MOTOR NOTES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16627, 21 April 1928, Page 10

MOTOR NOTES

A SHORT CUT CONSTABLES TO SUMMARILY FINE MOTORISTS . SYDNEY, March 28. A proposal by the Government that policemen should be empowered to summarily fine erring motorists has not been well received in motor circles. Owners and drivers protest that the proposal would place too much power in the hands of a constable, who would bo apprehending ollicer, prosecutor, magistrate and revenue receiver all in one! On the other hand it is admitted that this system would save a lot of time and simplify matters. It js successfully carried out in the western States of America.

AUTOMOBILE CLUB. F/LATIAL PREMISES IN SYDNEY? SYDNEY, March 28. The new premises of the Royal Automobile Chib of Australia wereopened by , tho Stato Governor (Adiriiial Sir Dudley do Chair). The building, which is situated in Macquarie street, cost, with furnishings, £ISO,(XX). The club was founded in 1903, three years after the importation of the first motor vehicle into Australia, with 20 members, in 1908 it had 300 members, in 1913. it had 405, in 1918 the . number had ; increased, tq 700, five years later there were 1200, and to-day there are : 2300 members. The president of the club is Sir Samuel N'ordern. 'A

DEVELOPMENT OiF THE CAR The development of the modern car is along the lines of speed acceleration and rapid deceleration. The light car with the small and highly-efficient engine is the natural result of the attempt to combine these desirable features with small operative costs, and the results are seen in the trend for what we may call the super efficient small car, which will do what, only a few years ago, could only be atempted by high-powered and heavy vehicles. Increasing congestion on the roads has called for the “nippy” class of car, with an engine of good accelerative powers and with that advantage has arisen, concomitantly, the very serious necessity for brakes which shall he as efficient and as rapid in their decelerative powers as is the engine in the matter of acceleration. Traffic driving even on the main arteries between towns and cities— has become very largely a matter of taking opportunities for passing rapidly and for quick retardation when in emergencies for emergencies are more numerous and more sudden than they were a very few years ago. This me.ans that th,o brake gear of the car shall have the same attention given it—both by the designer and the user—which is given to the propulsive mechanism. The accelerative properties of the engine may be considered almost as a measure of the decolerative properties necessary in the case of brakes. Four-wheel braking has given us the means of rapidly drawing down the speed without great strain upon the tyres which—as must he recognised—are the sole medium between the car and the road which have to take the whole of the retarding and the propulsive effort. The distribution of the. braking strain over four wheels, instead of only two, has had the effect of greatly increasing our stopping power while not seriously increasing the strain upon the tyres. Tt has also, incidentally, increased our safety on greasy and slippery and loose surfaces. But with this increased efficiency, has come the need for more careful use of the brakes and greater attention to he given to their careful adjustment and keeping in fully efficient, operating order. The wise motorist who considers his own and other road users’ safety will make a point of seeing that his brake adjustments arc properly made and that braking is equal, under all conditions, on the two wheels of a given axle. The wear of brake linings, in spite of the remarkably good and safe materials now available,'must, of necessity, he greaiei than they were before we had the speeds and the traffic which we have to-day. The wise motorist will make the brakes his first care. Their correct functioning is of more serious importance than the correct functioning of the power plant, for inefficient brakes, mean danger and perhaps disaster, while inefficient power plant may only mean speed reduction and delay.

WHEEL WOBBLE. Tn quite a number of cases when wheel wobble suddenly develops in ears whioh havo always previously been free from, it, the cause may be traced to a wheel that is out of balance. Many motorists who find their cars afflicted with this dangerous trouble spend a great deal of time, and also money, seeking for mechanical causes in the steering or suspension, overlooking the fact that to make a worn tyro last, a little longer they have placed a heavy sleeve inside it, and then placed that wheel in front. The wheel is thrown out of balance, and a wobble manifests itself at the speed at which the car is customarily driven. Eor balancing the wheel by weighting the side opposite to the tyre, plaster may prove effective as a cure, but the remedy is to replace the defective tyre with a new one—better still, to place a new pair of tvros on the front wheels. Should this not be the fault, it may be found that one tyre is not pumped to the same pressure as the other, or that the spring clips arc not properly tightened. In some cases wedges under the front springs to improve the castor action and cure wheel wobble.

COURTESY FIRST. '.MODEL POLICE LETTER. BIRMINGHAM’S METHODS. Courtesy is Ike strong point.of the police in Birmingham (England). Hero is a sample of the loiters they write to law-breaking motorists:— “Dear Sir, —You have been reported by one of my officers for allowing your motor car to stand on the carriageway in Union street, causing an unnecessary obstruction for 50 minutes, from 10.5 a.m. till 10.55 n.m., Friday, January 20, 3,028, “I have to point out to you:—(1) That an obstruction such as this in a street in the centre of the city is injurious to the public interest; (2) that during the time in question the person in charge of the car could not be found; (3) that this street is not one in which parking of motor cars is permitted.

“I do not wish to bo unduly hard in the matter, or to prevent yon from doing legitimate business in the city, but I. shall be pleased to receive your assurance, that under similar, circumstances, in future, you will make other arrangements for your car, either by garaging it, or by placing it on a parking station, if for a short .period only. The location of such parking stations can be obtained from any police officer in the city. “If this assurance is forthcoming, I shall on this occasion register a eaiition against you, and shall not institute proceedings. Your reply will oblige. ’ 5

FRANCIS BIRTLES TRYING ADVENTURES Francis Birtles who is motoring from London to Melbourne, has again been heard , from at Tammu (Upper Burma) close to the borders of Tibet, where he arrived on March 9 after an eight weeks journey from Calcutta. Motoring circles m England are thrilled at the information, which means that Birtles has crossed virgin country and mountains which, as far as is known, have not previously been crossed. No particulars have yet been received. He is travelling alone and is now on the road to Mandalay.

Birtles first enmo into prominence as a long-distance cyclist. His first adventure of the sort in Australia took place in mid-summer in 1907, when he started from Perth to Sydney on an attempt to reduce the record' between the two cities, hut chose to follow course through Laverton and Alice Springs in the centre of Australia, instead'of the regular coastal route on which lie was .preceded by two other tourists, R-. Lennie and A. Warren. Birtles encountered terrible drought conditions after leaving Laverton, Western Australia, and had a narrow escapefrom disaster as the country into which he penetrated was unsettled -and- practically unknown. After heart-breaking experiences he was compelled to abandon the attempt as hopeless. He made his way 120 miles into the Great Victorian Desert, which was in a terrible condition after two dry seasons, and. he had to retreat owing to lack, of water. He had nothing to drink ; his legs were cut and swollen. He had to push a bicycle which, with its load, weighed 1201 R, through sand sometimes up to the hubs, and had to fight hard an impulse to take off his clothes and abandon everything. Only twice in 240 miles did he find water, and one hole was full of ‘dead rabbits, while even dingoes were lying dead around dry water holes. He had to make his wav to a water soak 60 miles away, about 40 miles from Kurnalpi, and was followed during the whole of the terrible march by a dingo sli king through the scrub. At the water soak he obtained two quarts of water, and then rested for a day, obtained another two quarts, and on* that managed to make .his way to Kurnalpi. The temperature at that settlement was 110 degrees in the shade. The bicycle and tyres never gave him the slightest trouble during the journey through 1314 miles of country after leaving Perth, and including SCO miles which were trackless.

PARKING PROBLEMS. LONDON, March 23. , Difficulties associated with the parking of motor cars and garaging arc being largely solved by the erection of a four-storey building closo to Piccadilly, which wili cost £130,000 and be capable of accommodating 1000 cars. The flat roof of the building will also be available for use. Access to the different floors will be by runways or ramps —not lifts. There are, 16 theatres within half a' mile of the site of the, building. The amenities include, a club for chauffeurs.

ABOTJUT WHEELS. At an automobile shovir recently held hi New York (U.S.A.), 48 per cent.'of Hie cars had wood wheels, 42 per cent, wire wheels, and'JO percent, disc; 86 per cent, of the cars were closed and 14 per cent, open; 58 per cent, had internal brakes all round, 23 per cent, external brakes nil round, and the balance some sort of internal-external combination.

24-HOURS RECORD. Messrs. Norman Smith and E. Poole, driving a stock model Studebaker car, lowered the 24 hours’ record for Australia at Lake Perkolilli, W.A., on Wednesday, March 14. Starting at 3 o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, they covered 1,701.23 miles in 24 hours, an average speed of 70.8 m.p.h. The previous 24 hour record was 1607 miles; established by Messrs. A. Attwood and E. Collivcr on the same track,, on August 10th, 1027, with a Chrysler car.

SPEED CAUSES GREATER WEAR ON TYRES IN U.S. WASHINGTON, March 17. Automobile lyres do not give the mileage they did a few years ago, although the tyres are improved, the American Automobile Association reports.