The Motorist.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XIII, Issue 792, 11 May 1905, Page 14

The Motorist.

(By

"Petrol”)

On Sunday Mr E. Bockeart, accompanied by Mr J. de Beer, drove his 12h.p. Darracq from Ashburton to Christchurch in 2| hours actual riding time. Mr Bockeart told me (writes “Napier,” in the “Press) that he has done good business for his firm, Skeates and Bockeart, of Auckland, during his South Island trip, having sold eighteen cars, twelve being Darracqs, and the others De Dions. The car he made the record trip from Ashburton in, he sold to Mr D. Thomas, pf Ashburton. Mr Bockeart says the roads in the South are splendid, and he thinks so highfly of the possibilities in the South Island that he has determined to establish a business in Christchurch.

A very practical suggestion is thrown out by “Fortis” in the “Australasian” which might be acted upon by the A.A.A. :—The one thing that disturbs the motorist (he writes) when planning an extended trip, no matter where, is his petrol supply. Some cars may carry sufficient for long stages ; still, one never knows when the tank may run dry, and then the knowledge of where to obtain a fresh supply will be invaluable. It is, perhaps, the work of the Automobile Club to compile a list of petrol supply stations. In England and on the Continent, in addition to the cycle and motor makers and repair shops all over the country who stock the spirit, the hotel-keepers in many parts carry a supply for touring automobilists. Such a list, if compiled here, will prove exceedingly handy next season, when the number of the motorists will have increased, and, therefore, the necessity be pressed home. Several times prior to the holiday I was asked as to which were the most likely towns where petrol may be obtained, and it is but reasonable to expect that less than a year hence knowledge of this kind will be indispensable. During the winter months the club might see its way to compile such a list, together with the price and quantity usually stocked.

The idea of speed has a peculiar fascination for the human mind, exercising an attracting or repelling influence, according to temperament (writes “Auto,” in Melbourne “Punch”). Thus speed exhilarates some people, but has the effect of scaring others almost to death. In fact, the attitude of people towards speed and its exponent, the modern motor car may be taken as a fair indication of their progressiveness. This is an age of progress, and progress means rapidity. Every improvement in manufacture or in the conditions of life means greater speed in mechanical effort, and it is eagerly sought after and welcomed. The policy of placing restrictions upon the speed of motor road vehicles, which deprive them of much of their true utility, is altogether inconsistent with modern ideas of progress, and growing familiarity on the part of the public may safely be counted upon to bring about a change for the better in due time. With a vehicle under such perfect control as the modern motor car, a speed of fifteen miles an hour is perfectly legitimate, and this has been fully recognised by an increase of the limit within city boundaries in. other countries, where the motor car is better known than in Australia. It is too much to expect that the authorities here will be

guided wholly by the experience of ot~thers; but it will influence them to a. large extent.

The fastest rate on record at which motor cars have travelled is ULf mile& an hour, and this phenomenal speed was made by two petrol-driven cars of 100h.p. Conditions favoured them in every way, the road being perfectly level and dry, and a strong wind was behind them. The extra mile an hour added to the greatest speed of a car is like the extra knot in the speed of a steamer. The air pressure increases by the square of the speed, and requires a very large increase of power to overcome the increased resistance. The Iweight limit for raciog; motor cars seems to preclude the possibility of reaching a speed above 115 miles an hour, for above a certain number of revolutions the driving-wheels must be unable to grip the road, and must revolve uselessly, to the destruction of the tyres. A comparison of the fastest times on record made by machine, horse and man presents this interesting - list: —Electric car, 130.4 miles an hour; locomotive,. 120; motor car, 111.7; motor cycle, 72; bicycle, 62; steam yacht, 45; horse, 37.4; motor boat, 27.8; man, skating, 22.2; running, 11.80; walking, 7.30 miles an hour. The ostrich can run at the rate of a mile a minute when fairly extended, and the swiftest dog on earth, the Russian wolfhound, has attained a measured’ speed of forty miles an hour.

The resistance of the air to the passage of bodies at high speeds also has a very important bearing on the problem, for while it only requires one horse power to push a surface of 10 square feet (a. little more than one yard square) through the air at 12 miles an hour, it takes four horse power to overcome the resistance at. 24 miles an hour. Allowing for all these factors which influence the speed of cars, the plan of working out the relation of horse power to weight of cars with load has been found to give an idea of their speeds accurate enough for all practical purposes. The basis of working is that one horse power will move lewt at the rate of 42 miles an iiour. Every increase of 281 b in the load placed on the unit of power means a loss of about four milesan hour in speed. The horse power of the engine must be taken as actual, i.e.,, brake, and the weight of the car, with actual load to be carried. For example: A 10-12 h.p. car weighing 22cwt loaded —ratio, 1 to If; top speed, thirty miles an hour. A 12-14 h.p. car weighing 23. cwt loaded—ratio, 1 to 1£; top speed, thirty-five miles per hour. A 16-20 car weighing 24 cwt loaded—ratio, 1 to 1 1-5 ; top speed, forty miles per hour. Practical experience has proved these estimates to be pretty correct.

It is strangely true that the averagemotorist has about as crude an idea ol speed as the average policeman. Judging pace is like judging distance, and the almost universal tendency is to overestimate both. Only a trained observer canmake a fairly accurate estimate regarding them. A safe rule for the ordinaryspectator to follow is that of reducing his first impression by one-third before giving an opinion. Just as the amateur fisherman is prone to unconsciously exaggerate the size of his big fish, so the motorist overestimates the speed at which his car can travel. The owner of a car capable of doing twenty-five miles per hour will glibly talk of running at the rate of thirty-five or even forty miles an hour without the least idea that he is over-stating facts. He is speaking from

ignorance; that is all. Many factors have to be taken into consideration when attempting - to calculate the speed of a car. Given the actual weight of a car and the •actual horse power delivered to the rear wheels, the time required to cover a given distance can be mathematically determined. But economical transmission of power, perfection of desig’n and 'construction of engine give some cars advantages over others in the matter of speed.

Dr. Raynor, one-time President of the Auckland Automobile Association, leaves for California immediately. At the sale of his effects on Monday, the Roundabout car was disposed of for £7O. There are few cars in Auckland which have done so much work, and -done it so well.

■Owing to the steadily-increasing number of motor omnibuses in London, the cabdrivers there are finding their occupation •slipping away, and in order to mend matters and move with the times, a syndicate, under the auspices of London Cabmen’s Union, has been formed, with a capital of £20,000, with a view of instituting a motor omnibps service. In order -that the drivers may acquire practical knowledge of the vehicle, a school for .motor tuition has been established, and already one thousand of the cabmen are making a study of it.

At one of the recent motor shows in "London the Daimler people booked no less than fifty-five orders for cars, including one from H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. His Highness said when ordering, “They have never given me any trouble.” The . aggregate value of the orders receivedwas over £40,000.

Some motorists in the Old Country who use steam cars are of the opinion that little or no credit is given this make of motor, even should it do something out of the ordinary, while the petrol engine is boomed in every instance. They think this must be due to some feeling against the steamer. In this connection it may be of interest to know that in some of the motor trials on the Daytona Beach, Florida, a Stanley steam car beat a 90h.p. Napier on two occasions. There was also., a special race set apart for. steam cars, in which the great majority performed most creditably.

The “Express” describes the electric ‘‘trap” for unwary motorists, which

Major Lang, chief constable of Haywards Heath district, invented, and . Lord Kelvin’s firm have just manufactured. The mechanism is enclosed in a small box, with holes in the top, which permit the attachment of two water-tight cables. When bent on timing speed, the police measure two furlongs. Three men are necessary for the working of the apparatus. A is stationed behind a hedge at the beginning of one furlong, and holds one end of the cable. B is in the middle with the mechanism, which includes a non-mag-nctic chrono-meter ; and C is at the other end. When A hears a motor-car coming he signals to B by pressing a button, which rings a bell. B then places his finger on a button which connects A with the watch. When the front wheels of the car are on a mark opposite A he presses Ins button again, and this starts B’s watch, when the car gets to B he presses another button, and the watch is instantly stopped. A little computation can at once tell B whether the car is being driven beyond the regulation speed, and, if this is ' the case, he presses another button which rings C’s buzzer. This is the cue for which C, Constable Waghorn, waits. He darts from his hiding-place, and in Ms lordliest tones calls on the motorist to stand and deliver his name and address. Up to the present the electric footpad has been the bane of 138 too eager motorists, and in one week £l3O in fines was paid.

z A motor body in New York, the Atlantic Speedway Association, has a big project in the shape of a speed track at Barnegat Bay, near New York. Over 2000 acres of land have been bought, situated on a large plateau in the midst of a huge pine forest, and here a heartshaped motor track will be laid out, five miles in circumference. There will be two straightaway runs along each side of a mile, and within this large track will be constructed a smaller one, two miles in circumference, circular in shape. The width of the tracks will be forty yards. A huge grandstand, club-house, inn, garages, and repair shops-, etc., will also be constructed, while, in view of the rapid advance into popular use of the motorboat, there will be a racecourse marked out in the bay, as well as a boat-shed and club-house erected.

A French motorist whose tyre burst with a great noise in St. Petersburg recently was set upon by Cossacks, roughly used, and accused of being a Socialist bomb-thrower. Only for the intervention of a police inspector who

knew something of burst tyres, the unfortunate foreigner would have been sent to prison.

In London’s new fire automobile, the steam water-tube boiler, situated between the rear wheels, is heated by a petroleum burner of new design, in which the paraffin is sprayed into the furnace together with steam. This gives a very fierce fire. In front of the boiler is the engine, consisting of a pair of inverted cylinder driving two direct and double-acting pumps. The same motor takes the vehicle to the fire, and on arrival pumps the water. The engine carries enough petroleum for a 40-mile journey.

I have lately been examining (writes “Demon” in the “Otago Wieness”) most of the engine pulleys in which round belts are running on the local motor cycles, and in nearly every case very decided shoulders were worn on the belt, and these riders ask their belts to hold on steep hills, and when the belt slips they keep on tightening it, all the time putting a very effective brake on the engine.