Novice and the Car

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 842, 10 December 1929, Page 6

Novice and the Car

| some elementary hints j j on driving for those who are [ just learning. BEGINNERS’ QUESTIONS Take some typical examples of questions asked by beginners. Ought the ignition to be switched off when a car is going downhill, leaving the engine turning by process of the car overrunning it, the clutch being kept in engagement? In the early days of motoring, when design was nothing like so scientific as it is now, one of the means of endeavouring to economise petrol was to switcli off the ignition every time the car was on a downgrade—a tedious method of progression. In the interval engine efficiency has been greatly increased, with corresponding economy in the matter of fuel burned. Brakes, too, have been improved in efficiency, to an extent which renders it unnecessary to use as a brake the engine with the ignition off. Inasmuch as the running of an engine with the ignition switched off, using the momentum of the car, generally results in the accumulation of lubricating oil where it ought not to be, as well as in the accumulation of a certain amount of moisture in the cylinders, it is an inadvisable practice, fouling the engine and causing gradual loss of efficiency. The cost of decarbonising is not saved in any economy of petrol at current prices. In the old days the practice was indulged in also with a view to cooling the engine by passing cold air through its system. TYRE THAT EXPLODED The need for care in inflating worn tyres was illustrated at a local garage on Sunday, when a tyre exploded under a pressure of something like 50 or 60 pounds. The driver of the car had inflated the tyre at the free air pump, and was kicking it into place on his spare wheel carrier when it exploded with terric force, throwing him across the garage, and inflicting such serious injuries to his foot that he had to be taken to the hospital.