MOTORING

Taranaki Daily News, 28 January 1933, Page 3 (Supplement)

MOTORING

OLD IDEAS STILL IN USE MODERN CAR AND PROGRESS. EARLY MAKERS’ INFLUENCE. Reviewing the astounding progress made in motor-car design during the last decade, one is prone to think that, in the latest models of 1933, nothing can remain of the design of 1913. This view is however, contrary to the facts of the matter, and to illustrate the point—and in doing so prove that in many instances the manufacturers of 20 years ago designed in a manner on which it has been found impossible to improve—the following instances where the ideas of 1913 are still in vogue to-day can be quoted:— The differential on the rear axle, which allows the outside wheel to run at a faster speed than the inside wheel when cornering. Although experiments have been made with front-wheel-drive cars, some ■of • which are sold as standard models by a few English and American firms, the differential of 1913 is,, with 'the exception of minor modifications, the same as that used in the 1913 models. Road springs and general suspension. Although endeavours have been made by numerous firms to provide a satisfactory system of independent wheel springing, these remain practically the same as in 1913.

Thermo-syphon cooling of the engine. Popular in 1913, this is rapidly regaining favour, and no substitute can be found for the familiar fan. Wire wheels, although they met with severe competition from the disc and artillery type for many seasons, are in greater use this year then in 1913. Wheel bearings of the Timken taper type are more popular than ever, and are used to-day by many railroad companies in England and America for passenger coaches and locomotives.

Four wheel brakes are not new. The writer recently inspected an old 1912 Argzle car so equipped, in a Taranaki garage, and except that they were of smaller diameter than those at present used, they, appeared to be very similar in design to . those in present day use. To those instances could be added many ' others, but these should be sufficient to show that many of the older manufacturers were far-sighted men, and clever. It is interesting to note that many of the so-called new ideas such as four-wheel brakes, four-speed gears etc. are of English origin, and that then, as now, England led the world in mechanical design. CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS. RESTRAINT THROWN OFF. Part, of the blame for the high traffic death rate in rural areas as compared with that of cities is attributed to “ffie habit too many motorists have of leaving care and caution behind them at the city limits,” according to the findings of a survey in the United States of America by a committee of the National Safety Council. .. It is pointed out that there were 30.6 traffic deaths per 100,000 population m rural districts last year, contrasted with 22.5 in urban areas. “Many drivers have slack and wild driving habits or dangerous traffic complexes,” says the report. “When they get out upon the open highway they release all pent up desires to exercise complete freedom of movement. “That such drivers ufcon reaching a good highway feel free to express themselves by wild or inattentive driving seems to be borne out by the fact that 37 per cent, of the mishaps on rural highways involve only one driver who either drives off the road, turns over, or runs into some fixed object. In urban areas this type of casualty amounts to orily 9 per cent, of the total —one-quarter as great a proportion.” Fatigue and failure to be elert are also common causes of rural highway accidents, according to the report. The steady drone of a motor on a straight, smooth highway hour after hour tends to induce sleep. Drivers aro advised against attempting long cross-country trips alone. ■' ~ , Certain physical features of highway design contribute greatly to the hazards of rural driving. These, acording to the report, are curves and hilltops with inadequate sight distances, long steep grades, blind comers, “death curves, narrow roads and bridges, grade crossings, high crowns, roads without shoulders and the like. Other important factors are the increased use of buses and trucks on rural highways, the lack of sufficient artificial lighting, the lack of sidewalks or paths for pedestrians, and the lack of uniformity in signs and signals.. The report blames the “Sunday driver as much as the speeder for those accidents which occur solely because of the traffic volume on week-ends and holidays. Most motorists, says the report, when operating under any given set of driving conditions, will drive within five miles an hour of the average speed. The few who drive much slower or much faster than’ this general pace are those who cause passing and overtaking accidents. The large number of cars moving at normal speed are forced to pass the slow driver; the fast driver must use excessive speed to pass the traffic moving at a normal pace. BUILT-IN JACKS. CONTINENTAL POPULARITY. The built-in jacking system has been successfully developed in France, where many of the expensive cars and heavy commercial motor vehicles are now equipped with automatic hydraulic jacks! On heavy vehicles twin jacks are fitted' at each side of the rear of the vehicle, and beneath the back axle, while single jacks are used in front. The jacks, when needed, are actuated by a small motor-driven pump, the power being, derived from the suction of the power unit of the vehicle. • The valve mechanism of the vacuum cylinders is extremely simple. Oil pipe lines between the pump and the packs are controlled from the instrument board, and oil is directed to either back or front as desired. The mechanism can be locked by a key, and if needed the vehicle can be raised and left standing on the jacks. The jacks, are telescopic, and each is provided with powerful springs for returning the rams to normal position after use. With this equipment a 2J-ton motor truck can be lifted in two minutes without any effort on the part of the driver, a five-ton truck in four minutes, and a 12-ton vehicle in six minutes.

USE OF THE MOTOR HORN SOUND INSTEAD OF SENSE. COURTESIES OF THE ROAD. (By Our Own Correspondent.) London, November 24. The other day I heard a motorist complaining somewhat bitterly against the makers of his electrical equipment because he alleged they had nearly been the means of involving him in a serious accident. It appears that a woman took it into her head to cross the road just about the time he himself wanted to pass along the particular section occupied by her. As he got nearer he pushed his horn button but no sound resulted, and according to his story he had to apply his brakes so suddenly that his front seat companion nearly put his head through the windscreen. His complaint against the makers of the electrical horn may be justified in the sense that it is always an awkward business when a motor horn fails to function and there is no emergency horn in the car. But to lay at the door of the makers a charge of potential manslaughter because their horn failed to emit the customary warning when the car was almost upon the woman is a bit “steep.” It does not seem to have occurred to the complainant that he had no business to place himself in a position whereby the absence of 100 per cent, efficiency in his brakes might have led to the woman being knocked down. Obviously he is one of those people who use their horns in driving instead of their heads. The clan is unfortunately a numerous one and its numbers give rise to at least some of the justification of the charge of road-hogging. When a motorist sounds his horn the signal is not supposed to mean just “Get out of. my way.” That is the road-hog’s version. The ordinary courteous driver conveys something quite different when he sounds his horn. What the sound means in effect is “I should like .to pass if I may, and I am slowing down, to give you reasonable time to cross the -road. I am sounding my horn in case yotv.have not seen me.” Admittedly this is a‘-mouth-ful, as the Americans would say, but the horn abbreviates it effectively often musically. CONTROLLING A CAR. In point of fact the horn is used far too often as it is, by drivers whose concention of controlling a car embraces only two motions, (a) pushing the horn button and (b) pushing the foot brake pedal. In both cases the 'pushing is usually violent. Possibly this horn-com-plex is due to the importance attached by the authorities to horn-blowing. Almost the first question the driver is asked in an accident inquiry is, “Did you sound your horn?” This; it seems to me, is the wrong way to approach the inquiry. Sounding a horn does not help in a case of sudden emergence of a pedestrian in front of one’s car. The only hope lies in effective braking or, in that last, perilous resort, the sudden swerve.

In certain circumstances sounding a horn may be definitely harmful. A nervous pedestrian may be made to jump suddenly away from the car in the direction of another vehicle, and be knocked down. In the matter of horn sounding it will be seen, therefore, that common sense must sometimes over-rule the common law. The law lays down that you must give warning of your approach, but it does not expect you to stick to the strict letter of the enactment You are supposed to use you discretion and your common sense. Otherwise anybody in a car could run amok on a public highway, knock down a score of people in turn arid get away with it by pleading that the horn had been duly sounded before each victim was knocked down. Then there is the matter of signalling to the car in front that you wish to overtake. Is it really necessary to sound the horn upon every occasion? My own view is that it is not, especially if one wants to pass slow traffic. Chauffeurs and other experts have a trick of getting a car to make way for them on a narrow road by driving up as closely as is safe and suddenly sounding their horn loudly. Almost unconsciously the driver of the vehicle in front swerves to the left and the swerve gives the other driver the opportunity to slip by with safety to himself. SELFISH PROCEDURE. This seems to me a selfish kind of procedure and one that might be definitely dangerous if there is a nervous driver at the 'wheel and a ditch at the side of the road. If the road is too narrow to make passing a matter of safety for both parties it is necessary to have a little patience and wait for a better opportunity as the road widens. If the road is wide enough to permit of passing but the car in- front is taking up more than its share of the road the proper thing to do is to give the driver ahead plenty of time to move to his side by sounding the horn well in advance. If the road is sufficiently wide to pass safely and the car in front is keeping well to its own side, it is unnecesssary always to give warning of your approach. There is too much noise of one kind or another in this modem world, and anything that can be safely done to reduce it is to be welcomed. Much horn-sounding can become an intolerable nuisance not only in towns but also in the country. If horn-blowing can be avoided without imperilling anyone such a course is certainly desirable. But this, again, is a matter of common sense. I should dislike intensely being quoted by anyone who, having failed to use the horn when he ought to have done so, gets into trouble. My justification in such a case would be that the person concerned had not only failed to use his horn but his brains. As regards overtaking, it must be remembered that every motor vehicle is now required by law to fit a driving mirror. There are two sides to this overtaking business. It is not only a case of passing the car in front safely. Care must also be taken to ensure that in pulling out to pass following traffic is not endangered. If you think it better not to sound you horn to warn the man in front of you that you intend to pass it is necessary to see as you pull out that nobody behind it likely to run into you. A sudden hand signal is not enough. The correct thing to do is to look into the driving mirror and ascertain the position of following traffic, if arty. ROYAL AIR FORCE FUEL. CHANGE CONTEMPLATED. London, ’December 15. According to information received from the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, Limited," changes contemplated in composition of the fuel burned in the engines of British military aircraft will result in an immediate advance in the speed and climb of the majority of aeroplanes in the Royal. Air Force. Increased power, amounting in the aggregate to

tens of thousands of horsepower, will become available for use if the changes be officially authorised, and at the same time more even and more economical running will be secured. In consequence British military aeroplanes will largely increase the lead in all facets of flying performance which they already possess over the best aircraft designed and built abroad.

In technical language, the "octane number” of the fuel will be increased. This figure is a measure, among other things, of the “anti-knock” properties of a fuel. High octane number indicates fuel which will not detonate (or as. the motorist says “knock”) readily even when burnt under high compression in the cylinders, and high compression makes for increased power and economy. At present the R.A.F. uses fuel having ar. octane number of 76, which is slightly lower than that of fuel which can be purchased at the wayside in Great Britain for use in motor-cars. Directly the new fuel comes into use, engines of the kind fitted to many miliitary • fighters and bombing craft nowadays will be able to make use at heights near sea-level of no less than approximately 250 additional horsepower, with resultant big increases in speed and rate of climb. Probably nothing more than introduction of the new fuel is needed to bring the speed somewhere near 250 miles an hour with full military load on board. Three years ago certain squadrons made intensive tests of a fuel in which the octane number was raised by adding minute quantity of tetra-ethyl lead. Increased power and performance and more even running were obtained, but the augmented stresses on the working parts caused trouble, particularly with valves and valve seatings. But now these difficulties have been surmounted and there is no serious bar to the adoption of the more efficient fuels. The procedure which will probably be followed will be to allocate the new fuel for use in recently-developed ’types of power unit as they come into service. Few people except technicans realise the extent to which power produced in an internal-combustion engine can be augmented by simply changing the fuel, When Flight Lieut., Stainforth raised the world’s speed record to 407.5 miles an hour fifteen months ago, the Rolls-Royce racing motor in his S6B monoplane delivered no less than 2560 h.p., or nearly 300 h.p. more than the power developed by an exactly similar engine during the Schneider Trophy contest a week or so earlier. The only alteration made was to change the fuel to a special racing mixture. Such an example explains why experts are convinced that a raising of the octane number, making immediately possible increase of the compression ratio in the cylinders from, about 6 to 8 to 1, would be a most valuable technical move on the part of the Air Ministry. It would also Enable British engines to be re-rated, at higher power outputs; recently foreign engines-, burning fuel of higher octane number thap has been current in Great Britain have gained in popular favour because of their impressive power ratings. A LIGHT METAL. beryllium research. PROBLEM OF BRITTLENESS. It requires but little imagination to visualise the revolution which might be wrought in motor-car construction were a metal to become available which is much lighter than ordinary aluminium alloys and which will probably prove to be twice as strong (states The Motor). Such are believed to be the properties of Beryllium—a metal which has been known to scientists for at least 100 years but has never yet "been employed commercially, owing to its intractable nature. In the first place, there is considerable difficulty in extracting Beryllium from the alloys in which it is found in nature, and when this has been dore, and,a metal of reasonable purity is obtained, its mechanical. properties have up to now proved disappointing, owing to its excessive hardness and brittleness. Even when impurities are reduced to a proportion of about 0.2 per cent, these objectionable features remain. , , ~ Nevertheless, it has long been the opinion of so eminent an authority. as Dr. Rosenhain—a metallurgist of international repute—that could a sufficiently high state of purity be attained the metal would show extremely valuable properties, and would lose the brittleness which characterises the impure product. These anticipations, coupled with the extreme lightness of the metal—the density is abput twothirds that of aluminium—have naturally led to considerable concentration upon research work. ELIMINATING IMPURITIES. Some of the results recently obtained were made public before the Institute of Metals not long ago in a paper prepared by Mr. H. A. Sloman, M.A., who is an assistant in the Department of Metallurgy at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington. This really carries on the work undertaken by Dr. Vivian a few years ago in which a process was evolved for the production of Beryllium with a degree.of purity of 99 5 per cent. As already noted, however, the intractable qualities of the metal persisted even when impurities were reduced to a mere fraction, and Mr. Sloman’s work was directed toward finding a cause for this rattier remarkable characteristic. All the most modem means of metallurgical investigation were employed in endeavouring to solve the problem, and it was concluded that not one of :the impurities which remained, such as iron, sfiicon, carbon, etc., could be held to account for the brittleness of the mat£Now it is a well-known fqct that metals have a granular nature and that their properties are, to a considerable degree dependent upon the nature of the boundaries between the individual grains, or crystal groups. Bearing tliis in mind, Mr. Sloman directed his investigations toward examining microscopically the structure of the metal, and came to the conclusion that its brittleness is due to what is called a eutectic combination of Beryllium and Beryllium oxide separating each grain from its neighbour. Having established this interesting noint research work was directed toward attempts to remove the oxygen, and although, so far, progress is slow, the investigator believes that m due course, the problem will be solved. Even then it will, of course, be necessary to undertake still further research work before the bigger problem of the industrial production of ductile Beryllium is solved. It is understood that Beryl ores and other sources of Beryllium are available in Canada and elsewhere in the Empire. - RADIO SERVICE. AID TO THE DRIVER. DISPELLER OF SLEEP. The radio, which lately has enhanced the motor-car’s inner harmony and, at the same time, proved a valuable aid in apprehending criminals, recently' had

to answer a question concerning the advisability of its use (states^a waiter in the New York Times). The question was whether the sound of a radio in a car tended to cause accidents (presumably by distracting or confusing the driver). The answer, relayed, by the Heinl News Service from Harold A. Lafoimt of the Federal Radio Commission, is to the effect. that, far from doing any - such thing, the automobile radio is “a decided advantage” : to driver and occupants on a long and; monotonous trip. Furthermore, it not . only , makes driving more enjoyable, but . effectively dispels that drowsiness induced in the operator by mile upon wearyiqg mile of unbroken rolling. In that respect, be it noted in passing, it is ;much like the neighbour’s radio; it keeps ; Jum ; It is interesting to note, , tod,, that radio has proved of considerable service in broadcasting the., gospel of safety on the highways. ,In a communication to the Radio Commission the American Automobile Assocdation. through its executive vice-president, Mr. Ernest N. Smith, has acknowledged tips, declaring that numerous letters; (have been received from motoring members appreciating the way in which radio stations were helping to promote safety. Mr. Smith added: “While there are, of course, many factors involved, in th'e downward ■ trend of motor , fatalities this year—the first drop in the history of the automobile—there can be no doubt that the broadcasting of safety messages by radio has been most helpful in encouraging rarefffi driving?*-v>; < ;