MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2599, 22 October 1915, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

— IB? Cltjtoe.l

| Cars for Wounded Soldiers. I The Wellington Automobile Club lias I decided to invite the co-openition of all car owners in the _ Wellington district in connection with tho conveyance of wounded soldiers from the ship's side 011 arrival in port, and tho maintaining of a regular supply of cars for taking our wounded about during their period of convalescence. This work lias hitherto boon done by club members', but tho car supply has been rather erratic in viow of tile fact that a great many of tho club members are on tho Special Motor Reserve, and have to bo oil call- when required by tho Defence Department. In addition, occasions arise when a man can't for business reasons release his car just when it is wanted. Tlie idea, now is to have a big list of car-owners who are willing to lend their cars for the convenience of the wounded conv-Uesccnts, and tho secretary of tho club will prepare rota lists so that al l will got a fair share of the privilege of doing something for the men who bave done something for us.

| Wellington Automobile GUib. The annual meeting of the Wellington Automobile Club was held on Wednesday. Mr. W. Pryor occupied the chair. On the motion of Mr. Pryor, seconded by Mr. T. Young, the annual report and balance-sheet were'adopted. Tho following officers were elected for the ensiling year: —President, Mr. C. H. Izard; vice-presidents, Dr. Prendergast Knight and Mr. C. M. Banks; committee, Messrs. W. Pryor, T. Young, G. Nathan, C. Sherwood, G. Magnus, C. Larmour, H. Lloyd, W. Mantell, and C. Aldridge; auditor, Mr. G. B. Hull, F.1.A.N.Z.; secretary and treasurer, Mr. H. J. Stott. It was decidejl to incorporate the club under the Incorporated Societies Act, after slight alterations were made in tlie rules according to the Registrar's requirements. A lengthy discussion took wlace with regard to members lending their cars for the use of wounded soldiers -upon the application of the medical authorities, and it was decided that tlie club should organise a system and call upon all owners of motor-cars to assist in the work required, by advertising for those who were able to send their namos to tho secretary of the club at 12 Panama Street,\ who would compile a list of car owners to be called xipon in rotation when required. The secretary read a letter received from the secretary of the Itoseneath and Oriental Bay Municipal Association, asking for the club's co-operation to induce the City Council to "have the road widened from Point Jerningham to Little Karaka Bay, which matter it was decided to leave in the hands of the committee. A hearty rote of thanks and appreciation was accorded to the secretary for his efforts during the past six months in the interests of the club, and a vote tlianks to tlie chairman terminated the proceedings.

Economy in Tires. Useful hints are given in a rocoirfc American publication on tho subject of keeping down tire expense. The use of a pressure gauge is strongly recommended, and the suggested pressure for the various tire sizes is- as follow 4in., 801b.; 4jin., 901b.; sin., 1001b.; s}in., 1101b.' The fact is emphasised that no ; motorist can hone to obtain the best results from his* tires unless he drives his car with a certain degree of caution and avoids the numerous abuses which aid in shortening the life of the tires. A fierce and unnecessary strain is imposed by rounding corners at high speed, while running in iufcs, tramrails, or against kerbs ohafes tho rubber and in time exposes the fabric. Quick starting and stopping should also be avoided. Extra' covers carried' on the car should be > covered to protect them from the sunlight, which has an injurious eifect on rubber. Spare tubes should not be stored where they will come into contact with tools or oil. It is a good plan to tie a piece of cloth around the valve stem before placing a tube in the tube bag. This will prevent the stem from injuring the rubber. Heat, light, and oil are natural enemies of rubber, and when grease comes in contact with tires it should be immediately removed with benzine or petrol. I

Exhaust Expiosions. When explosions are continually occurring in the exhaust box of a car, the vehicle becomes a trial to its owner, and a nuisanco to the general public, writes the motoring correspondent of tho Melbourne The main cause or the trouble is that luifired charges from the engine collect in the exhaust box, and, if a slow-burning charge in one of the cylinders follows tho ejection of those charge's, it is bound to explode them. In this 3 , as in the case of backfiring along the induction pipe, the gas IS the principal factor - contributing to the trouble. If, when on the road, a car suddenly develops the defcct of persistent "banging" in the exhaust box and loss of power (which will follow as a matter of course), it will be safe to assume that there .is something wronc; with tho carburetter or the petrol supply. A block in the jet or petrol pipe, or the tank running short of spirit, are almost invariably indicated by explosions irf the silencer. Theso explosions may vary in intensity a great deal - that depends largely oil tho type or silencer fitted. Tho more resistanca l 't IS °^ to the exploded charges tho louder the report .will be, and in some cases the ends of tho box may bo blown out-. A good idea, which, however, is rarely put into practice, is to lit a. safety-valve in the silencer, which will open under any undue internal If this were done many a silencer would have boon saved from destruction. Another reason why these explosions occur is switching on and off with the throttle open—a practice somo motorists adopt when descending hills through having 110 provision for "throwing an air-port open so that the cylinders can draw in air instead of mixture for compression to obtain an enginebraking effect. 'When switching 011 again, there is always the risk that the exhaust box,-full of unexploded mixture will, go off, especially when the spark is retarded, for then the .charge will still be 111 process of combustion when It is ejected through tho exhaust valve. A badly-fitting exhaust valve, which allows the_ mixture to leak past on the compression stroke, sometimes has the same effect. Starting and Lighting Systems. The extensive application of combined lighting and starting sets in' America has now reached such a stage that very lew cars other than quite small types are being supplied without them. The practical advantages of such sets have been universally recognised, remarks an Australian exchange, over there, and despite a certain amount of extra complication, there is no evidence that the non-technical user of a car lias any uouble with them. In England the beginning of the war checked tho steady development of the starter and lighting outfit, though a few standard makes have jihvavs boon obtainable to meet the limited requirements. What has to be clearly recognised' in this connection is that the production of these sets in America is now so large that it threatens seriously to become a sort of world-standard or a great monopoly. There are probably hall'-a-dozen very large lactones in America simply making nothing else but theso sets 011 the well-known standardised lines of tncch81'iical and electrical practice adopted there. The early difficulties that were experienced with accumulators for this clnsa of work- hav.a loug since disajj-