paying a dividend of 60 per cent, there was £11,760,000 available for re-investment in the business, which brings the total assets up to £29,400.000, and the undivided surplus up to £23,400,000. Cash in hand on July 31 last was £10,506,000, as against £1,280,020 four years ago. .. SELECTING OILS AND GREASES. The selecting of proper oil and grease for the motor car is one to which every motorist should give careful attention. Since there are a large number of different brands on the market, it is difficult to determine which is the best. A motorist has driven a car extensively for three seasons and fourfifths of engine trouble has been duo to faulty lubrication, which was caused by using poor oil that he thought was the best, lie selected a medium oil as directed by tho manufacturer. This was a wellknown, medium-priced brand. Tho results were an unusual amount of carbon collecting on the spark plugs, knocking due to premature ignition caused by incandescent carbon, and all that goes with carbon deposits, although carbon was scraped every few hundred miles. The quantity of oil used was normal. On testing tho oil in question according to tho following tests, it was found that a very poor grade was used —in fact, tho poorest of six common brands tested. The following directions for testing motor car oils will assist those who wish to test their oil: Flash Test Suspend a thermometer in a small quantity of oil so that the thermometer doea not touch the bottom of the vessel containing tho oil to bo tested. Heat the oil. Test the vapours that are driven off with a match or Rnmll gas flame by passing_ the flame near the surface of tho oil and quickly removing it. Note the lowest at which the vapours ignite without setting

fire to the oil itself. A good oil should not ignite or flash below 400dcg Fahr. This test is very important. It is the test of durability. Fire Test.— Continue to heat the oil after the flash test is made until the oil itself ignites from the vapours when the flame is quickly held above it and quickly removed. Note the temperature. It usually is from 35deg to lOOdeg above the flash temperature. Th/.s being the case it is of minor importance in judging oils. Heat Test ' Insert the thermometer in the same manner as in the flash test, and heat the ail at the flash temperature for 15 minutes. All oils will darken in colour. A good oil will only darken a shade, the oil remaining clear and without sediment. An oil that has not been properly refined changes quickly to a dark colour. In some Oils the colour becomes very dark, and in some a black sediment separates out. This is carbon. If an oil will do this at the flash temperature it is reasonable to suspect it to continue to do so when subjected to tho higher temperature of combustion. Emulsion, Test.— Shake vigorously several ounces of tho oil with an equal volume of water in a bottle, and allow to stand for 24 hours. A durable oil will show a slight white line of separation where the oil and water meet. The water below the oil may bo slightly cloudy. A poorly refined oil will be partly combined or emulsified with the water, and have formed a semi-fluid, reddish-white or brownish-white mass containing some globules of oil. Viscosity Test. — This test is not easily made by the averago motorist, since a standardised apparatus is required. However, if more than one sample of oil is to be tested, an improvised piece of apparatus will do to determine which oil has the highest viscosity. Take a small glass tube, for instance, close or draw one end out by heating until tho opening is about one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter. The opening should be small enough so that when the oil is permitted to drop from it, the drops may be easily counted. Now take a cork that will fit into a tube about lin in diameter and 6in long, and bore a hole in it so that the open end of the tube will fit in nicely. Fill the large tube with tho oil to be tested, and hold in a vertical position with the drawn-out end of the small tube extending down. Count the number of drops of oil that will drop' from tho small end in a minute. By repeating- the process with the different samples one can determine which has the higher viscosity, since the more viscous will drop slower, a less number will fall in one minute. —Cold Test This is made by cooling the oil to determine the lowest temperature at which tho oil will pour. This test need only be made on an oil that is used in cold weather, because of its effect, upon the circulation of tho oil through exterior feed pipers whero pressure is not used. This test does not indicate the lubricating properties. BRITISH AEROPLANE ENGINES. There appears little doubt but that England's supremacy of the air on tho Western front is chiefly attributable to the efforts and motors of several well-known English motor manufacturers. Some of these firms are now turning out magnificent aeroplaneengines developing 350 h.p., which can remain in the air for ofc least 12 bours, and can carry heavy loads of explosives, besides its equipment of machine guna and men. Speeds! of 150, 170, and oven 190 miles per hour are now glibly talked about, and not only talked about, but actually «2«™a.

Judging by the giant strides made during the past three years, the future of the aeroplane is only in its infancy, and its future is as wide as the illimitable space which is its natural element. It seems but yesterday since Bleriot flew across that narrow strip of 20 miles or so from Calais to Dover, and yet we all remember how it set tho world a-wagging. What developments have taken place in the interval only those who follow the war can really appreciate. Take, for example, the French aviators' attack on Essen the other day, when two officers flew over 500 miles there and back, and not without doing some deadly work. It is very gratifying to be able to report that in aviation Britain has now secured a useful lead. John Bull may be slow in getting into his stride, but you can trust him to get there at the finish. Britannia unquestionably rules the waves, and, unless we are very much mistaken, she is going to rule tho sky as well.