MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2276, 9 October 1914, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

[By Cltjioh.]

Automatic) Cear Changing. Within the last few months several devices have been introduced on. tho British rnarkot 'for changing gear. by electrical or hydraulic means, so that all the driver has to do is to Jxrach a button on the steering wheel and take out" the clutch more or' less, according ■ to whether he is changing up or down. There is no doubt (says the "Autocar") that some simple dovice of this kind would bo "greatly appreciated, but, so far as our observations go., we have not yet met with a device which really does what is necessary; for tho ideal gear changing devices should bo of such a nature that it always performs the operation, whether changing up of changing down, better than tho most. skilled' driver can do it with tho hand lever and clutch worked in conjunction. Where' these devices fail is that they operate in the same way whether the change be up or down, and despite the fact that' tho conditions are quite different. The consequence . is that to make perfectly quiet and harmless changes skill on the part of the operator is still required;,in other words, there is no automatic device which changes .in such a manner that the gear wheel to be slipped into mesh is running at exactly the same speed as the ono into which it is thrust. It is easy enough to define the conditions, but quite an-, other thing to carry them out in a simple way. At the same time, we do not 'see how it is possible to make a fully satisfactory automatic gear changer unless it provides for the different conditions under which it will be used. To all intents and purposes this would necessitate the use of governors, one in connection with eachjspur wheel, these governors being in soine way interconnected so that two gears could only go into rnesh if their speeds were identical, thus making an absolutely noiseless and harmless change. The Problem Involved. How different the conditions. are is realised when we consider that in changing up the clutchshaft should be decelerated, and in changing down it should be accelerated, thus giving the equivalent of the clutch-stop action changing up, and the slip clutch or double-clutch method when changing down. So far as we are aware, none of the present devices provides this necessary differential, action; but until they do we are unable to see that there is in} iery great advantage in what the Americans call the electric, gear shift; any advantages these devices possess is simply due to ;iheer quickness of opera- . tion, something more or less like jvhat is known as a racing change. With a person who changes gear very badly they may be a distinct advantage, even 'a very great advantage,, but with one who changes fairly.,well iheir benefit is inconsiderable.'. ; Motor-cycles and "Tune." What is tune? asks the "MotorCycle." Tho question, it adds, is not, easy to -answer, but all keen motorcyclists 'know the. smooth, steady pull. of a well-tuned machine, and how it gradually and almost imperceptibly dies ana) after a certain vimo' unlsss tie machine is' beautifully kept. Certain ■riders, it is true, perform curious operations on 7 the insides of tho ' engines .whereby they gain (or in many'cases bohe\o they gain) improved results, but to procure the best running out of a standard machine, if of-first-class-manu-facture; theso weird, rites are, best left unperformed while'-, more spare time should'bo spent on details. Tune consists chiefly of everything being, right, and everything includes.rather a formid vble looking list of parts However,' the following points are. perhaps the most important'and the most frequent sources of'.loss_of.tune: —.-■•■'• A little attention to each part now and then saves a long weary overhaul, and the owner has the pleasure of always riding a machine in good order. .Remember that "a stitch in. time saves nine.".. ihe magneto is a most reliable device, and will continue to work under most' adverse circumstances, hut keep tho platinum points of the make and break clean, flat, and properly adjusted. Keep the contact ting and the brushes free from dirt and glazed surfaces,, and you will get all the hetter results. "Likewise with the caburetter-ydirt, worn float 'needle or counterweights, leaking jets arid dn\ throttle, and air ■slides are the chief points to guard 'against most carefully. • ' . '.Valves require little attention; but the stems should be kept free and oiled though not floppy in tho guides. Tappets must be kept adjusted as close as they will go without touching the valve stem when the engine is hot. The cylinder and piston should be kept clear of carbon, and the crank case drained of dirty oil and refilled every 500-1,000 miles. , Wheel bearings, must be kept lubricated and properly adjusted, 'belt pulleys kept at the proper ancle, and chains and sprockets occasionally renewed. (Never put a new chain on old .sprockets or use new sprookets with an old chain.) Nursing a Sick Cover. . Relying upon a set of four tires, apparently' in the very best of condition, I recently set out on a ride, says a writer in - an English , contemporary, with.the spare wheel equipped with a cover which had seen better days and was of doubtful reliability. When thirty miles from home one of the back tires burst, with a four-inch hole in the centre of the tread. The, spare was ob-viously-unfitted to cope with the driving strain, so ono of the front wheels was changed to the back and the spare put on the front. After running five miles we stopped to examine the tire, whereupon there was a distinct cause for anxiety. Two ominous bulges were apparent on tho sides and at one place the rubber had worn clean down to tho tread. ' ;'■■•■■ A halt" was oalled for twenty minutes while I fitted throe safety patches made frorn the canvas carcass of an old cover. The journey was'-'then' continued very cautiously, not averaging more than 12 m.p.h; The crown of the road was held religiously, except at the corners, where every_ advantage was ■ taken of the. banking! .The corners are really tho main source of anxiety on such a because the cover would probably stand the purely rolling strain on the' level for ;a hundred miles, while the highly intensified disruptive action produced by cornering at a moderate speed would oause tho cover to succumb at once. Any sudden swerve in driving has the same effect, so that any divergence from a straight course was performed with tho utmost care. A 'stop was made at half-way and- the tire seemed to- be no worse, but on reaching home and taking off the cover it was found to be so thin in one place that a finger could be .pushed fhrough. The whole secret of. nursing a damaged cover consists in steady, slow driving, avoiding s/verves, and most careful cornering. The Light Car. That the light car can bo made a very valuable ally in warfare is tho opinion of the "Light Car." It will fill a special purpose, in between the transport work of the largo cars and the dispatch work of tho motor cycles. The senior officers may elect, as now, to travel by largo cars, but nearer tho fighting lino the light car will provo or creatsr service by reason of its handiness over rough or difficult surfaces. At first impression- the chief diffarI enee between tho light car movement in Franco and England is that in the former country the cars are not so trimly kept, or so carefully driven. London is the contro of tho light car propa-

ganda more than Paris, but French brains are active in the new field of industry, and we may expect many imSirtant developments across the hannel. The small car has become so popular in Cape Colony that it is proposed to form a light car branch of the Automobile Club of South Africa. _ Indeed, by the time these lines are in print it will probably be actually in existence. The Taking of! Corners. The motorist who has safely rounded the bend in a road with winch he is very familiar a hundred times is apt to think tho next experience will bo as' free from danger as tho others have been, and that there will be no obstruction. But, sooner or later, the unexpected happens, when nothing save great skill and alertness will avert a bad accident. And while it is true that in every instance, and at all times, a motorist upon the road is dependent not only on his own actions, but on the actions of others, this is especially true of corners. Tlie conservative driver never takes a right-handed corner at anything approaching a fast speed, and he always treats a curve of any kind as if there might be an obstruction of some kind at an awkward point just out of sight; Ho approaches the corner at a speed which will enable him to pull up before the centre is reached. The best method of taking a corner is more easily demonstrated on tho road than in writing; but tho rule' of reducing the sharpness of the turns as much, as' possible by.going wide on the outside of the approaching and the leaving, should never be.forgotten. Viotorlan Roads., An interesting survey of the state of the. main roads in Victoria appears in the.first annual report of the Victorian Country Roads Board. In summing up the position, the board says:— "Speaking generally of the roads throughout the areas of the State already inspected, it must be said that their condition is anything but satisfactory. Certainly there are escoptkme to this general statement. In a number of the Western district shires the roads are in good condition. There is also a considerable mileage of good trafficable roads in the Rosedale and Sale districts. In these districts,. materials in the shape of basalt and gravel aro easily accessible, and the topography of the country presented few engineering difficulties in the way of road location; but, with these exceptions, there are only isolated examples of roads that may be classed as good. In the Gippsland district, few roads are to be met with that may be termed passablo roads beyond.a radius of four or five miles from the principal towns l.on the main lines of railway. Of this district it must be said that road construction has never kept abreast of settlement, and the task has quite outgrown the resources of the shire councils. Tho same remarks are applicable to tho Beech Forest and Capo Otway districts, and the undeveloped sections of tho North-Eastern district. In this hilly, timbered region, road-building is more than ordinarily a- slow ;iiid expensive'process, and it is evident that; without some form of State assistance, the municipal councils would be unfrom their own revenues, to servo the outlying districts with pnssabli •roads for 'lis noxt 20 or 30 years. Thera could bo no better illustration of the extravaganoe of .a policy of cheap construction than in afforded.by n oom-pxri-wn of tho older snd later methods. Many of tho old solidly built roads inspected have'stood tho traffic of years, and aro still'in fair condition, while many roads of comparatively recent construction have failed utterly. Hint 3 and Tips. It pays a man to acquire skill in car lubrication. Lack of skill in this work is ono of the commonest faults to-day in motoring. To keep an .even courso between under-lubricition and overInbrication is a nice problem, but itns well worth' making a special effort to 6olv'o it. The very rrreen novice usually errs on the side of forgetting to give tho engine any.oil at all. whilst tho socalled export thinks it is a- sign of distinction to mark his passage by a trail of evil-smelling smoke. The .penalty for excess, has .to be paid sooner or later. i" .'_... The striker of a safety, match box makes, in case of need, a passable substitute for a file.for cleaning magneto contacts. A handy'carrier for spare sparking plugs can be made out of the metal case in which shaving soap sticks are supplied. Both ends should be padded with felt. j ■ With cycle car: engines of the aircooled type, a fibre washer placed between the exhaust valve spring and the top of the valve guide will insulate the spring to a' great extent from the heat, and thereby give it a longer life. • Here and There. , Legal :lighting-up time for motor-oars and. motor-cycles :—-To-day, 6.14 p.m.; next Friday. 6.23 p.m. In Jhdianapolis an inventor \. named John Andrews is producing a spirit distilled from water and chemicals, which he asserts can be marketed at five cents a gallon, gives better results and more power. Is it a dream? As a means of reducing the number of street accidents in the City of Washington, there is a by-law in force that pedestrians shall cross congested streets at crossings only. Kentucky is leading the way in a much-needed resnect.. "All chauffeurs will be required to possess a license, which will only be issued to them upon passing a set examination, paying two dollars, and supplying a certificate as to honc'sty,. sobriety, and general character signed by three reputable citizens.'' This ought to thin out the overcrowding, and is an example which could be profitably, followed in every country. Oil' tho occasion of the festivities at Unterturkheim to celebrate the Mercedes victory in tho Grand Prix; Director Paul Daimler was in a reminiscent mood. His experiences at the ParisRouen raco, ho stated, could nover ho forgotten. ,The contrast between tho lumbering steani cars,, the steam tricars, end the petrol cars -.impressed on him even/ in those early days the easy controllability of the petrol car. Ho referred to the tremendous-- speed (at that time) of 27 miles an hour which ho attained on the first four-cylinder ' Daimler car, and which nearly took his breath away; but nowadays ears travelled more smoothly at speeds of 62 miles an hour than did that early four-cylinder. In conclusion he paid tribute to the part taken by Levassor in the development of the internalcombustion engine. ' ' . y