MOTOR AND CYCLE

Taranaki Daily News, 25 July 1929, Page 16

MOTOR AND CYCLE

PARKING PROBLEMS. MAMMOTH GARAGE SOLUTION? A LONDON LEAD. (By Gerald Ely. —Special to News.) London, June 6. Although the parking problem generally cannot yet be termed acute, the growing popularity of motoring must inevitably tend to make matters difficult in every important city as time goes on. The other day 1 inspected the second of two mammoth garages which have been constructed near Piccadilly Circus to ease the parking problems of those who bring their cars into the West End for business or for pleasure. Each ot these garages can accommodate about a thousand ears which can be parked and unparked with wonderful celerity by means of lifts, ramps and turntables. I have the tariff of the latest of these super-garages before me and I see that the charge for a “baby” car is Is for twelve hours and for light cars up to 12-h.p. it is Is for three hours, is Gd for six hours and 2s for twelve hours. During theatre hours there charges are slightly increased. Even a 3U-h.p. car is permitted to garage at a cost or 3s for twelve hours.

Now such charges are decidedly rea- ; sonable for the West End of London, especially as the owners of the cats have at their disposal in the garage such amenities as baths, retiring rooms, dressing rooms, a restaurant and even a theatre booking office. It is not to be expected that every town will in time have its mammoth garage upon the London scale, but 1 firmly believe that in the provision of these large centrally situated garages lies the true solution of the parking problem of the large cities. Why should, all the best central sites be snapped for for cinemas? The central garage of the future will probably have its cinema, as well as its car washing plant, its greasing and lubricating plant aud its service department. This development is almost certain to come and it is in the best interests of any town that it should, for the local authority will be relieved of the ungrateful task of finding more and more parking places and the motorist will have the satisfaction of knowing that his car is safe and sound under cover. PSYCHOLOGY AND THE CAR. From an American source conies the claim that car driving forms an interesting test of a person’s real character and that to sit in a car beside the driver is one of the best means of learning that driver’s disposition. If the claim is a sound one, Mr. Punch’s famous advice to those about to marry will have to be modified and young people contemplating matrimony will be well advised as a preliminary to study each other’s driving and the reactions of the driver to such things as heavy traffic, minor mishaps, breakdowns and running out of petrol on a deserted road. If a man drives his car well in heavy traffic he may be assumed to have good control over his nervous system; if he has a breakdown far away from mechanical help and yet rises cheerfully to the situation, or becomes involved in a minor accident for which he is not responsible and refrains from heated words he must obviously possess a good temper, while the possession of patience, or resolurcefulness or other good qualities will reveal themselves in a dozen other ways while motoring. It is even possible, apparently, to knoxv from the way a man drives the car whether the vehicle is his own property or whether it belongs to some one else. I can see the force in the other psychological assertions, but not in this one. I have never yet met a motorist who, trusted with the driving of a car which is not his own, does not take more care of it than he does with his own. Soon the American psychologists will ask us to believe that you can tell from the man's driving whether he has bought the car on the hire-purchase system or not.

As to the car-driving method of discovering whether a man is good tempered or not, I think the best test is to observe how he reacts to the hints on driving given to him by his back-seat passenger, or the desperate pressing of an imaginary foot-brake by the passenger sitting next to him, or the reading out aloud in a significant tone of all “Danger” signals by the self-same passenger. A CHAT ABOUT VALVES. MISCONCEPTIONS REMOVED. ADVANTAGES OF DIFFERENT TYPES (By “Autoscribe.”—Special to News.) Many peculiar ideas are held by motorists regarding the best and most efficient types of valves, and owners who are dissatisfied with the performance of a car sometimes blame the types of valves without justification. There is no more important section of an engine thftn that which allows the mixture ad-

tuii’Ulioit to (|(n I i|niu| o Hint ihe Io escape. Stiiiiuiliiieac- of |mi I'iii urn ih'« In a great exlent ilapeiida iljiHl* Illi’ e. x lull lb. I gUsea helllg al iilli’c iliopni anil fi uiil I .I**' evlin<lei''i, am) Ihe e-llit'ie-iii’y trill* wlili'b (ills opei'allull in peiTitimini Urprinhi upon the nrrutigciiii’iil--i ni Um valv* ,: *. Viiiiuii** arrangeiuoiiLi |>ol|i itl' pnppel n**<l nv<‘ihead valven liavo linen lile-il util, by manufaeturern, all tvlll* ** view of li**>lilig (he HiUfit. an I Irtfite I til’v l.vpe, but even to-il.'iy itianiil’aiT iii'era I li<’iiiMi‘l Veit are divide.! on llie. ipienllmi. I’ciTain basic facta aland out, liuwovei', a**'l it * M with thcan llial wo will deal in thin article. A knowledge of the inqiortance of correct valve opera!inn ht ii'ii'fiil to the moltx'ist in that, it, will make him keep thi.s section of bin car in as good order ns the body «*>*! ehnsaia. It is a well known fuel. that, valves are often neglected until running has become so unsatisfactory as to make repairs esscii-; tial. i I‘ol'l’ET VALVES. I Car speeds have increased rapidly during recent years, and with these increases improvements to valve functioning have become necessary. Poppet valves were the type originally fitted to car engines, but high speeds introduce difficulties on account of the rapidity with which the parts have to move. Unless poppet valves are well fitted, they are inclined to make a noise when the engine is running above a certain speed, a point which led to the popularity of the overhead types of valves. Recent research, however, has greatly improved the position of the poppet valve, and where these are constructed according to the most modern design it has been found that they will give a performance almost equal to that of overhead valves. If the poppet valves are not constructed on the most approved modern lines, there comes a point at which they commence to function erratically, and thereafter the engine, because it is not receiving the proper mixture, will not give a smooth performance. The same trouble will be noticed, of course, if poppet valves are allowed to get into disrepair or become heavily coated with carbon. They must be kept in good order. I THE COMING OF THE “SIX.” I I In both England and America, the six I cylindered car has sprung into popularI ity during the last few years, and the I tendency has been for cars to have six smaller and lighter cylinders in place of four large ones. This too, complicated valve performance, and designers found that overhead valves solved the trouble to a great extent. Many cars were hen fitted with the overhead type of valve, but about the same time, workers win had gone thoroughly into the operation of poppet valves, found a remedy for some of their weaknesses, and since then there has been a return to the poppet valve to some extent. ’lt has to be recognised by motorists, as it is by engineers, that both types have advantages and disadvantages. It has been I found, in connection with racing ear% i that the most efficient type of overhead valves were those which were placed at an angle 45 degrees to the axis of the 'cylinder. No poppet valves i have yet been produced which can equal i this type of valve in efficiency. I Several different' types of mechanu-in have been devised for working overhead valves, lightness being desirable. This is a feature of the valves in several of the present season’s models in which overhead valves are found. The reasen for the noisy operation of the valve driving mechanism on some of the older cars is that they have been incorre itly designed in the first place, and the moving parts are too heavy. THE SLEEVE VALVE. The sleeve valve is a special device fitted to only a limited number of cars. It gives absolute control of the niixyure and exhaust gases, because no springs are employed, and a large pai;t can be obtained. There are two types of sleeie valves, a double sleeve valve, and a single sleeve. In the double sleeve type two sleeves are fitted in the cylinufii barrel between this part and the pist-M, while in the single sleeve type, the sleex e opening traces an elliptical path, and in this way is made to govern both inlet and outlet ports. _ One of the great points in favour ot overhead valves, is their accessibility for inspection and repair. Those who haxe handled poppet valves, especially in older types of car where less care was taken to have these parts readily accessible, know that a good deal of skill was often needed to get the springs into their correct positions, this being especially the ease with big heavy cats, where solid springs were essential. It is well for the motorist to know that there have been x r ery definite improvements in the poppet type of valve, and that this is by no means out-of-date, as is sometimes alleged. There have been fluctuations towards bo ch types at different periods. At. the moment the overhead type is especially popular, but it may well be that. further alterations in design will bring the poppet type back into greater.popularity again. There is no such thing as the ultimate in car design. Thosfc who have owned ears for years know that minor improvements are for ever, being effected, and as speed and flexibility increase further, valves will I>® adjusted to meet the changing conditions. When one year’s model is compared with the model of the previous year very little diiference will be noticed, but who would suggest that any five year old model is as complete in detail as the cars now on the market? The imperceptible improx'ements made year by year as a result of knowledge gained through car perform-