SPEEDOMETER TESTS.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20230, 26 June 1937, Page 28 (Supplement)

SPEEDOMETER TESTS.

TRIALS FOR ACCURACY. If speedometer accuracy is being checked, it is well to see that the tyre pressures are at the settings recommended by the manufacturers and, if possible, to carry the normal load, mainly, one, two, or more passengers, according to usual arangements, says the “Motor." A stop-watch is required, and a measured distance, preferably of a minimum of a quarter-mile. Drive the car, at say a steady 30 miles an hour over this distance, starting the stopwatch as you enter the measured area and stop it as you cross the final mark. If the instrument is recording correctly, the time taken should be exactly 30sec. If the time is under this, the speedometer is reading slow. If you take longer than 30sec., obviously it is reading fast. It is not possible to alter the speedometer to give correct readings, unless the dial is regraded, but it is as well to know the degree of inaccuracy in order that you can maintain the safe speed within a built-up area. PRODUCER GAS FUEL. Officials of the Department of the Interior made tests near Melbourne recently of a new type of gas-driven motor truck which, if widely adopted in the country, would do much to make Australia independent of imported motor fuel. Consuming charcoal, which can be made from waste timber, its fuel costs are far below those of petrol or Diesel-engined vehicles. Moreover, experience overseas has proved that the maintenance and lubrication costs are very low. The vehicle tested was made by High Speed Gas (Great Britain) Ltd., which now owns, the Gilford motor works in England, and uses Climax, Coventry, engines. Gas-driven vehicles are widely used in Germany, Italy, and France, where defence authorities have deliberately fostered them in case of a shortage of petrol and oil in time of war. Producer gas for these engines is normally made by passing air and steam through a blazing fire of charcoal. Employing patents of inventions made by Major J. A. Macdonald, a farmer of Kenya, the high-speed gas engine adopts a new principle and uses water instead of steam. This has several advantages. It enables a simplification of design because of the small combustion area, and allows all refractory linings, shaking grates, mechanical feeds, etc., to be dispensed with. Also, it gives a strong supply of gas when most needed for hillclimbing, sudden acceleration, etc. Any truck operator can make his own charcoal fuel from waste wood lying on the ground, or stunted and malformed timber, the removal of which would help to clear the forests for the continued growth of sound trees. If an operator makes his own charcoal—a simple process—the only cost is for a small amount of his own time. Otherwise charcoal can usually be purchased for less than 2s a bag, which is sufficient to drive a two-ton vehicle about 100 miles. Only three minutes is needed to start from cold in any weather. The gas plant is available also for conversion of petrol or kerosene trucks and tractors. In addition to the Department of the Interior, the Defence Department and several large industrial concerns are keenly interested in these vehicles. SPORTS CAR RACING. In Europe, especially in France, a great deal of attention is being devoted to sports car racing as distinct from the racing of cars built for no other purpose. The reason is largely because of the very high cost of building Grand Prix types of racing cars, whereas, when sports car races are held, the competing vehicles can be modified from stock vehicles. Sports car racing, however, is very valuable in improving the breed of standard productions and there seems little doubt that the attention now being given to the question of power to weight ratio originated from races of this type, while French manufacturers of cars which regularly compete in these events have found that they can build very light cars and at the same time secure good road-holding qualities by developing good independent suspension systems. FIRST-AID ON THE ROAD Dr. E. Ryerson, a surgeon of St. Luke’s Hospital, Chicago, suggested at a recent convention of the American Academy of Surgeons, that investigation should be made of a scheme to enlist the service stations of the nation as “first aid” units for people injured in traffic accidents. It would be necessary, he said, to have certain of the service station attendants trained to handle injured people, so that they could be got to hospital quickly, without further internal injuries being caused by ignorance while the service stations would need to Install a certain amount of equipment such as iodine, bandages, and splints of various sorts.