STEERING LOCK

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 34, 3 May 1927, Page 11

STEERING LOCK

INCREASING THE DIAMETER. THE GENERAL TENDENCY. There seems to be a general tendency lo increase the diameter of the circle in which a car of average sfze can be turned. In other words, the steering lock commonly provided ?s fast becoming inadequate. Thus there are quite small cars at present on the market which cannot be turned in a circle of less than 45ft in diameter, although there seems no real reason why, with a wheel-base of only 9ft or so. it should not he possible to turn a vehicle in a circle of 40ft diameter or less. This inadequacy of the steering loch is a serious matter because of the effect which it has in manoeuvring a car in confined spaces. For example, there i 3 many a narrow road to turn round in which should require only one reversal, hut if the steering lock is insufficient tv'o reversals and double the time and trouble will he found necessary. Again, in all large cities lack of space enforces a system of parking in which only the mininlum of space can he left between the bonnet of one car and the tail of the next. Getting into or out of a line of vehicles of this kind is rendered more than ordinarily difficult if the front wheels cannot he locked over through a sufficient angle. On secondary roads in hilly districts fairly acute hair-pin bends are quite frequently encountered. The negotiation of such bends is often a tricky matter ow’ing to their acuteness, and also because the width of the road is not very great. It is very troublesome, and may even he dangerous, on such roads, to drive a car the steering lock of which is sufficient to enable the hairpin bends to he not negotiated in one sweep. If the car cannot he got round the bend, the only thing to do is to reverse for a short distance * then proceed forward again, and this reversing process may well necessitate bringing the rear v’heels uncomfortably near to the edge of a steep declivity. It is a particularly dangerous proceeding, of course, if the road surface is in a loose or greasy condition. There are many reasons for the reduction in the angle through which the front wheels can he turned. The balloon tyre is partly responsible, because obviously the larger the section of the cover, the sooner will it approach closely to the frame, so limiting the angle through which the wheels can be alio\Ved to move. Front-wheel brakes are also partly to blame, because as a general rule there is a universal joint in the braking mechanism to the brake drum, which will not operate properly if set at too great an angle, and which so imposes a limit to the steering lock which can he provided. Not so obvious, perhaps, is the effect of decreasing the height of the frame, a practice which has been going on for some time in an endeavour to give cars the low-built appearance which is so fashionable. If the frame is brought closer to the road by the processes of dropping the front axle between the steering heads, flattening the front springs, and so on, the inner wheel, when locked over, will approach the side member more rapidly than would lie the case were a relatively high frame employed. Unduly large turning circles make cars less easy' to handle.

In patching the tube of the balloon tyre, do not make the patch too thick.. Tills type of tyre is balanced very carefully so as to prevent front wheel wobble or shimmy. The tube used actually is thinner than those used in the conventional cord. A patch, thus, makes more of a difference in the weight distribution. _