MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2786, 2 June 1916, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

IBr Clutch.]

Self-Lubricating Car, Soihe months ago a' British firm .imnetl out an experimental self-lubricating car. It was exhibited at tlie Now. York motor show in January last, where it is said to have been a centre of attraction. . As tho producing firm is a controlled establishment turning out shells for the Imperial Government none of th& self-lubricating cars have yet been made by' it for sale, but it is now reported that a company with a' capital of two million dollars haa been formed in New York to take up tho manufacture. . The car lias a four-cylin-der engine, 80 x 130, and its chief departure_ from standard is in regard to its lubrication. This has been carricd out in Buch a way thai, it is claimed, ft will fun for 25,000 miles, or for six months, with no other.attention than tho tilling of petrol and water tanks, , and the addi-tion-of oil to the sump—all .the \otlier points requiring lubrication : look after themselves. ' For instance, the springe are all cantiliver, and oil is carried under pressure to tho centre trunnions of these, and from there to the shackles by means of tracks and holes in tho various leaves. The same applies to the stoaring joints, but hero it is not under pressure; the cross Bteering connecting bar, for instance, is hollow, and is fitted with an oil filter plug, through which it is filled with oil once in six months. The springs are all completely encased with loather gaiters, as are all steering joints.- Everything else is. self-lubriuating. The idea has yet to prove itself in the hands of the publio. tt is olaimed that the trial car ran satisfactorily for many thousands of miles, in all sorts of weather, but it may not do* so well in the hands of the ordinary user. Oil, that would do its work satisfactorily in- -muter, for instance, might cause much leakage and waste in hot weather, and,Altogether, it seems somewhat in the experimental'stage. ■ Elqctric Light fttr Motor Cycles. , tThe introduction of dynamo lighting Bets for motor cycles is comparatively recent, but already there ere indications that Lolojo long electric light, will supersede acetylene, on all high-class machines. In the near future we expect to ,«ee all the well-known makers of the more expensive side-car machines list oleetrically-equipped models and dynamos ready for attachment to light and medium weight machines will' bo placed on the. market lit reasonable prices .by many concerns. Thc>ro is at the present time an excellent; opportunity • for enterprising electrical engineering firms to devote their' inventive abilities to the production of small and light dynamos, for it is certain that tho demand will grow, and it is to be hoped that British makers will make an effort to, meet it. Unfortunately the European motor trade allowed Germany to monopolise the magneto trade, before the'war;- now English makers'-have Tecaptured the . market, and there is no reason tvny they should not also make tho British dynamo for motor : cycles world famed.:-- At preseut English makers seem 'to favour the separate generator, whereas-: the Americans—who must be credited ..with having been the first to popularise; the electrically-equip-ped machine—seem to prefer to concentrate their attention on- units whioh serve for ignition and lighting. Much may be said in favour of the two j;ival systems. The separate dynamo will, of course, for ' a long time be •in demand, because it can be fitted to any machine by a moderately, capable garage hand, or amateur'mechanic; but as a standard fitment wo are inclined to think that the American makers are working on the right lines by'making a single electrical machine that supplies high-tension current for ignition and low-tension for tho lamp. The fact that this requires only the ordinary,-chain or gear drive that is used for a magneto is a point in its favour. Also it need be very little larger than a magneto, and in no way detracts froih'the appearance of the machine. - Remarkable Haulage >„at. ,- An American motor vehicle" of a comparatively new, but small, type, recently performed a remarkable haulage feat at the front. A gun, 2Gft, long, weighing over 20 tons, was hauled over 11 miles of poor roads in one and a half hours, as against a day and a half by the ordinary means. It is extremely, doubtful if many of us in this country realise thb stupendous task* being suVicessfuily carried through by the petrol motors, aud from reports to hand from all directions it is very evident that the longer the war continues the greater tho dependence on the motor for -all descriptions" of work. : . Here and There. The following are the latest statistics re cart in the world, compiled by "The Horseless Ago" :—ln tho world, 3,114,000; in tho U.S.A., 2,d00,000; Great Britain, 276,000'; France, 98,000; Germaiiy, 71,455; Canada, 55,660; Australia, 20,850; Russia, 15,360; Austria,. 13,160; Italy, 13,000; Argentine, 12,550; Now Zealand, 10,060; Belgium, 9400; Denmark, 8525; Hungary, 6200; Sweden, 6086. It may bo reckoned, therefore, that U.S.A. by the end of this year will have about six tiine3 as many cars a 9 the rest of the world. - On ears which have been in operation for some time, the driver Soften finds that, gear changing cannot be accomplished without noise. The gear -do not, mesh easily, and it not only is arinoying, but sometimes difficult for the car to be driven properly. Harsh gear changing usually/ is due to a spinning clutch, but 1 sometimes to a defect in the gearset. The. latter may have one or-more shafts out of alignment, due either to distortion of the snaft itself or to a poor bearing. When a cone clutch spins, that is, when. it continues to rotate for some time after being disengaged, the trouble may be remedied iby adjustment in many cases. Roughness of the leather may be the canse. A thin coating of neatsfoot oil or dressing with Fuller's earth, usually stops the trouble. In a. disc clutci* running in oil, thinner oil sometimes helps. It usually is a sign of gummed discs when the trouble occurs in a dry disc clutch. > Thomas, the crack French race driver, who won the great Indianapolis race in 1514 on a • Delage, was, it is reported, grunted furlough by the French military authorities so that he might drive a Peugeot there in the 300 miles race on May 30. If Ta'diator fins and tubes are allowed to get clogged with dust your engine will tend to overheat. Clean, fore and aft with petrol on a soft brush, when cold. Never do violence to the fins and tubes. Lighting-up time. To-dajr, 4.29 p.m. Nest Friday, 4.27 p.m.