MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2780, 26 May 1916, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

£Br Clcich.] Gear Changing. Perfect gear changing is a difficult art. Only a small miaority of motorists acquire it to perfection. A contomporury thinks that the problem ia not insuperable, and mentions various attempts to solve it, Bucli as the adoption of electrical dovices, some .simple form of mechanical devico, or the adoption of electrical transmission, which ib .already being used ill several cases and possesses tho great advuntago of iieiibility. There are many, however, who 1 would regrot the passing of tho existing grarbox system, for when machinery is over-simplified, so that it becomes almost automatic, interest is apt to be lost to. a considerable extent, llio skill and attention needed in. making u miiek, clear change, is a pleasure in ltselt, though it. must bo admitted that tho proportion of those "who can accomplish the movement so that there is no grinding or grating is comparatively few, and from this point of view no doubt a practical method of preventing the gears being damaged would bo welcomed by the majority'. Tho elootrical gear change 13 not, however, likely to fill the Mil, for hero also a certain amount of skill would l)« needed. Possibly electric transmission may solve the problem* Time ftlono will tell. Indianapolis Track Race. , The promoters of tho famous Indianapolis inotor-car tiwjk race, which. 10 to lie decided over a distance of SOS miles (previously it has been 500 miles) lon May 30, have introduced somo new features into the conditions of the contest. The piston displacement of tho competing engines must not esceed 850 inches, whilst the weight is limited to 22cwt. 361b., and oniy three cars ucre allowed to be entered by any ono maker, but two additional 'cars of the same make may be entered by bona fide private owners. The field was limited to 33 starters, as many as this speedway will carry, and at the eliminating trials a miiuiiuim speed' of SO miles per hour had to be maintained for a number of miles. A noval feature in conncctioi\ with these _ trials was i the division of the gate receipts taken, during practice amongst drivers end entrants, in proportion to the number of laps covered by each car durjfig the practice runs on tho track. The first prizo for tho event is .£6OOO. Last year's contest resulted in 500 being covered at an average speed.of- 89 4-5 m.p.h., tho winner being Ralph. Da Palina, on a "Mercedes." Lighting of Cars.: When charged before Mr. I'. V. lAru2or, S.M., in tho Police Court last week with allowing his motor-car to stand in Street at night without sufficient lights, Mr. H. M. Smeeton (states the Auckland "Herald") explained that when he drove to his place of . business on the date mentioned in tho chaiga-sheofc two front lights and a .tail light were burning. On leaving, tho cor to enter 'the premises ha turned down one of the front lights. Ho returned in 10 minutes, qnd relit the lamp he had extinguished, and then drove away. Mr. Smefcton. said many peoplo had the impression that when a car was at a standstill it was not necessary to have the two• front lights burning. SeniorSergeant Butledge said that many people had'been prosecuted for breaches of the. "same .by-law, which provided that two front lights and a tail light should be kept burning all the. time the car was in use at night. The Magistrate confirmed this' by reading the by-law in question.' " Defendant was fined ss. Motor Transport. Tho enemy's shells are not. tho only menace to motor transport cars at the front-'_ The lack of protection against collision is responsible .for about 50 per cent, of tho' truck' casualties. These occur mainly when operating in convoy formation. Usually an officer le&ds in ft light touring car, and unless he is a really experienced man he will set too fast apace. . Each driver tries to keep as close, as possible to the liian ahead, with the ttiiult cars bump into c-ach other and damago to radiators. and cylinders of course occur. In -this work solid tires are said' to lave proved-'soiuewhat " disappointing,; Generally.- on trucks working in. the liorth of France they do not average more than 5000 miles. The more strenuous conditions under which they are working, and the proneness on tho part of many drivers to drivo at speeds in excess of that intended by the makers, account mainly for . this short life.' iSelf-starters are. not greatly appreciated at 'tho front. They are to be found on ono make of truck used by the French/ but aro very rarely in a ooiidition to bo of service. More often than not the batteries are requisitioned to light a dug-out or non-com.'s quarters. As the army regulations require that two drivers should attend each truck, a self-starter certainly seems superfluous. '

Manufacturing and the War. An -epitomised comparison between English, and American manufacturing methods may be found in the following from tho pen of "Kosmos" in "The, Motor":—"Two years ago 1 tried to bring" together an American manufacturer who knew everything about quantity manufacture and littlo about engino . efficiency, and a clever European engineer, who had spent most of his life trying to got high power out of a small oylinder, and had never been coiicerncd about cost. It was like trying to mix oil and water. The engineer produced a beautiful motor, and immediately the American put his blue pencil through it. Those two men spent several months together, the one trying to drive homo the truth tlmt "this car has got to be sold for 700 dollars," and the other endeavouring to prove that such and such features were unmechanical, unsightly, and unsuitable. The car iB now on tho American mid British markets: It would have been a better car if the engineer uad been allowed to have his own way; but in that, case it would never have been sold to Englishmen, fori its price would huve put it beyond their reach." The same writer considers that the war, instead of being our gravo, will prove bur industrial salvation, and cites oiio case with which he is particularly well acquainted as typical of others. A factory was. converted to the production of munitions, and its output of motorCttl'S speedily vanished. It is now working night and 'day on munitions, and is being constantly improved and enlarged; already ,±'500,001) "has been scent in new machinery. The Stato is now getting the direct benefit of tho work of this speededup and modernised factory. But tome day it will come back to its own, and with a vigour that will surprise, for the plant is intended ultimately to build better and cheaper motor-ears than the firm has ever yet produced. Tho N.S.W. Police Authorities have issued instructions that action 'is to be takon against any record-breakers committing a breach of the traffic laws of the Stato by driving to tho danger of other users of the road in the overland route. This means that aspirants' after either tho existing motor-car or motor-eyclo records will havo to exercise great care, or they are likely to fall foul with the New South Wales polce.

In the not very far distant past many motor-car manufacturers gave but cusual attention to the balancing of their engines, trusting to the vibrations of the road to disguise theso dues to the engino or divert attention from the engine builder to the road builder, or the tire maker. Great improvements have been mnde, howevor, for it lias been realised that proper balnnoing means much to the efficiency and life of the entiro machine, as well as increased comfort to the user, and tho advent of the mnlti-cylindcr engines lias brought tho subject still closer to the designer. There is still much that can be done in the ivay of balancing moving parts and eliminating vibrations, and are giving tho subject careful study, although tho frequent changes of model delays the results. ! In the gradual ovolution of the modern motor-car tho original "oil hole" was soon Superadded by the oil cup, and tho scrow-dofrn grease cup, which undoubtedly wtw a great improvement. Now there has been patented a new device which bids fair to supersede grows' cups—at least on cars, and probably also on other mafihinory. This novol device has been patented in Great Britain and is an adaptation of the well-known collapsible load capsules, so widely used for artists' colours, druggists' products, paste, etc. The capsules are provided with a screw thread which is screwed into an adapter, which- in turn is fastened to tho part to be lubricatod. Tho lead capsnlo and the brass adapter make a tight joint, and all

that is necessary is to apply pressure from time to time, as desired. When the grease capsule is empties, ono merely unscrews it and puts a now one ; in it place. No refilling is necessary, and the pressure of the fingers is usually sufficient to force the grease into tho bearing. Anyone who has attempted to fill an ordinary grease cup will appreciate this suggestion.

Lighting -up timo to-day, 4.31 p.m. Nest Friday, 4,29 p.m.