MOTORS & MOTORING
[.By Clutch.]
Petrol Supplies. Disquieting figures were recently made available in America iu connection with potrol supplies in the future. According to expert opinion iu America there is only sufficient oil in that country to last another fifteen years, at tho present rato of consumption. If this be true, then there appears to be very little chance of American motor fuels being substantially reduced, even when the war is over. As there will bo some three million cars on • the roads in America at the end of the present year, the home'consumption is enormous, and it looks as if the day is not very far distant when other countries will have to depend on other sources of supply for their requirements. Last year America consumed nearly six times as much petrol as she exported, and this year it is anticipated, that some 42,000,000 barrels of oil will be necessary to cope with American requirements. It is considered that the only solution of tho trouble will bo tho solving the problem of carburation of low-grade fuels, and it is a matter that cannot bo ignored. It has to be met and conquered; if tho motor movement the world over is to keep on advancing. 0
A Cood Fault. ' Over-lubrication is a good fault, but nevertheless it is a fault, and not infrequently can occasion slight inconveniences. Too much oil iu tho engine is infinitoly better than too little, out the driver should always aim at getting the right amount. If the instructions provided by the car makers are observoa this is not difficult. One result of over-lubrication is that the cylinders become ' foul, and want cleaning earlier than should be the case, and this is a job that must be placed in the hands of a capable mechanic, lor it is not the work for the average owner. One of tho first sjgns of-dirty cylinders is faulty ignition, perhaps only three of the four cylinders are firing; a- little test will show whiclr is the imperfect one, and the removal of the plug will probably demonstrate that this is badly sooted tip,.and giving no spark. • A spare plug should be carried and put in its place, tho old ono being taken home and carefully cleaned ready for emergencies. 1
Testing Springs. Little is left to chance in the making of motor-cars these days. Every part and every bit of material that goes into the well-mado cars is so thoroughly use that their future can he written out in advance. To accomplish these tests, however, many wonderful machines have been. developed. One of the most interesting in the laboratory of Dodgo Brothers is a device which foi twenty-four , hours each day tests springs.. The principle is extremely simple, although in practice, to ascertain results, it is complicated in its workings. The centrp of the spring is held stationary while rapidly-mov-ing arms vibrate the- ends, exerting the. same force that the spring would be called on to combat on an exceedingly rough road. It tests not only lor strength, elasticity, and other qualities, but also makes certain that the measurements are absolutely correct. The overload pressure 'is applied at the extreme rate of. 155 vibrations a minute, until tho spring has absorbed more shocks than it would bo called upon to survive in long years of actual service. ■•With-a conservative number of miles per year as a basis it has been shown that somo of the springs subjected to.this tesS would last the average automobile driver sixty years. Grease is placed between the spring leaves and tester to determine its value as a "squeak" reducer. Little thormometers aro placed in small cups of mercury fasten., ed to the individual leaves of tho vibrating spring. The temperature of the leaf is, of course, a- means of dn. termining the value of the lubricant, for wherover thero'is friction there is heat and a measure of heat is a measure of the friction.
Here anfl There. The proposal of the English Governincrease motor license's, so as to bring in an annual amount of about £800,000 has been abandoned, and in its place, a super-tax- of sixpence a gallpn on petrol is to bo imposed, Tins, it is anticipated, will bring an limoujit of approximately £962,000' annually into the exchequer. One of the objects of _ the new tax is to limit the consumption of petrol amongst .motorists, owing to the shortage of petrol supplies in England, and the onormous demands made on supplies for the motor, services of the Allies in France. The reason motor-designers try to make the shape of the combustion chaniber as -near as possible to that of a. sphere is because a sphere lias the least area in proportion to its volume. Itenco with the small wall area there will be less hoat loss.
Motlcrn brakes are very different from the earlier and somewhat makeshift appliances to be found on the old cars. The internal-expanding, metftt-to-motal brake is a well-designed piece of engineering, and, given ordinary care, there is little that can get amiss with it. But hard wear, especially in hiiy districts, and frequent driving in congested traffic must lia\'e some effect on the braking mechanism, so that a time comes when the brakes reach somewhere near the limit of their efficiency. 'Moreover, such is tho design of the modern type of brake tliat, when that stage is reached, there is a danger of the mechanism over-drawing and the Iwake being rendered inoperative. A thorough overhaul of car brakes is advisable from time to time, in fact, it is essential for one's safety. Mow motors frequently save the lives of people distant from medical attention is told by an Australian correspondent": "I have a large family, and 1 live in the bush fifty miles from- tho nearest doctor, and the way we are situated here with the drought wo could not have got a horse to take us to a doctor for the last few years. So if there were not sonic private cars in tile bush people would have to dio without being able to get a doctor. I know a man here who would have lost his life a few weeks ago if there jritdn't been a private car to tako him to'- a doctor, as all tho hired cars were engaged at the. time. I think it is very necessary for people in the bush to have cars. I can assure you that they save many lives in the, time of drought; when you cannot get a horso (it to drive." Lighting-up time: To-day, 5.29 p.m. Next Friday, o.DS p.m. '
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Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2865, 1 September 1916, Page 9
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1,103MOTORS & MOTORING Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2865, 1 September 1916, Page 9
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