Motoring Topics

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 5, Issue 3, 1 September 1926, Page 53

Motoring Topics

iiniiimiimiimiiiiimimiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiimiiimiiiimn.iimiiiimiimiiiiii Care of Tour Lyres By exercising greater care in the handling of their cars, motorists can materially reduce the size of their tyre bills. At present prices, increasing the useful life of a tyre by 25 per cent, will effect a considerable saving to the motorist’s pocketbook. Most motorists’ tyre bills are a great deal higher than they would be if drivers would cultivate the habit of taking reasonable care of the tyres on the car. The first principle in prolonging tyre life is to transfer tyres to other wheels when wear becomes apparent as a result of position on the car, and always so to drive that tyres will not suffer unduly. Front tyres should be switched to opposite wheels when wear appears excessive. As a result of steering the car, and crowding of roads, the left side of the tread of the left front tyre suffers abnormal wear, the situation being exaggerated in the case of balloon tyres. Users of balloon tyres are urged to give them close attention, for the reason that this now popular type will give longer service if inflation is watched closely, and treads given frequent inspection. Motorists are warned against unnecessary sudden braking of their

cars. This practice causes wear that can be avoided if the driver will try to make earlier preparation for stopping. Since parking is often the source of tyre evils, car owners are cautioned against setting the machine too close to the kerb or driving against it, and thereby squeezing the sides of the tyres. Listen for Engine Knocks Engine knocks are important signals to the car operator, which, in the interest of the long life of his car, he should heed immediatelv. Furthermore, the ability to tell one knock from another is as necessary as it is rare. There arc, in general, four different sorts of knocks : Overheating, carbon in the cylinder head, spark advanced too far, and loose parts. A knock due to overheating will be noticed on a hill and also on the level roads. It can be differentiated from other knocks by the fact that it is invariably accompanied by a rise in mercury in the heat gauge on the radiator cap. A spark knock occurs only when the engine is pull-

ing against a heavy load, as on a hill. If the knock disappears when the spark is retarded, it may be set down as due to carbon. A carbon knock is often mistaken for a knock due to overheating, as it increases in loudness on a bill, and has another symptom in common, causing the engine to run after the switch has been opened. If the knock does not appear to come from any of these three causes it may be a piston slap. This occurs generally in old engines, and can be stopped by re-grinding the cylinders and fitting new pistons and rings. If this is not the trouble, then it must be some loose part, an exceedingly dangerous condition and one which may wreck the engine and the driver. In this case, the motorist should get the assistance of an expert mechanic at once. By Rail or C ar ? A private motorist has driven ** from London to Aberdeen in twelve hours and three-quarters, rather more than half an hour longer than is taken by the fastest regu-

:iit1111::111 m1111111111:11!11r:i:11m!1111;m 11111111:it1111111111111111111111111111111f 111111111 lar express train. In New Zealand this, of course, means little, as our “express” trains are extremely dilitory compared with those in the Old Country. However, it may be mentioned that the journey referred to was made in a standard touring car and not in a racing machine, and though nobody would suggest comparing an isolated feat of this kind with the daily achievements of the railway train, it may serve to point the moral of the very severe competition which the railways have now to face. Commenting upon the rivalry of the motors against trains, an English critic makes some remarks which are particularly applicable in this country. The writer says: — “Their fifty-year-old monopoly of the carriage of passengers and goods is ended, and proud and grateful though we are for the service, the finest in the world, that they have given us, sentiment cannot hide the fact that the railway has now to prove itself more efficienttaking comfort, speed, convenience and cost togetherthan the motor-car. coach or lorry. From this point of view it seems strange that the railways are now asking for powers to increase their charges. That surely is not the way to meet competition.”