MOTORS & MOTORING.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2401, 5 March 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING.

[By Clutch,}

Aotive .Associations. Frdm time to time mention has been made in this column. of the doings of tlie various automobile associations throughout the Dominion. This week, for instance, appear reports of a doj)Utation organised in Auckland to secure better traffic by-laws and of a reliability trial held by the Canterbury Association. Tie other .day reference was made to the doings of the Wairarapa Association and the Otago Motor Club. Nothing has been heard for some time past- of the Hawke's Bay and Taranaki Associations, 'the former of which has been one of the most active motor bodies in the Dominion, while the latter is fie newest. The point it is desired to- emphasise, however, is that there has been nothing whatever to record of the Wellington i Motor Club for a long time past; not in fact, since the" beginning of the .war, when the secretary, ; Mr. H. Dillon-Kelly, undertook the organisation of a corps of motors 'for the use' of the Defence Department during the busy days of dispatching the Expeditionary Force. The motorists of Wellington are numerous and if united into a vigorous body could accomplish a great deal in securing road improvements and up-to-date local by-laws, etc. The Wairarapa Association has been 1 appealing for some .time past for assistance from Wellington in carrying out an arrangement it has proposed for the "fencing of' the Rimutaka Road, but the appeal is apparently falling on deaf ears. It is not right that the very persistent efforts of the Wairarapa motorists to, improve this dangerous highway should remain entirely .unsupported 'by the city car-owners.

Bay of Plenty Roads, < Southern motorists who make the trip through to Rotorua, are generally, satisfied to'/let their journey end'there.' In summer, however, an interesting run may be made out to Opotiki over roads which are on the whole very, fair going ii fine weather, being'composed mainly of a mixture of pumice and clay. In the first 25 or 30 miles the road,_ on departing from Lake Rotorua, winds 'around the picturesque shores of Rotoiti, afterwards plunging into the beautiful bush of Hongi's Track, then skirting Rotofehu, and finally following the winding bays of Rotorua, the. most beautiful lake in the thermal district. A journey through this oountry was recently made by Mr. Alf Kidd, of Auckland, who has been touring in the Hot Lakes and Bay" of Plenty districts in his Wolseley car. Leaving Rotorua, the 101 miles to Opotiki were covered comfortably on the first day. Next day. the party went back from Opotiki to Tauranga. The distance is 120 miles, and the road runs through some of the finest agricultural and-.pastoral land in the Dominion. The possibilities of Whakatane as a centre greatly impressed the tourists. Between Whakatane and Opotiki the route taken was via the Waimana Plains, where for 40 miles the car travelled over an excellent stretch of road. The party, returned to Rotorua on the third day.

Uniform By-laws sought. • The need for some approach to uniformity in traffic by-laws was impressed, on the Auckland Local Bodies' Association by, a deputation from the Auckland Automobile Association'the other day. • . The president of the Automobile Association, Mr. N. Newcomb, said that his body had only one aim in. view, and that,.-was to have' such by-laws governing motor traffio that the members could not only keep them, but.as,sist to enforce them.- The association had, from-time: to time, considered this matter, and had found that in some distriots the by-laws were of such a nature that it was impossible .to keep them. Some members of local bodies had assured him it was not intended that the .by-laws aJhould'be strictly adhered to, and they were only passed to oheok those motorists who were inclined to: exceed the speed limit. He had been told _that the Mount Albert Borough Council would not enforce its speed limit of 12 miles per hour, but, nevertheless, anyone exceeding that speed was 'wilfully breaking the by-law, and no respectable ratepayer of oiie district would enter that of another and wilfully infringe the laws. The association did-not wish to dictate to local ■bodies, but would take .members for a trip lvc ? llem a practical demonstration of the. differences that existed. In soma places in Auckland there was 210 speed limit, but in others there were certain restrictions.' For instance, at the corner of Queen Street and Customs Street the limit was eight' miles' per hour, while round some corners' in outside districts four miles was the limit. The members would agree that the traffic at Customs Street was much greater than anywhere else. ' Further, a car travelling at. four mile;; per hour was very difheult to control, for a certain amount of momentum was necessary if the car was to be steered properly. The association wanted a uniform set of bylaws for the control of motor traffic in all districts.

The chairman, Mr. H. B. Morton, said that the Automobile Association did not want' to allow any, exoessive speed, but wanted to remove anomalies. It seemed to him absurd that the minimum speed in Queen Street should be eight miles and at certain places at Epsom, Onehunga, and One-tree Hill four miles. ' ■

Mr. Newcomb asked that the matter .of tail lights on wagons should also be considered. It was not right that 1 a motor-car which travelled at a high speed should have to have a tail light, and that slow-moving wagons, which wore always being overtaken and passed, should not have lights at the fear. Eventually, on the motion of the chairman, it was decided to call the attention of local bodies represented on the association to the desirability of having uniform regulations regarding motor traffic in respect to maximum, speed, speed, at intersections, passing tramcars, and dangerous places. It was also agreed to ask the Automobile Association to provide regulations which it considers would be suitable for' controlling motor traffic, and the whole matter will be again considered at the next meeting.

Strenuous' Reliability Trial. One of the most severe reliability arials undertaken in New Zealand was that completed by the Canterbury Automobile Association on Monday last. The rout© selected was from Christchurch to the Hermitage, Mount Cook, and back, a distance of 440 miles. Tho journey out was started on Saturday morning, and at 5.22 p.m. on, Monday the first car _in the trial arrived back at the starting point. Fifteen cars were entered.. All tho ears made a non-stop run to Fairlio, 110 miles, and Kennedy's F.1.A.T., which won last year's trial, arid was the first car to leave Christchurch, did tho distance ill 4hrs. 13hiili. At Fairiie there was an hour's stop, in control,-- for lunch, and then tlie'most difficult! part of tho trip was tackled —from Fairlio to the Hermitage. Rain had been falling, and tho creeks were up, though little difficulty was experienced until Lakes Tekapo and Pulcnki had been passed.. Bush's' Creek looked too bad to bo attempted, but tin; Mount Cook motor acted as pilot, and by dint of careful driving several cars managed to get through without spoiling their non-stop record. Other bad spots were a strotcn of road submerged, for ai'Oufc half a mile, and the Black Birch Creek, which was a bit of a problem. Altogether ton cars out of the fif/een entercd t arrived at tho ttormitajje within time,,

and five had a non-stop run, these being -H. W. Piper's Cadillac, Captain E. M'Lean's Cadillac, L. N. Montgomery's Hupmobile, J. 0. Mercer's Huiv mobile, and Fleming's F.I.A.T. The oars registering one stop were Dr. Simpson's Hupmobile, Hawkes and! Co.'s pelage, and M. Stevenson's New Pick. The official oar, Mr. Climie's'Buick, did a good run, and got to the Hermitage first, only having a stop of a couple of minutes.

On Sunday the competitors, observers, and friends conquered some of the peaks round about the Hermitage, and on Monday at 7.7 a.m. Mr. Johnston's Panhard started off for the return trip, which was via the Raltaia Gorge. Ho had a fast non-stop run back, checking in at the garage at 5.22 p.m. ..At 5.41 p.m. Montgomery's Hupmobile, which is credited with a non-stop both'ways, came in. Montgomery, however, had tlie misfortune to 'ose points for dropping his rear-light, which- was picked up by another car, and brought in to the Hermitage on Saturday. At 6.7 p.m. Captain M'lean (Cadillac)-arrived, also non-stop' both ways, ■ but he also lost points for . losing his spare wheel and spare tire off the back of the car, a mishap he never noticed; Dr. Simpson (Hupmobile) then put in an appearance, and reported certain stops for creeks 'and for taking in petrol,- stops which wore sufficient to put him out of the trial. Hawkes and 1 Co.'s Delage was the next car in, and reported a 25sec. stop on the home journey for water in the carburetter. Practically at the same time Kennett, in the F.1.A.T., arrived, having had an excellent run with only two short stops against him. Then came Piper (Cadillac) with an unsullied record sheet, and also with Captain M'Lean's-spare tires which he had lost. After nim _ came Meicer in a two-year-old Hupmobile, at 6.35, with an absolutely. _ clean sheet both ways, a very meritorious performance. Then, after a long wait, Fleming (F.1.A.T.) turned up, having ..spoilt a most excellent run, which was practically non-stop both ways, by having taken a wrong turning at a bridge and got into deep water, where lie stuck. Besides Eleming's, the cars which had not put in an appearance in time were the two Overloads, the Calcott, Vauxhall, New Pick, and Leon-Bollee, which had been delayed from various causes. While up at the Hermitage the motorists raised about £30 in subscriptions for the Belgian Fund, and also got together an acceptable -little sum en behalf of a charity which Mr. R. Wigley, of the' Mount Cook Motor Service, is supporting, in recognition of his invaluable services in assisting oompatitors stranded in the creeks.

Amerioan Motor Census. Despite the general business depression arid the European war, last year showed an enormous increase in the number of motor-cars in the United States, nearly.7oo,ooo more automobiles having been registered in the various States. The total number for 1014 is 1,803,441, from which receipts were £2,385,000. The largest receipts ivere from New York, amounting to £305,000, California coming nest with £267,000, and Pennsylvania third, with ;;236,000. No other. States reached the 1,000,000 dollar mark.

Further statistics show that for the past decade; up to January 1, "the various State highway authorities have expended for road construction the ctnormous ..sum of £32,465,000, of which £7,487,000 was s£ent last year. In addition the localities added for bridge and road repairs, making a grand total of £59,982,000. Of this, motorists have contributed in fees £6,266,000._ New York still lends in registrations, with a total of 168,039, a gain of 35,500. Illinois is second, as last year, with 132,199, a gain of 37,000. California- is in third place, with 122,625, and Ohio fourth, with 122,071, a gain of 35,000. Pennsylvania is fifth, with 112,000, a gain of 32,000,. and lowa sixth, with 106,250, an increas® of 29,000- Massachusetts follows with 77,246, a gain of 20,000. Texas shows a gain of 49,000, Michigan 35,000, Indiana 5000, and New Jersey 9000, dropping from eleventh place. : Seven reports show a decrease in legislation, Minnesota losing 22,000; district of Columbia, 5000; Tennessee, 3500; IJtah, 1200; Vermont, 650; Mississippi, 400; and Florida, 350.'

Australian Taxation. Interesting figures as to the yield of tho New 1-jouth Wales motor-car and motor-cycle tax up to February 18 were published in Sydney last week. The following sums, had then - been paid in addition to the animal license fees:— Motor-oars, 12-h.p. and under, 603 ordinary cars, 98 professional, 19 trade; receipts, £1331. Over 12 and under 16 h.p., 905 ordinary, 98 professional, 53 trade; receipts, £3238 10s. Over 16 and under 20 h.p., 2972, ordinary, 208 professional, 424 trade; receipts, £13,252. Over 26 and under 33 h.p., 399 ordinary, 9 professional, 125 trade; receipts, £3206. Over 33 and under 40 h.p., 34 ordinary, 25 trade; receipts, £465. Over 40 and under 60 h.p., 34 ordinary, two trade; receipts. £525. Electric motor vehicles, four ordinary, one trade,' receipts £18; motor cycles, 3539, receipts £3539. Taxi-cabs, 125, receipts £125.

Hints and Tips. The golden rule to .observe to stop a skid is to keep way on. the car. Therefore, do not take the clutch out. Straighten up the front wheels against the direction of the skid,' and accelerate the engine slightly. This will, tend to drive the car forward, and this is the only method of stopping or correcting a skid. These remarks apply to back wheel skids only. Front' wheel skids are hopeless, and nothing but running on to dry "ground will stop them. When oil leaks aJong tf shaft, it is common practice to remove the shaft and cut m it a helical groove in such a direction that the groove picks up the oil leaking along the bearing and, as it, were, 6crews it back into the gear box or crank chamber. This is an almost infallible remedy, but of course it may be used only with a plain bearing; with a ball bearing gear box one must attend to the arrangemeut made to prevent leakage, i.e., the stuffing box, felt washer, or whatever may be provided. It is ofton equally effective to provide an air release. On some well-designed modern cars there is in the top of the gear box quite a large aperture, which is covered with gauze and serves to allow air to escape as the parts heat up. Otherwise pressure is generated in the gear box and the oil or grease is forced out.—ls.W.

A very small percentage of drivers change, gears properly. Transmission gears are very finely cut, so that they may mesh perfectly, aud operate as silently as possible. Yet a great many oiniors disregard the of the parts, aud ram home the gears in a very careless and slipshod manner. This makes them clash and grind, and after a few months of such treatment transmission troubles develop, and the car is blamed for the shortcomings of the driver. In descending long hills special care sliould be taken ol' the brakes. It is not advisable to use either the foot or hand brake continuously, because tlioy will becoino hot under the strain, and. suffer unnecessary wear. It is a wise plan when descending a long hill to alternate from tho foot brake to the hand brake, while, if the hill is exceptionally long, or steep, . the motor should be put into one of the intermediate gears so that the engine will act as a brake. This not only makes tho descent- safer, but it saves the car in every way.