MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2353, 8 January 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

$ [BT CiiriOH.] State of the Roads. With the exception of the_ stretch aoross the Rimutaka the main road 1 from Wollington to Napier, via the Wairarapa, is in excellent order. When the long proposed motor-tax is collected in New Zealand one of tho first pieces of work to be undertaken with tho proceeds should be that of improving tho Rimutaka Road. The surface generally from the Akatarawa junction right down to Featherston leaves much to ho desired, the bridges are in a state of disropair, and the bends could l be improved in many oases at small cost. The Rimutaka in any oase is enough of an obstacle between Wellington and the Wairarapa, but the climb itself is nothing as compared with, the general wear and tear to cars in consequence of the exeorable surface. During the holidays "Clutch" covered the main roads between Wellington and New Plymouth, via Foxton, returning to Pahnerston, thence proceeding through ■ the Manawatu Gorge on to Napier, and returning home from Hawke's 1 Bay via the Wairarapa. The only stretch of new metal of any note was found at tho Woodville end of the Gorge, where a heavy coating of river shingle had been laid down for a considerable distance. , Otherwise excellent going was the rule. Motorists who were through Woodville county at tho end of last summer will not easily forget the seven or eight mile stretch of river metal on the main road north of Woodville. The metal was laid on ao generously, that it was difficult to keep steerage way on on top gear, and strangers to the district heaped anathema on the beads of the Woodville County Council and all connected with it. To-day tho same stretch of road has one of the most delightful surfaces for. travelling over to be met with in the three provinces. The metal iff oven yet not completely worn down at the sides of the road and between the wheel tracks, so that at least nine months has been occupied • in the consolidation of the road by the traffic. It would certainly be interesting to know what the relative cost to tho users of the road would have been had tbe consolidation been performed > by a road roller and not by the public at largo. Damaged Road Signs. Some time ago the Wellington Automobile Club talked of erecting danger posts at the necessary spots on the roads around Wellington. Those posts have not yet appeared, but it is to be hoped that when the work is undertaken thoroughly strong and durable signs will be put up. Tho danger posts 'erected by the Hawke's Bay Automobile Association on tho main_ roadJ from Woodville to Napier are in most cases 'already in a/sadly damaged and battered state. The signs were of the regulation English pattern, a red triangle at the top of a white post. The trianglos were cut from light sheet-motal,. and have apparently been freely used by small boys as targets, with the. result that they are bent in all directions, and it' obviously will not bp long 'bofore most of them will require renewing. The erection and maintenance of roatl signs is another of the matters that'should Tecoivo attention when the motor tax arrives.. lii view of the unfortunate experience of Hawke's Bay there is not much inducement for other 'motor associations to take up the work. New South Wales Motor Tax. The payment of the new tax upon motor vehicles in New South Wales was to commence on Monday last. For all oars registered since July 1, 1914, this tax must be paid during the month of January;'' For all cars to be registered afterwards the tax must be paid with the registration fee. The amount payable for each oar varies according to the horse-power, which is determined by squaring the measurement in inches of the internal diameter of the oylinder of the engine, multiplying the number so found by the number of oylindera, and dividing the product by 2.5. The following is a list of the amounts payable on the different sized cars:— £ b. d. Of or under 12 h.p 2 0 0 Over 12 and under 16 h.p.... 3 0 0 Over 16 and under 28 h.p. 4 0 0 Over 26 and under 33 h.p. 7 0 0 Over 33 and under 40 h.p. 10 0 0 Over 40 and under 60 h.p. 15 0 0 Over 60 h.p. 20 0 0 Motor vehioles propelled by electricity 4 0 0 Motor-oycles and tricycles*... 10 0 Taxi-cabs _. 10 0 Motor cars used by medical practitioners for their profession, and motor lorries for conveyance of goods, are charged half fees. An Owner's Liability. _ That the owner of a oar may he held liable for damage caused by that car, even though neither himself nor his servant bo actually driving at the time, is the effect of a decision given in the first instance in an English County Court action, uphold on appeal by a King's Bench, Divisional Court, and endorsed by the Court of Appeal in October last. The defendant had been sued in respect of damage caused by the alleged negligent driving of his car. At the time of such damage defendant was not in the car, which was being driven by his Bonj accompanied by his chauffeur. It was' the practice of the defendant to allow his son to use the car, but he was never permitted to take it out without the chauffeur being with him. This was held to represent continuous control, and, therefore, continuous responsibility on the part of the owner in case of accident or damage, arid the contention that defendant could not be held responsible as owner, as the car was not' being driven either by himself or" his servant, was over-ruled in all three hearings. Standardising Tyres. _ An effort is being made by the English. Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to standardise and limit the number of sizes of solid rubber motor tyres for commercial vehicles, etc. Six sizes have been seleoted, viz., 570 mm., 720 mm., 741 mm., 771 mm,, 850 mm., 831 mm. This ib an effort in the right direction, for motor tyre moulds are mighty expensive items, which have all to be paid for by the user. The same thing applies to the pneumatic motor tyre. In looking over the Dunlop list it is noted that some 43 odd sizes of motor tyres axe made by that concern alone. Eaoh sizo means separate machined steel moulds, and it is the same throughout the world. Eight sizes of motor tyres would be ample to cover all motor-car requirements, and the adoption of that number as standard tho world over would he tho means of saving a huge sum annually to both manufacturers and motorists. Light Gar Development. A large variety of the more "expensive class of the English 10 h.p. light cars are now to bo found on the.New Zealand roads, and their owners generally appear well satisfied with the service rendered by these handy little machines. It was at_ first thought bv many that the English light car would not stand up to New Zealand road conditions, but some have already been put through decidedly gruelling experiences and seem little the worse for it. One little car—a two-cylinder watercooled model of 8-10 h.p.—of which the writer has had personal experience tho other day completed its first year on tho road in New Zealand, and was running sufficiently well to do a 61 mi e cross-country strotch in the creditable time of 1 hour 55 minutes from start to 1

finish. During its year it had oovored ( between 8000 and 9000 miles, and had beon on three solid tours —one from Wellington to Auckland, via Napier, and back; a second from Nelson to Westport, Greymouth, and Hokitika. and back to Nolson; and the third from Wellington to New Plymouth, Palmerston, Napier, Masterton, and homa again. According to English motoring journals, tho desire to economise during the war is leading many people who havo hitherto run big cars, which in many cases have been commandeered, to turn their attention to tho light car, and enterprise is being thus spaded up. It is particularly gratifying to observe, says the motoring contributor to the "Morning Post," that the majority of firms of established repute in the motor engineering world no longer subsoribe to the notion, which was prevalent in the early days, that a.light car must bo a vehicle costing not more than £100. Tho prime demand of the public is for a satisfactory vehicle. Buyers nowadays are educated to the point of realising that to acquire a vehicle for £100 and spend £60 or £70 a year in the way of repairs and improvements to keep it on the road at all, and to find the thing collapse utterly and fit only for the scrap heap at the end of two years is a much more expensive way of motoring than to pay £200 for a thoroughly soundly designed and built vehicle, which irtll cost from '£5 to £10 a year rtaximum for repairs—probably nothing at all at the end of the first year's service— aiT3_which will be good for work for anything from six to ten years. Such a proposition is a sound investment. Hints and Tips. l'o put a new. cover on a wheel the proper way is first of all to pump sufficient air in the inner tube to make it tale a circular shape. Then place the tube inside the covSr, with the valve in the position to fit into the two nicks provided for it. This done, the cover and tube should be put on the wheel simultaneously, the valve being first put through' and the cover gradually worked on. • This method iB far simpler and quicker than that of half putting on the cover, then working in the inner tube, and finally getting the other side of the cover on. Also there is decidedly less danger of pinching the tube. To remove carbonised piston rings, the piston should be well soaked in paraffin till the rings are freed. To remove them, it is best to use a special pair of pliers to expand the ring from the slot. Some strips of thin metal should then bo inserted at equidistant positions at the back of the Ting, and oyer these it can be,worked off without any risk of breakagfc. • There is considerable latitude in tho matter of gearbox lubricants, but a medium density lubricant property prepared for tho purpose can be relied on. Some goarboxos that have had much wear require a specially heavy lubricant to Iteep down the noise; in fact, the lubricant has to be more of a grease, whereas for a gearbox in normally good condition it is quite practicable, and, in fact, advisable, to use a light lubricant. Nothing wears out' a tire quicker than running it out of alignment, and if any tiro on a car. presents a scrubbed and roughened surface no time should be lost in testing the alignment of_ tho wheels. There are several, simple methods by Which this can be done. One is thus described by a correspondent of the "Autocar", the only tool required boing a pieco of-thread weighted to form a plumb-bob. Place the car in such a position that distant objects can bo seen behind it. Stand at about six paces in front of the car and adjust your eye so" that the front and back edges of one of the front tyres appear to fall into line. Whilst maintaining this position, hold tho plumb-bob at arm's length and adjust it so that it appears to oross the centre of the tyre, and at the same time make a mental note for the distant point where the plumb-bob thread crosses the distant objects. Repeat the operation for the second wheel. If the wheels are parallel the distant point should be tho same for both wheels. . If the wheels are out of parallel the distant points will be different, and the anglo subtended at the eye Dy the two pomte is a measure of the amount by which tho wheels are out. Here and There. Legal lighting-up time for motor-oars and motor-cycles:—To-day, 7.40 p.m. j next Friday, 7.37 p.m. According to figures just to hand, no fewer than 96,393,077 gallons of motor spirit were exported from the United States during the seven months ending with July last, as contrasted with only 61,682,761 gallons in the corresponding seven months of 1913. Cyclists in London and other English districts are all using oU lamps for night travelling, owing to the bright acetylene lights being banned by the war authorities, owing to the possibility of airship raids and their use for signalling to an enemy at sea. There was a notable increase in the number of motor-cars in Calcutta last year as compared with 1913. The total number of cars up to March 31, 1914, was 2696, as aeainst 2048 up to the same date in tho previous year. The number licensed for the half-year ended March 31, 1914, was 1106, as against 764 in 1912-13.