MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2365, 22 January 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

[Bi OinoH.l

city Traffio Regulation. Although three constables jare on point duty in the .City at considerable annual cost to the Corporation, the public are not Raining nearly as much from the expenditure as they might. The whole duty of the constables is apparently to stand in the centre of the street and idly watoh the traffio go by pulling up anyone who flagrantly breaks a by-law. No effort is made to regulate the traffic, and at a busy hour vehicles can be seen coming from all directions and crossing the street intersections at their own sweet will, while the constable stands blandly in the oentre, waiting, one supposes, to piok up the' injured. Occasionally the writer has received signals to stop or come on from the constable at the Cuba Street-Manners' Street intersection, but never elsewhere. In Auokland the traffic regulation is managed differently, and far more effectively. _ All' vehicles are required to get a signal from« the oonatable before proceeding across the intersections, and those who attempt to make short-cuts by not keeping stfictly to their own side of the road are sharply dealt with. The positions "in which the oonstables usually stand at the Manners StreetWillis Street and the Cuba Street-Man-ners Street oorners might be-improved. A motor, or other vehicle coming up Willis Street and turning into Bouloott Street is presumably supposed to pass around tie constable. The turn is an awkward one at best, as there is usually plenty of cross traffio, a sharp up-grade has to be faced, and the entrance to Boulcott Street is frequently blocked by pedestrians standing talking on the roadway. The position occupied by the oonstable is often so high up that it is a difficult matter to get around at all between him and the Albert Hotel corner; and now and then one notices a motorist who 'fails to do the trick and reverses back into the traffic before he is clear. Others again •are sometimes to be noticed cutting in on their wrong side of the load in front of the oonstable.

At the Cuba Street corner, another problem arises. If a vehicle proceeding from Courtonay Place to Jervoia Quay follows its natural course on the down tram rails it passes on the wrong side of the constable. If the driver goes around the constable on the proper side he at once fouls the line of up-traffio from Manners Street into Cuba Street. It is difficult in this case to aee how tc improve the position except by allowing , the Courtenay Place-Jervois Quay traffio to follow the down tram--line. There is plenty of room to keep the streams of traffic separate, but if the fetish of going round the constable is insisted on' they must become needlessly confused. ' New Season's Models. No, motor show is being held in London this year, but the English motoring journals to hand contain the usual review of the new' models being, put on the market by the various makers for the 1915 .'season.; The war has a number of manufacturers to defer introducing any changes for the time being, and taken generally , .few new developments except in detail are to he found. The most numerous accession of- new models comes 'in'the small-car class with engines of 1100 to 1600 c.c. In these the principal departure is the appearance of a number of .small four-seaters, some of them with engines of less than 1100 0.0. I In the larger cars one notices more and more the incorporation "of eleotrio lighting and starting apparatus as a standard fitting. Another feature of the year is the outting down, of the number of different models turned out by individual makers, and . the increase in the number of makers specialising en one model only,,

Suspension and Brakes. The suspension question Is on item upon whioh designers have expended much of their time, and the Bubjeot of brakes, has also received considerable attention. There is certainly an idea m the minds of many manufacturers that braking stresses need not necessarily be transmitted through either the universal joints of the tail shaft or the transmission gear. Two alternative methods are employed to obviate this passage of the roversed stresses, the more common being the fitting of both' the brakes on the drums of the rear wheels. The advantages of this design are fairly obvious, but if the brakes are to be thoroughly efficient at slow car speeds it is essential that drums of considerable diameter be employed. This, however, does not always add to the appearanoe of a car. There is what one might 1 term a "half-way house" between the two designs, in which the differential brake is mounted at the baik of the rear axle casing on pi extension of the driving shaft. This is somewhat of a compromise letween the two methods, and the* advantages of high speed are attained, but the reverse stresses have to pass through the driving gear, although they do not materially affeot the universal joints. Though; numerically, this prinoiplo haß not many adherents as yet, nevertheless the status of those manufacturers who do fit such an arrangement, is very high, and in practice the scheme has been found to work very well. Lubrication questions have also come in for further consideration'.

In regard to coachwork, the many improvements effected, tending to the greater comfort of the driver and oo cupants of the oar, are often of so small a nature that they are hardly noticed by the casual observer. Such things as the simplifying of hood manipulation, the better protection of the oocupants against a driving rain, and .kindred points require much ingenuity . ex pended upon them before' the solution is found.' Yet a considerable amount of worlr has done in such directions, all of which makes for the greater comfort of the motorist and for his further convenience. Abolishing the Magneto. With electric starting and lighting has come a new development—the abolition' of the magneto and the use of a single dynamotor to combine the office of starting and charging, while ignition is effected by using the lighting accumulators in combination with a coil, contact-breaker, and distributor. This triple combination is being more widely used on American cars than hitherto, and is evidentlv growing in popularity in the United States. The "Autocar," it is worth noting, does not think the claim that the combining of the ignition with the lighting or with lighting and starting tends to simplicity is justified . the _ facts. The separate magneto is not more complicated than the parts and wiring by which it must be replaced, bo that wo do not see how the claim for simplicity can oe upheld. Eight-Cylinder Era. Is the eight-oylinder engine to have n, big vogue in the future? The two leading adherents to this tyne of engine are, in Eurono. the De Dion Boutnn Company, and in America the Cadialloc Company. One or' two firms of the highest standing in Britain have been experimenting with eight-cylinder models of late, but thewar has nrevenU ed them from nroeeeding. for the moment. ' Tito advantages. all i d;spdvantn.rres of the type were reviewed in the "Motor' 1 the 'otW day, and may bo summed up as f nllow: — Advantages.—Greater power for a iriven wmVht than the siy-ovlinder design. Eight cams instead of 12, and also shorter camshaft. Engine ie con-

siderably shorter than six-cylinder models. Shorter and lighter crankshaft. Shorter and lighter crank-ca6e. Uniformity of torque, which is 33 1-3 per oent. better than of six-oylin-dor engine. Suitability df design for reasonably high compression. High mechanical effioienoy. ... Disadvantages.—Further complication. Cost of and diffioulty in manufacturing special design of connecting Tods. Reduotion in area, of big-end bearing. Exte weight of cylinder block in ratio to powar, as compared with tho fowrcylinder or six-cylinder design. Requires better design and more careful workmanship. According to our contemporary, the eigh-oylinder engine is found fully to warrant the complication which, of course, the added cylinders are bound to entail. All the good features which one hopes to find in a high-wade petrol engine are there. Its flexibility is unique, its even torque is akin to a revelation for an internal-combustion engine, and on top gear uie could drive on slowly against a hill until the engine actually stopped, with hardly any appreciable roughness. Whilst, of oourse, this ia hardly a proceeding which one would advocato as an everyday occurrence, "nevertheless it showed in a marked manner how near this of engine approaches the ideal in regard to the uniformity of torque. Wairarapa Jottings. Despite the war, the Wairarapa Automobile Association still finds time to put through a considerable amount of useful business. At the meeting of the oommittee last week ten members were present and the summary of the business dealt with occupied a column in the local paper. The association continues to devote attention to the improvemenit of tho Rimutaka Road, and is now requesting the Government to establish a telephone bureau on either side of the hill at the homesteads of Messrs. -Hill and Davidson., It was also decided to give half a ton of wire to. each of these settlers if they will fence the., road, and if the meat companies who use it for driving stock will contribute as well. If the road is fenced'speoial places are to be left for stock to be driven into ■so that oars may pass them. The Wellington Motor Association is to be asked to . help in the matter. Soout9 were placed on the Rimutaka Road on New Year's Day and were to be stationed there again to-day. ■ Three dozen triangular danger posts, to be. painted a bright red, are to be erected throughout tho Wairarapa, a dozen of them being placed- on the Rimutaka. The Wellington Association is to be asked, if possible, to erect finger-posts showing tne road to Plimmerton atid other places in the district. A letter was read from the Railways Department stating that it intended to provide an automatic warning signal at the Bank of New Zealand crossing at Featherston, also asking • that certain trees b'e removed from same crossing which form some obstruction .to the view of approaching, trains. German Petrol Supplies. If Rumania joins in with the Allies Germany will be hard put in a few months to find petrol for the many thousands ,of motors in use .by her Armies. . According to the "Motor," there was an accumulation of 25 million gallons of petrol in Germany at the beginning of August. Our contemporary, in its issue of November 11, says:— . Since the beginning of the war, thanks largely to the unsparing exertions of the gentleman who was put in charge of ,this branch of supplies for the Army, Mr. Reidermah, the German representative of the Standard Oil group, it is to be.feared that Germany has been able to import enough motor spirit to maintain''at' the same relative position wbioh she enjoyed at the outset. That position, nowever, amounting to a resorve of approximately 25,000,000 gallons, is regarded as unsatisfactory in the highest German military oiroles. Germany has not only been able to secure regular train loads from the Steaua Ronmna field, but also from a neighbouring field wnioh is not owned or finanoed in Germany. It is believed thai supplies through Rotterdam haverecently heen .rendered impossible, and the oritical faotor in the situation for. Germany is now the neutrality or hostility of Rumania. If Rumania joins forces with the Allies, no more spirit will be derived from that country. At the moment, we regret to have to record, the joint supplies from there are sufficient to make good the total consumption by the German Army transport of all branohes, the submarines, the aeroplanes and tho airships. Great Britain and her Allies have to reconcile themselves to the following state of affairs. Germany is very much shorter of petrol than she had hoped to be, but is not vet actually short of it. Fronr the day on which Rumanian supplies' are out off, either through Rumanian intervention or the interruption by the Russians of railway communication south of,the Carpathians, Germany will have' a maximum six months' supply in the country.

Hints and Tins. When faced' with' a problem in misfiring or sluggish running, many motorists (remarks the "Light Car") will devote an evening to a minor overhaul of the oar. . They will olean the magneto oontaots. probably set them a little closer; clean out the oarburetter, and possibly fit a larger or smaller jet; and, maybe, they will touch up the exhaust valves. The next time they go out, the engine will presumably run quite satisfactorily, and the owner will fiat himself on the back and congratuato himself on having done a good night's work. But he is woefully taken; ho has not taken advantage of his opportunities, he has learn no lesson from his misfortune, and, although he haß cured the trouble, ho has -not discovered, what the . trouble was, nor does he* know how to tackle it speedily should it occur again. Tho reason is that he has undertaken too many things together. If, instead of making some half-dozen adjustments, he had tackled them one by one and ascertained the-effect of oaoh as he made_ it, he would have been gradually acquiring a fund of useful knowledgo for his future guidance.

A continuously clear and colourless exhaust may be regarded as a general indication tliat the mixture is of the proper proportions and that combustion is complete. What is known as a "blaok exhaust" is a sure sign of over-rich mixture, and very often the gases are of a pungent nature t and cause smarting of the eyes. A slightly coloured exhaust may quite reasonably be due to the use of some not very pure spirit; a -white exhaust is due to overlubrication. Every motorist has at times been annoyed by the rattling of the tyre levers, the jack, the pump, and other accessories in the box spaces which are formed underneath, the front seats of many cars. Few motorists take the trouble to have special casings made for individual accessories of the kind,. an>* the greatest extent to which they usually go, in order, to secure quietness when rupning over a bumpy road, is to übo dusters, wipers, or mutton-cloth as wrappers for the rattling pieces. A simple expedient is to utilise two or. three old newspapers for damping the movement. They cost nothing, and aohieve the object in view. It is common pratotice now to fit cars with a gravity-feed system of petrol supply. When this is adopted' it is necessary to provide an aperture for the purpose of allowing air to enter the tank to take the place of. the petrol that lias.passed away to the engine; it is customary to place this aperture in tho top of "the filler cap. If for any reaeou this hole should become blocked

or choked with dry metal polish or any other substance, there will ocour stops on the road, suggestive of an absenoe of petrol in the tank.' This explanation of the stoppage Trill, of course, be refuted as soon as the fillerooatp t is removed for the purpose of examining the inside of the tank, and the very aot of removing the filler cap will cause the admission of a quantity of air to the tank so that the correct flow of fuel will be resumed when a fresh start is made, and the car will prooeed under apparently normal conditions. After a short while, however, the supply of air. in the tank will fail and there will bo a. recurrence of the former trouble. Here and There. Legal lighting-up time for motor-car» and motor-cycles: To-day, 7.33 p.m.; next Friday, 7.27 p.m. : T. Lintoni the first cyclist in the .world to ride 30 miles in the hour, recently died' in France. ■ It will surprise most people to learn than England' already has over 10,000. motorists engaged w the mechanical transport columns in Belgium and Franoa.