MOTORDOM

Southland Times, Issue 20538, 14 July 1928, Page 4 (Supplement)

MOTORDOM

THE CLOSED CAR. TAKES PLACE OF THE TOURER. COMFORT PREVAILS. In the face of the supply of cheap and excellent saloons, the touring car is gradually being relegated to a secondary position in the standard range of almost every class of car. Designed as an open body that could be made to close up after a fashion, it has been given a long and fair trial in the hands of the motoring public, and it has been found wanting. In their time, all-weather equipment, i.e., rigid sidescreens that open with the doors, have proved a veritable boon. When they first became universal in 1923, they wrought a transformation in motoring for those who did their travelling in open cars. But, with very few exceptions, the best of such equipments are draughty. The side screens rattle if they are thoroughly rigid, and flap or gape open if they are not. Visibility when the car is shut up is poor, partly because the framing of the screen necessarily occupies a lot of what should be window space, partly owing to the fact that the material is difficult to clean compared with glass. Compared with the trim and self-con-tained saloon, the best of open cars nowadays looks slovenly once it has lost the bloom and freshness of its first youth. Already, if the truth must be faced, this type of body looks as old-fashioned as a last year’s frock. Once one has owned a modern saloon and become used to its neatness, with no loose bits to be tucked away or secured against rattle, there seems something unmodish about the best of touring cars; and since fashion has come to mean so much in motoring to-day, it is believed that this stigma will prove the final nail in the coffin of the open body as a standard model. There are still people whose. attraction to the saloon is unwilling; who, though drawn by the amazing degree of sheer comfort provided by the modern closed body, still hanker after the open type, and still deeply regret its demise. Thus it is to say, from the open car that could be closedafter a fashion—we are coming round to the closed car that can be opened. LONG DISTANCE RACING. As in former years, the 200-mile Sidecar Races at Brooklands produced results from which manufacturers can, is they desire, learn valuable lessons, and from which motor-cyclists will, undoubtedly, draw obvious conclusions. Most outstanding of all is the lesson, that reliability in racing is wedded to the small cylinder. The greatest reliability in proportion to speed was shown by the 350 c.c. machines —23 starters, 12 in the running at the finish. The 600 c.c. class, with 18 starters, produce four finishers, all of one make; and in the 1000 c.c. event, which only attracted six entries, three finished at a lower speed than the second man in the 600 c.c. race. Some of the best designing brains in the motor-cycle industry have for years past urged manufacturers to produce multicylinder engines. Car engineers have long since proved the small-cylinder engine the most reliable for racing, but year after year, big singles and big twins race with disappointing results. REFINEMENT IN HEAVY VEHICLES. For twenty years the typical lorry or large commercial chassis has been distinguished by a clumsy strength. The very word “lorry” conveys to the mind a heavy rumble and a clash and clatter that is entirely divorced from the smooth speed of the tourist car. But times, and traffic conditions, are changing. Up to three tons carrying capacity, the lorry or van of to-day is taking upon itself a sixcylinder engine, a chassis that is distinguished rateher by quality of material than by weight, and pneumatic tyres. The heavy, road-destroying vehicle of the past and present day is on its way to the scrap heap. The volume of traffic upon our streets and roads is largely responsible for the change toward speed and lightness. To be profitable, transport of the present day must be quick transport, and a six-cylinder engine permits of a speed in a mass of vehicles that permits of no controversy on the point. The lack of the necessity of constant gear changing, the presence of an exceedingly powerful acceleration, and the maintenance of a high average road speed in the 'open have made it possible to cut delivery time in half under almost any circumstances. DUTIES IN IRELAND. Motorists in the Irish Free State have as much reason to be dissatisfied with the proposals of their Minister of Finance as those in Great Britain have causq to grumble at Mr Churchill’s additional imposts. In introducing his Budget, Mr Blythe rejected the suggestion of a petrol tax on the ground that it could not be imposed without taking the lighting and heating oil of the poor. He, therefore, turned to tyres, and applied the McKenna duties to them, as well as to commercial vehicles, all classes of which have heretofore entered the Free State free of duty. British tyres, as well as those of American and Contniental origin, will come under the new duties, and the Irish motorist cannot escape the new impost. The new conditions of affairs will accentuate the Border difficulty—already one of the problems that is a trouble to the native motorist and tourist. With a petrol tax in operation in the six North-eastern counties and duty-free petrol in the rest of the country, every time a car crosses the border a declaration of the amount of fuel in its tank will have to be made. The good sense of the officials on the Northern Ireland frontier, however, may be relied upon. It is not “in the book/’ but it is their practice not to charge duty on dutiable articles that are declared if the duty amounts to less than a shilling. Three gallons of fuel will carry the biggest car to a filling station. SWITCHBOARD HINT. On some electric switchboards a pair of sockets is provided into which the leads for a spot lamp, facia-board lamp or similar accessory may be plugged. The sockets are usually in a rather exposed position, and it is important to keep dirt out of them, or imperfect contact, may result when the plug is inserted. W r hen the facia board is cleaned .with any polishing compound the sockets should subsequently be cleaned out with a small piece of rag. SPEED CAUSES STRAIN. The strain on a car increases in geometrical progression as the speed increases in arithmetical progression. In other words, the strain of driving a car at 40 miles an hour is four times the strain on the machine at 20 miles an hour, and at 80 miles an hour the strain • is' 16 times as great as at 20 miles an hour.

THAT FIRST “ 500” ADVICE TO NEW OWNERS. There is no period in the life of a car more important than its first 500 miles. Upon the treatment it receives in this, the beginning of its career, depends its whole performance throughout its life. A car that is over-driven when new may be irrevocably damaged so that its performance is always below normal. The novice should remember that the new car must be treated gently. As a rule it is not desirable to exceed 20, or at most 25 m.p.h., until several hundred miles have been covered. The reason for this is that, if a car is driven at modest speeds and too much is not asked of the engine during its “running-in” period, a gentle rubbing between the parts in contact, such as the crankshaft bearings and between pistons and the cylinders gradually forms a hard wear-proof surface. A high polish is thus produced which is remarkably durable. If, however, a new engine is driven too fast the surfaces of the bearings may here and there stick to the crankshaft, with the result that particles of the bearing metal may be torn up from one point and be pressed on to another, so that the crankshaft, instead of being supported over a large surface, is only carried on a number of points on the bearing metal. Another point is that the skin, or surface, of the bearings may run just sufficient to provide too much clearance, with the result that the engine is thereafter noisy in its running. Aluminium pistons are now fitted to most engines, and where a power unit so equipped is “raced” when cold or new the aluminium may burr over the piston rings and they will no longer work freely and oil consumption will be heavy. CHASSIS ALSO. What applies to the engine may be said to be equally applicable to the whole chassis. By treating a car gently when it is new all moving parts in the gearbox, back axle, shackle pins and so on are allowed to bed themselves in and to make themselves comfortable quite gradually. Once the parts are properly fitted in relation to one another, no trouble should be experienced and the car will then be running at its best. Indeed, provided it receives adequate and regular lubrication, the average car which has covered some 3,000 miles or even more, is going very much better than a new car. SPEED-REDUCING WASHERS. Some manufacturers, however, have not sufficient confidence in the powers of restraint of motorists, and several popular cars are fitted when new with sealed speedreducing washers in the carburetter, which prevent the full power of the engine being utilized. This washer, after the first 500 miles, is removed by a service agent of the make of car to which it is fitted. Those who have not previously driven cars with such speed-reducing washers installed should remember that their acceleration is very limited, and should therefore not rely too much on acceleration for getting out of traffic difficulties while the washer is in position. THE HAND BRAKE. AN ILL-USED CONTROL. In these days when even the cheapest cars are fitted with four-wheel brakes as standard equipment, many motorists are inclined to rely entirely on the foot-brake. When driving in traffic, where smart acceleration and efficient braking are essential, there is no time to reach for the hand-brake each time the car in front abruptly stops, and in consequence the foot-brake is very roughly used by far too many motorists. Too many drivers follow just on the tail of the car in front, and are compelled to push the foot-brake to the floor-boards to avert a collision, each time the other car stops. If motorists were to allow a little more space between cars, they would have time to use the hand-brake in conjunction with the footbrake, instead of disregarding the one and overtaxing the other. The average driver finds difficulty in starting off on a steep hill. He usually jams down clutch and foot-brake, engages low, races the engines with the hand control and lets both pedals come up with a rush. This bad habit is created by the presence of the hand-throttle. In the absence of this auxiliary control, the driver is compelled to operate the accelerator with the brake-foot and to brake with the hand lever. The necessity produces a skill in uphill starting which cannot be attained by footbraking. When coasting down long.grades the average motorist releases the accelerator, slips into neutral and checks the whole weight and momentum of the car with the much overloaded foot-brake, instead of pulling the hand-brake back a couple of notches to compensate somewhat for the excessive use the former gets in traffic. Even on steep slopes very few motorists use the hand-brake, although they may change down into second, and use the engine in conjunction with the foot-brake. The disregard for such a useful brake is probably explained by the fact that many motorists look upon the hand-brake merely as an apparatus for holding the car stationary. The average owner-driver, on coming into his garage, applies the hand-brake tight and leaves it on. Thus the coil-springs controlled by the lever are stretched to their fullest extent for perhaps twelve or fourteen hours, an occurrence which must obviously effect even the best springs in time. Yet when a motorist leaves a car weighing perhaps a couple of tons on a steep incline, he would be astonished if he returned to find it had run down the hill and would believe that it had been tampered with. He either disregards or is ignorant of the misuse of the hand-brake which has eventually told in the sudden breaking of an over-taxed rod or spring. PREVENTING RUST. Metal parts beneath the bonnet and fenders are prevented from rusting by painting with black enamel. Clean the parts well with a wire brush and apply the enamel with a stiff varnish brush. Parts that may be enamelled to advantage include steel fan blades, pulley arms, brackets and elbows, nuts that are not often disturbed, exposed pieces of shafting, operating rods, etc. Even a cylinder casting may be so treated, as a good enamel will stand heat without blistering. For blackening the radiator core if the finish has become tarnished or streaky, use a solution of ordinary lamp black and turpentine (one pint to 2oz of lamp-black.) TRIAL FOR SCHOOL BOYS. A motor-cycle reliability for “schoolboys only” was recently staged under the auspices of “The Motor Cycle” in England. The trial was a great success and proved the “road eense” and alertness of the modern youth, and above all, the reliability and ease of control of the modern motor-cycle.

TYRE INFLATION. Proper inflation, although highly disregarded by some motorists, is gradually sinking into the consciousness of many since it is the first principle that the average car owner learns in regard to tyres. A few years ago when high pressure tyres were in vogue it was not as necessary to keep inflation up to a certain point since a casing inflated to 60 pounds pressure could drop 6 pounds and the loss would be but 10 per cent. Tyres were less flexible and, in general, built of many plies of fabric. But the balloon tyre must be very flexible to give the usual riding comfort demanded by the car-owning public and carries much less pressure. A loss of six pounds pressure in a balloon tyre designed to carry but 30 pounds means a loss of 20 per cent, in inflation. In the first instance the effect was negligible. In the second instance it is much more serious. By actual test, two sets of tyres, one run at recommended inflation and the other six pounds under-inflated, showed a difference in mileage of 25 per cent. Under-inflation permits the casing to flatten out, causing more road friction and wearing the tread rubber over a wider area. But, more serious than this, too low pressure may break the body or carcass of the tyre by the resultant excessive strain on the cotton strands or cords. This is especially true if the tyre should hit a piece of sharp rock or any other road obstacle. And high average speeds accentuate this condition. If such an object is run over by the underinflated casing, there is not enough air to absorb the terrific strain in the tyre. The cords are broken and either the tyre is ruined or hundreds of miles are cut off its life. It is highly important that inflation be maintained at measures recommended by manufacturers or dealers. Some car owners, to “play it safe,” carry higher air pressures than recommended by tyre dealers ior manufacturers. This is not so wise las it seems because over-inflation has a ■ wearing effect on balloon tyres. Cars so shod have a tendency to weave on the road, bouncing continually because the casing is too hard to absorb the road inequalities. This bouncing causes abrasive action and rapid tread wear as the tyres leave the ground, take hold again and grind off the rubber. Actual tests have demonstrated that a tyre over-inflated 10 pounds will wear out after having delivered but half the mileage it would give if properly inflated. CARE OF EQUIPMENT. It is to be feared that many motorists who give conscientious attention to the lubrication of the engine and chassis neglect entirely the equipment in the tool-box. When a jack is wanted it is wanted badly, and if the tool is dry and rusty an ordinarily unpleasant job may well become much worse. Friction absorbs a great amount of the energy used in lifting a car, and to make sure that this amount is as small as possible the jack should be kept well oiled, particularly the screw thread and the underside of the rotating nut. The tyre pump also should be looked after. . An occasional drop of oil in the barrel will lengthen the life of the cup leather and promote greater pumping efficiency. THE CHANGING SCENE. LIFE OF TO-MORROW. AMERICAN WAR ACE’S PREDICTION. Fifty million automobiles in the United States, transcontinental highways 400 ft wide, on which motorists will be compelled by law to go at least seventy-five miles <n hour; plentiful and convenient garages ten, fifteen, and twenty stories tall; transoceanic air lines; weekend trips from New York to California and communication by television between a town in the West and New York, Paris or London—such are not the romantic imaginings of Jules Verne but the considered predictions of Captain E. V. Rickenbacker, American war ace automobilist. He said that the wonders he described would be realities “not later than 1950,” and he added that he did not base his prophecy on dreams, but on his “actual experience with transportation of all kinds in the last twenty-six years.” Launching into his vision of the future, Captain Rickenbacker said:— “You are going to have super-highways crossing this whole United States of America, highways not 100 ft wide, but 400 ft wide. The great cities are not going to demand that these highways be diverted through their communities, they are going to be linked up with them by highways of their own. “The day will come when you will go down one of these highways at seventyfive, eighty, or eighty-five miles an hour, and if you don’t travel seventy miles an hour you won’t be able to stay on the highways. You will be pushed off by the traffic cops. “It isn’t twenty-five years away when the aircraft industry will be one of the biggest in the world. In five years’ time Los Angeles will only be fifteen or twenty hours from New York City. It is only thirty hours to-day. The aeroplanes of to-day are mere kites in comparison with those of to-morrow.” DIRTY MECHANICS. : A POINT FOR GARAGES. Says the last issue of the “Radiator.” Now that the closed car is becoming the popular model, it is customary for the- interiors to be upholstered in cloth which is often of a delicate shade. This has increased the difficulty of the garage proprietor in keeping such interiors clean, when repairs make it necessary for a mechanic to get inside the car. The result of a mechanic with dirty overalls getting into such a car is disastrous, and it is necessary that garage proprietors prevent this. At a recent meeting of the M.T.A. council a complaint on this particular subject was received from the Wellington Automobile Club, and feeling that the complaint of motorists was in many cases justified, councillors agreed to have the matter brought before the notice of members of the association. It is most exasperating for a motorist who has a nice car and is particular about its appearance, to find that after it has been in a garage for repairs or adjustments, greasy marks have been left on the upholstery, the wheel, or parts of the body. The annoyance is intensified if the motorist is a lady in a light frock, and it must be apparent to every motor trader that he must take steps to remove this complaint if he expects to remain in business. The man with the clean garage and courteous attendants is going to get a larger share of the trade than ever before, and it behoves every motor trader to get into line.

Motorists are always experiencing a varied tyre performance, irrespective of the make or size of tyres used. Tyres which would give wonderful service under careful attention, will give only about half the mileage when neglected and carelessly used. This is not the result of any variation in the quality or construction of the tyre, but of a change in driving conditions and in the way a car is operated. Take one type of driver for example; suppose one has a car with tyres quite large enough to carry the load. He keeps his tyres correctly inflated, testing them with his tyre gauge at regular intervals. Although it is claimed for the car he owns that it will accelerate from 5 to 30 miles an hour in a given distance or in a number of seconds, he does not try to prove it every time he starts. While he knows his car is speedy, he drives it at a normal rate —probably from 25 to 30 miles per hour —instead of travelling at from 35 to 45 miles an hour. The salesman who sold him the car may have demonstrated that the car could take turns at very fast speed, but he does not take advantage of this fact, and is content to drive with common sense. This same driver who represents the conservative class, realizes that he is not in a race every time he gets amongst other cars. Consequently he is not jamming his foot hard down on the accelerator one moment, and on his brakes the next. He likes his four-wheel brakes, but he does not try to show off their efficiency, by dashing up to other vehicles or cross streets and suddenly applying these powerful brakes simply to give his friends a thrill. He knows his brakes are always there for an emergency and does not use them to the full limit of their effectiveness every time he stops. This driver may be classed as unusually conservative. Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly a fact that such drivers will receive long and satisfactory mileage from their tyres and also longer life for their cars. Now take the opposite case—the careless and reckless driver. To start w’ith, he neglects to check the air pressure in his tyres and is very careless about inflating them. At one time they are over-inflated and at another time they are badly under-inflated. The tyres on his car are rather small for the load which adds to his troubles. His car being very fast, he revels in constantly driving it at a high rate of speed on the open road, and keeps going at top speed right up to the second that he wishes to stop and then uses his four-wheel brakes to the limit and pulls up with a jerk. He also drives a great deal on city streets, where his sudden stopping and starting dozens of times a day. grinds off the tread rubber, and his fast driving over hilly country’, means much spinning and side slipping of the rear tyres which further wears off the tread. This way of driving a car points clearly to the fact that this individual will only get a fraction of the mileage out of his tyres that the conservative motorist obtains from his. Such factors as four-wheel brakes, more powerful motors and faster cars all have a tendency to shorten the mileage of tyres used by speedy, reckless drivers, while the conservative driver will not experience any great change. Consequently one will observe a great variation in tyre performance especially on rear wheels. In one case a pair of rear tyres of the finest quality will be worn to the breaker strip in 3,000 or 4,000 miles. In another case these same tyres will give 10,000 or 12,000 miles of satisfactory service. Tests have shown that a wide variation is due to the foregoing factors, and observation of numerous tyres in actual service proves that the same variation exists in every make of tyre. There is hardly any article in general use to-day that gets more abuse or that is more responsive to proper treatment than the automobile tyre. Even’ year literally millions of miles of tyre service are lost through failure on the part of car owners to take proper care of their tyres. Once the causes and effects of various tyre abuses are understood, the care of tyres is so simple that there really is no excuse for not getting out of them all the service the manufacturers have built into them. IN AN EMERGENCY. Should all the brakes of a car fail while descending a steep hill, the driver should at once change down to as low a gear as he possibly can. before the car gathers any undue degree of speed. It is obviously desirable to get, if possible, into bottom gear. Having got into a lower gear, the motor-i-t should switch off the ignition and open j the throttle as widely’ as possible. This has the following effect: The engine sucks in gas which, however, is not exploded, as the ignition is switched off, and in consequence, the engine is working as a compressed air brake. This is a wasteful practice from the point of view of fuel consumption, but most useful in an emergency. NON-SHALTERABLE GLASS WITHSTANDS SEVERE TEST An interesting experiment, and one of special interest to motorists, was made out at Hartford City, Ind., lately, says an American exchange. Laminated (unshatterthe glass was broken revealed that while ! the demonstration was made. A brick weighing two pounds, was hurled by a baseball player from a distance of 10ft. A close inspection made immediately after the glass was broken revealed that while both plates of the laminated glass had been badly shattered, there was none of the broken particles on the inside of the car. A passenger could have been in the car when the test was made without receiving any cuts from flying glass. OVERSEAS TRADE. During the four months of the present year that have elapsed the exports of British cars and parts have shown a decrease as compared with the corresponding period of the two previous years. The retained imports also have shown a falling off, though the excess of exports over imports retained has been more than maintained. The total volume of the trade, i.e., the sum of the gross imports and exports, has also declined in value, at any rate, as compared with that of the two previous years. Details, compiled from the official trade and navigation returns, are appended:— Four Months ended Apr. 30. 1926 1927 1928 £ £ £ Imports of foreign cars, etc 2,216.294 2,691,105 2,032,857 Re-exports 150,278 101,655 197,740 Retained imports 2,066,016 2,589,450 1,835,117 Exports . 2,445,172 2,841,537 2,096,357 Excess of exports 379,156 252,087 261,240 Total volume of overseas trade . 4,661,466 5,532,642 4,129,214 POLISH FOR ALUMINIUM. Small aluminium parts, and even large body panels of this metal may be polished and given a good finish with eucalyptus. The following mixture will be found easy to work, and will produce a finely polished surface with little exertion. Mix a teaspoonful of powdered whiting with six teaspoonfuls of metal polish and two of eucalyptus. Shake the mixture thoroughly before using, and add more eucalyptus if necessary to keep the solid matter in solution. Apply the polish over a small area in the usual manner, and polish off with a soft rag. If the metal to be cleaned is tarnished, or if the surface is scratched, the amount of whiting added to the polish may be increased.