MOTORING.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 699, 8 May 1916, Page 2

MOTORING.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. Mr I'. R. Harman, secretary of the Pioneer Motor Club, has received news from Mr 11. Stanley Osgood, of Dannevirke, to the effect that an informal meeting was held at Napier on April 22 with the idea of seeing what could be done to revive the Auto Cycle Union, which was formed about two years ago. The (dubs represented were:—Napier, Carterton, Manawatu, and Dannevrrke. Tt was decided unanimously to call a meeting of delegates (two from each club) interested in track racing to attend a conference to be held at Palmerston North on June 3. It was considered essential that a controlling body should be given power to govern future motor track racing in New Zealand. Mr Osgood asked for the Pioneer Motor Club to co-operate in reinstating this muchneeded union, and thereby prepare for next racing season. Mr Harman advised me that he. did not know how the Pioneer Club would act in the. matter, but a meeting would :o doubt be called at an early date to consider the question of cooperation. The Pioneer Club had previously circularised all the clubs in the Dominion with a view to forming a union or governing body, but the prop^sa l had fallen flat, and inview of this Mr Harman said he did not know whether the club would consider the matter. He personally thought the present time was not opportune for taking steps to organise a controlling body. While chatting with "a well-known motor cycle rejiresentative of this city recently, I was advised that the number of motor cycles sold in this city during the year 1916 far exceeded the" number sold in 1915. This fact seemed to be all the more extraordinary owing to such a large number of young men and other would-be motorists having gone to the front. There are very few car owners who could not decrease their running accounts considerably were they to take more thought for the morrow and realise that penny-wise is frequently pound-foolish. Probably because they do not know, they allow wastage to go on which they could easily prevent. Motoring cost may be classified under the following heads:—Tyres, fuel, depreciation, and maintenance, and these again are contributed to by the two principal causes—fair wear" and tear and unfair wear and tear. The former is unavoidable, but the. latter is not. Next to depreciation, the costs of tyre cuts are the highest of any connected with the ear, but as time goes on these will tend to decrease, owing to improvement in road surfaces and also to the improved methods of tyre construction which are coming into operation. It is

obvious that good driving alone can carry on the good influence which a properly made road surface exerts; but, in any case, it, is of the highest importance that the tyres used should be suitable to the weight and type of car which they have to carry. The best of roads will not prevent costly wear taking place when a car is under-tyred, and [this is undoubtedly one of Ihe most | potent and frequent causes of trouble. | Manufacturers of cars have acquired j the habit of selling chassis complete with tyres, and it is only natural, in order to make a good showing on figures, they should economise iu the i factor due to tyres. They are practically forced to supply tyres of some well-known make, and in consequence the only way they can save a pound or two is by cutting down the size. It would not matter if, say, a tyre costing £5 ran half the distance of one costing £11), for this, after all, wquld mean the same total cost in the end; but with twice the material the more expensive tyre will run considerably more than twice the distance. It. is thus better to over-tyre than to under-tyre, as the worst that the former can do is to slow Hie car down a little, and, perhaps, increase the fuel consumption. If one has small tyres to start with, one is practically bound to continue ■ with small tyres, or go to the expense of a fresh set of wheels. This means that the covers have always got to be jiumped uj) harder than they ought properly to be inflated for the best running effect on the tyre itself, so that not only is the cover subjected to more strain than it would be, but comfort is very greatly reduced, and, as a natural consequence, there is more vibration and generally wear and tear on the mechanism. The small tyre also, having less area of contact with the road surface, is very much more prone to skid, thus making it harder to pull the ear up in a reasonably short distance. Another point that has to be considered is the handling of the tyres. It is now pretty well established that a wire wheel is less heavy on tyres than one of the artillery pattern, the principal reason for this being the greater facility with which the metal spoke radiates the heat generated by road friction, so keeping the rubber cool; also it is equally certain that a detachable rim that does away with the use of tyre levers effects a great economy, inasmuch as in handling repairs of covers, replacement, etc., the walls are not subjected to the heavy strains usually imposed by levering them over a rim, and this is especially the case where the operator is not skilled in the art of removing tyres. Much harm can be done to tyres by inflating them to too high or too low a pressure, and this is a matter which any owner will find himself well repaid in looking after. Indifferent springing of a car tends to make a driver use a lower pressure than is good for economy's sake. Too high an iuflation is generally so uncomfortable as to be obvious. Use a gauge fre-

quently, and <*o by its reading; then if tlit* springing is at fault, have shock absorbers fitted. With the evolution of the single fixed gear motor cycle to the heavy threespeed side car machine have come certain difficulties and complications in the art of driving. With the previous machine, when a hill was encountered, tho throttle was opened wide, anil, beyond a certain amount of juggling with tho throttle and air levers and ignition control, the motor cyclist could only.trust that the machine would be able to surmount most of the gradient, the re mainder of the climb being, as often as not. carried out with a panting motor ; cyclist pushing alongside. The twospeed gear, with its great reduction from top to low, does not present many driving difficulties. The engine is kept going on the top as long as possible, owing to the fact that the speed when on low gear falls off so greatly. With a three-speed gear box, however, au entirely new set of complications arises, and to get the best results out of a machine, and especially a heavy side ear, the outfit must be driven, more or less, as one drives a car. In gear-changing one should not hold on to the top gear too long, or, in other words, until the speed has become very low. The middle gear has then to be I requisitioned, with the outfit hardly I moving, and consequently the reduction to middle gear is not great enough to 'allow the engine to pull the machine jup the gradient. The low gear has then :to be engaged far earlier than is [really necessary. Gear-changing is considerably simplified for the beginner ■ when a speedometer is fitted. On many machines it will be found that a speed of 2-5 to .'SO miles per hour can be [attained on middle gear without tho lengine racing or vibrating unduly. It stands to reason, therefore, that when on a gradient, with top gear engaged, there is no necessity to allow the machine to. labour on this Tatio, when, by changing down, the same speed can be attained. Almost the same argument applies to the low gears, although not exactly the same, owing to the fact that the low gear is a good deal lower in relation to the middle gear than the middle is to the top. Judging from an engineer's standpoint recently, a Sydney motorist found it difficult to see what was gained by submitting to the amazing mass of machinery under the bonnet of 12-cylinder cars. Some motorists are capable of maintaining an ordinary car in good running condition, and enjoy the work it entails. Would the same men feel at home in attempting to indicate which of the 24 valves and tappets was making more noise than its fellows, which one of the 12 plugs was not sparking properly. Possibly they would feel like the motorist in the cartoon, with tho bonnet removed from his 12-cylinder car and exclaiming, " I forget how many cylinders this car had, but I'm sure some are missing!'' TAPPET.