MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2258, 18 September 1914, Page 3

MOTORS & MOTORING

[Br Clutch.] Cermany and Petrol, ■ One of tho items in the war news this week was to tho effect that the Gorman motor transport wagons in Fiance had oxhausted their petrol, and tho army was hampered through a shortage of the necessary motor spirit. At the presont time tho principal sources of petroleum are as follow, the output of each country being shown in millions.of gallons:— Country. Output. .United States 7713 Russian Empire 2315 Dutch East Indies 281 Rumania 24'1 Austria .'. 186 Japan 55 Germany 20 Canada 20 : It thus follows that the only supplies to which Germany at the present time has free- access are her own, those of Austrio-Hungary, and Rumania. The large Dutch supplies, if brought under a neutral flag from tho Dutch East Indies to Holland should also be available for German use, but from the two largest sources of supply—Russia and the United States—Germany is absolutely cut off. World's Petrol Supply. .An interesting review of tho world's petrol supplies appeared in a recent issue of the. "Motor." The writer pointed out that, although the United States still produces two-thirds of tho world's supplies—and increased her production by over 13J million barrels last year—new oilfields are being opened up in all'parts of both the civilised and uncivilised world. There are, in fact, hundreds of (comparatively) small oil companies, not only in tho' different localities where oil is being found, but in practically every capital city in tho world. Many of these, it is true, are but developing and exploration syndicates, and many have been formed to acquire, land upon which oil in paying quantities will never be found but there remain a substantial number which own good producing wells, or are .at work upon ground of a genuinely-productive character, and it has been the policy of each of the large oil groups to acquire large concessions in newly-developed oil territory, as well as to acquire controlling interests in substantial' companies already working on proved ground; whilst the Standard Oil Company in particular, and tho others to a lesser extent, are purchasers of crude oil as well as producers of it, and thus obtain the command of supplies far in. excess of the production of their own wells. Oil Company Ramifications. * Some idea of the extent to which this enlarging of the sphere of influence of the big oil companies is taking place may bo gathered from tho report just' published of the Royal Dutch Co., which was originally formed for the purpose of tho working of petroleum wells in Netherlands-India—the Dutch East Indies. This is one of the great oil companies of the world, and was, indeed, by its opening up of the Eastern oilfields, the first really to challenge the monopoly of tho Standard Oil interests. lii this country, we are apt to look upon tho British Petroleum Co.— which' grew out of the Shell Transport Co., and soils the well-known "Shell" spirit—as "the other" big oil concern; so it may be nevjs to many to learn that the Shell interests arc, in effect, subsidiary to thosd of the Royal Dutch, as the latter company owns the controlling interest in the, British con.cerri, in addition to its own vast territories, as well as controlling interests in several other large companies working oil deposits in and trading in othor parts,of the .world; thus,;in addition to the Sumatra, Borneo.- and' Java oil: fields, the bulk of which it owns, and which formed its'.original sphere of influence, it holds the controlling interest in the Anglo-Saxon Oil Co., which recently acquired, a large interest m the - North Caucasian Oilfields, as well as obtaining the control and management of two other large oil .companies working in Russia, and the same subsidiary—the Anglo-Saxon Co. —during the past year secured a large interest in the company working in Trinidad, from which much of tho oil for the British. Navy is being procured, whilst it'.also secured nearly the whole of the Californian Oilfields, Ltd., working in j the territory named, and it may be mentioned that tho capitalof this subsidiary—tho Anglo-Saxon Co.—is itself no less a sum than £8,000,000. 100,000 Barrels a Day! . In addition to this, the Royal Dutch Company owns.the whole, or part, of the capital of half a dozen other companies working in Russia, and is also the controlling influence in the AngloEgyptian' Oil Fields, Ltd., which is developing the oil fields of Egypt and is, besides its interests in tho Californian Oilfields, Ltd., working through other subsidiaries in North America, the production from its wells in Oklahoma alone amounting last year to 1,000,000 barrels. 'It owiis large-producing fields iu Mexico, over 20,000 acres having been acquired last year, and one well alone was opened up which showed itself to be capable of a production of 100,000 barrels a day, and had to be partly shut down, owing to inability to handle so large a quantity." In Rumania, the "Aiistro-Rumana" Company, which produced nearly half a million tons last year, is a Royal Dutch concern, and new fields are being opened up in the Eastern Archipelago, in Sarawak, and tho islands of Ceram, Mandoal, and Sebatik, and in addition to all this world-wide influence and interest in the production of crude oil, the company owns- refineries in many of. the countries in which it is operating, as well as a fleet of oil transports with a total carrying capacity of, close on a quarter of a million tons. Standard Ramifications Larger Still. The Standard Oil Company's ramifications, both directly and through subsidiaries, are larger still, and it has recently acquired large concessions in China. The above particulars in regard to tho Royal Dutch Company will, howovor, suffice to show the world-wido scope and influence of these large concerns, as well as tho extent and importance of >the supplies at their command; whilst it 'has to bo pointed out that other large interests are now. at work in the oilfields, in addition to those two earlier rivals. There' is, foi instance, the Pearson groivp—in which Lord Murray' is interested—and which is at present mainly concerned in developing the oil resources of Mexico, and during the past few days a "big deal"

has beep made by another English t;roilp of capitalists, who have acquired tho controlling, interest in tho Union Oil Company of California, a company with over £20,000,000 employed, and owning oil rights over 200,U00 acres ot land, with 650 miles of pipo lines, storago tanks of a total capacity of 13,000,000 barrels, four refineries, and a fleet of oil transports nearly equal in capacity to that of the Royal Dutch. Grand Prix Lessons. Tho most important things learnt by tho different makers as the result of the recent Grand Prix race ill Franco are stated to have been in connection with materials of construction. Thero. has been a great deal of difficulty in finding a valve steel to bear up under the severe conditions of working, but tho fact that only one driver reported a broken valve shows that the steel makors were equal to the demand and almost solved the problem. Valve trouble is rare enough nowadays, but theso new steels will make it rarer still. Last year nearly every builder of racing cars was troubled with valve spring breakage, but this has been an uncommon failure in preparing for tho last race. L'essoii3 are often difficult to learn, but .they are far harder to teach, and in motor racing it is so hard to make sure that the lesson has been understood aright. For instance, because the Grand Prix has been won .by an' aeroplano type of engine, it does not by any means follow that only steel cylinders, etc;, are of use for racing. What it does prove, and what is of the greatest importance in the world, is that originality is sometimes right and the crowd often' wrong. It shows that success is within the grasp of those who hove the courage of. their convictions, who will work out their own salvation in their own way. As to tho racing car, the four-valve, overhead camshaft type is not likely to be displaced by any other poppet form, though the sleeve valve will be in the field next year. The simpler type of overhead, yalve engine with one camshaft and' Tccker lopeo-ati/on! for tlhe valves is.shown to'bo satisfactory, and the necessity for driving an overhead camshaft by a clum6y train of spur gearing is disproved. The value of oil-cooling devices has been well demonstrated, so well that it is far from improbable that a small oil-cooling radiator will become a usual part of every car in time to come. As failures in springing, one notices half-elliptic springs with more than a. very shallow camber and cantilovor springs. Compared with the ' leaders,, tne Aldas, which had cantilever springs and of huge size, certainly held tho r<iad very badly. The Vauxhalls were hardly running long or fast enough to enable any judgment to be made, but they did not take the .corners on the hill very steadily, though they were much, better than the Aldas or the Schneiders with half elliptics. This shows that the cantilever spring is either not good for racing or is not fully understood, and the writer inclines to the latter belief.

As to gear ' boxes, practically the only lesson is that five speeds are no better than four—a fact which theory anticipates. There is ail immense amount of gain, as between threo speeds Or two, a fair amount more for four, as compared with throe, and some for five as to four, but every additional speed is "less more advantage" than was the one before it. With a sliding gear time must be lost changing, and the efficiency on an indirect drive must ha less than that on a direct, wherefore wo do not expect to see more than four speeds en many more raceTS. In 1912 at Dieppe the Arrol-Johnston cars found out that the fifth speed helped them hardly at all, and now history repeats itself. Oasler steeriii"; has long>boen thought, to bo theoretically and practically better than any other.kind, and. this has been proved beyond any question. Pro-•bably-.this-mill be the first feature of the 1914 Grand Prix racing chassis to find a permanent place in touring-car construction. > W.M.C.C. Report. ! The annual report of the Wellington Motor Cycling Club, to he presented at the meeting to be held on Thursday next, discloses a very satisfactory state of affairs. The number of members on the roll.is 163, but eleven of these who are not financial have been struck off. The balance-sheet shows receipts amounting to £104 3s. 10d., and the year closed with a cash balance in hand of £26 lis. 3d., of which £10. has been added to the reserve fund. Not so many competitive events were held during 'the year as formerly, hut those that we're conducted - brought large fields, and were keenly contested. On Labour Day, October 27, 1913, the annual twelve-hour trial was held.' Tho event included classes for motor-cycles, side-cars, and cycle-cars, and was held over as severe a course as it would bo possible to find in tho vicinity of- Wellington. Mr. F. Webb won the Atkm Cup, .presented for competition by private owners. The other events woro of a minor nature, and the Saturday afternoon competitions for tho Sutherland and Rankine Cup, which was won bv Mr. J. Boucher. The social' side of the pastime was more extensively catered for this 6'eason, and the week-end club runs were very much enjoyed and appreciated by those taking part in them. The annual gymkhana was again held at Karori Park, and despite the bad weather, which certainly affected the attendance of tho members and their friends, a most enjoyable programme of events was put through. A euchre party and concert was also held This was very largely attended by members and their lady friends, who proved by their appreciation of the items rendered during the evening that this class of entertainment will become popular. The committee desires to thank the vice-presidents and Messrs. F. Foord, W. Stevens, and C. D. -Bridge for trophies donated. Mr. Foord (whose' trophy goes to the member introducing the greatest number of new members during the past season, and which was won by Mr. P. England) has renewed his prize for the ensuing season. TJie vice-presidents' and Mr. Bridge's trophies were not competed for, and so remain as prizes for events jet to be held. Mr. H. W. Lawrence has signified his intention of donating a trophy to the member attending the most club runs during the coming season. . • Reference is also made in the report to the work of the club in erecting signposts on the main roads around the city and to the formation of tho Auto-Cycle Union. It is stated that the committee has been considering different schemes of insurance of motor-cycles, and hopes shortly to place before the members the different proposals which'have been put to them. Mention is made of the valuable services rendered to jihe club by the retiring seoretary, Mr. L. M. Liardet. Mr. Liardet, who left New Zealand with, the Advance Expeditionary Force, is a lieutenant attached to the Territorials. The committee presented Mr. Liardet, on bohalf of tho club, with a pair of binoculars, in consideration of his services. The committee record with regret the death of Mr. H. Plimmer (lato club captain), which occurred during tho progress of a race meeting held at Palmerston North on January 22 last. The late Mr. Plimmer was" an enthusiastic motor-cyclist, and a keen competition rider, and by his death the club lost ono of its most valuable mombers and officials. ' Hints and Tips. To keep tho exhaust pipe and silencer of a motor in good condition, the simplest plan is stated to bo: Remove all rust thoroughly with a stiff brush from tho exhaust pipe and silencer, and then to black-lead it well. This will require doing at intervals. Another plan is to treat both pipe and siloncer with ono of tho several special heat-resisting [enamels made fgj the purpose (sold by

accessory shops). The hottest part of '< the exhaust pipe, near the engine, however, is difficult, to keep in good condition except by black-leading frequently. A simple method that is spoken of favourably by some chauffeurs is to clean the pipo free from rust, and then, when it is warm, nib it over with an oil rag. This leaves a film which is fairly protective against rust. It is always a tiresome job to replace a split pin which has been used before, because tho ond6 will persist in springing open, and tho pin feels at least two sizes too big when attempts aro made to insert it in its small hole. Tho following dodge is common in most workshops, but is known to few private motorists. The pin is straightened in tho ordinary way in the vice or on an anvil with a hammer. The two gaping ends are then closed by holding them tightly in a pair of pliers. While thus held, it is placed flat on an anvil, and with the pointed eivl of a hammer a Lamart blow is ■ given to the pin at a point 'as near as possible to the pliers. On now releasing the pin it will be found that tho ends are no longer open, but remain closed naturally.