MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 262, 1 August 1919, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

(By "Clutch.")

Painting Bridges White. Local bodies throughout New Zealand are being u;ked by the New Zealand Automobile Union to paint all- bridges white. At the present time many bridges arc tarred, or else painted black, and | tit night time it is very difficult for approaching motorists to see them. Tlio risk of accident is thus very great. Where it is not possible to paint tho bridges white, the local bodies aro being requested to permit the erection of two whitepainted 'uoards in a conspicuous position, so that they may be observed in the dark. ■ ■ " Position of the Gear Lever. American and Kuropean designs appear to be having a mutual influence this year more than nas ever been tlio case in the past. While American bodies are now r'o'.lowinj! European ideas to a striking extent, ami aro being much improved as a result (.says an exchange), many European care ehow the influence of American practices in their chassis details, one of tho chief of which igjin. the position of the gear lever. Up.To the present the centrally placed gear lever on tho British car has been most rigorously taboo,, but its indisputable advantages are making a powerful appeal to many designers, and as a result soveral new cars are adopting this feature. There is much to be said both for and against tho centrallever, the chief argument in favour boing, of course, that tho lover is able to oporatc the selector rods directly, and intervening mechanism is eliminated—and the elimination of any mechanism is always a good tiling. Also the mounting of the lever immediately on top of thfi gear-box removes entirely- the possibility of straining as a. result of a chassis distortion, and there is also a comparatively minor, but still very" , considerable, advantage, that tho use of two doors to the front scats is made possible. The side lever hae in its favour, above all things, that of precedent. Every British motorist is more accustomed to the side, lever thair to the centrally placed one, and the British is a conservative nation in everything except politics.

Air-Cooling on Cars. Air-cooling for car engines is another topic that has recently come to tho fore in theoretical discussions. It is, however, unlikely that itß adoption will become at ail ii common .feature for at least three or lour years (says an English writer). Thoro arb eoveral air-cooled light cars about to make an appearance on the markot, but these all. have cither ilat twin or radial typo engines. It ia unlikely that the air-cooied car that will come to stay will have enk'ines of either of these types. Tho four or six-cylindar lino is tho most popular type of engine on inodfcrn cars, and air-cooling will have to prove itself on car engines of this type beforo it is likely to become at all popular.

An Unmochanical Part. "Although no doubt the pneumatio tyre is an unincchanical feature of tho motor-car, it is not, in my opinion, the worst," .says a correspondent in tho course of a letter to an English "Motor Journal. , " "I should like to put forward, the differential. It is a device for allowing one wheel to travel at a greater speed than the othor. So far so good, but surely the method of attaining the end is ludicrous. Every time tho differential is brought into play there are frictional losses, but to Teahse how very' uunnchanical it is one has to be driving a car out of the gutter when the edges oHhe road are in a very slippery condition, ihe result is, owing to the drivo being taken by tho wheel that offers least resistance in the conventional type of differential gear, the wheel in the gutter spins violently, and the car is nnable to proceed forward. Considering that thoro are American devices for overcoming the type of differential gear in use in this country it seems extraordinary ; to mo that that type is still retained. Long 'beforo we consider scrapping tho ■ pneumatic tyre we ought to scrap the British typo of differential gear." ~,-.- ■ ■••■

The Role of tho Scooter. , ■~; . Tho' motor-scooter is one of those compensating devices which had to come sooner or Inter, but the tondency, I notice, is already to exaggerate its function and its mechanical development (says an English writer). As a sort of intermediary between • the" ordinary bicycle and the motor-bicycle, it has scope enough, but to speak of it as a vehicle for touring merely because in one case-that of the is fitted with a seat, is to disappoint public expectation. More particularly is the ecooter suitable for Short-service work and sport in town and country, especially for those who are removed from shone and stations. It will get you there in no time, and bring you back again without the usual preparation necessary in. the casa of the motor-bicycle. . It is much easier to step on nnd off .than, to mount a push bike, and it takes up less room, which is a, decided advantage. In view of the immense amount of interest manifested in this newest form of locomotion, therefore, it is satisfactory to knpw that three types of British-made scooters aro now, or very soon will bo, ayailablenamely, the one designed by Major A. XL.Low D.Sc, late 8.A.1 , ., with Hon'ry Normnn, Bart., is associated; another by A.B.C. Motors, WaUon-on-Thames; and the more elaborate ianicette, with its"3-h.p. engine, two speeds, and free engine.

Allied or German Tyres? In view of the certain efforts of the enemy countries to regain some of their 10.-ju trade in this country .in tho near future, an announcement in the Queenslaud Press, issued 'by the Queensland Motor Tyre Association, is much to the point, and worth quoting: "Allied or German-inado Tyres? When Berr Bantam replied to the Peace terms, he studiedly insulted the Allies by remaining seated. 'Decent-minded Britishers all over tho world boiled with indignation. When Australians-our sons and brothers-firet appeared in the trench line of I 1 ranee, the Germans greeted them with placards bearing filthy insults. When Isuree Cavell was murdered, the world was etruck with horror. For.a month after Louvain every British bayonet sank homo with the hissed reminder, 'Eeinember Louvain. , The Lusifenia stiil ranlte as the victim of the world's greatest murder. When over the last four years tho cablegrams told of the German cruelties to Australian prisoners of war, Australian mothers and fathers suftered agonies in silence; Fifty-eight thousand of Australia's besfpivo up their, Uvea to lay. the' German low—for what ? Waa it for Australian motorists & home promptly to raise the Hun again by Uelpin K him rebuild his industries? Every German-made tyro bought by Australians is an insmlt to the price we paid for victory. The ono thing Germany now most desires is to recapture her lost trade. Motorists! See to it that sho does not recapture her lost, trade in Australia. Therefore, buy only Allied tyres.

Magneto Ignition. , The motor equipment upon which the American Army of Occupation in hermany relics for its food and supplies is far from its base of mechanical supply, and no chances are. taken that might cause failure anywhere. One vital thins, though ft seeming trifle, is that all their motor-cars ure equipped with magneto ignition becauso it can he relied upon Rt nil times. Other ignition systems had been used in tho early days of the war. ■Germany then practically controlled the niiiL-uoto production of the world, aid tliero was a shortage of material. As won, however, as America manufactured its own magnetos in large quantities they were found to be better than those niado in Germany." Originnlly class B trucks, the standard of the United States Government, haa a double-unit ignition system, a timer-distributer-battery system, and a magneto. General Perslung cabled an order that tho batter): system be discontinued, and henceforth only tho reliable, efficient magnetos were depended upon for ignition. It would be fatallydangerous if the Mrs upon which the army depends were to become awl lea at some critical moment, for without ignition any care is helpless. Tho magneto wns found to be reliable wider the severest battlo tests of tho fighting tanks. All the airplanes used by the Allies, with the exception of one type, and all tho airplanes of tho Central Powers used magneto ignition exclusively because of its dependability. A Few Hints. A good deal of the irregularity of tho running and want of inflexibility of the

motor-car engine can be accounted for if the guides of the inlot valves nvo worn, especially if eonie aro worn more than otliere. Tho vaUe stems 'should bo a good fit in their guides compatible witu working freely. If they fit loosely uud differently, the amount of air drawn m> around tlioiu on tho fall of the piston will havo the effect of interfering, more or less, seriously, with tho operation, as tlio mixture drawn into the. cyliuder will not bo the mixture dotermined by the carburettor, but one nioro or less and always variably attenuated by tho air drawn into these leakages. Valve etem and guides should, therefore,' bo a Rood working fit, and all alike. If much worn, the guides should be replaced. It ia well, when procuring sparo valves, to >eo that the etem is true and parallel, and an exact fit in the guide. Wear of the stem, which will cause this trouble, 4 will naturally bo obviated or delayed by proper attention to lubrication, The means by which jacking-without'a jack may be accomplished is through raising one end of a eliovt plank with a block of wood, a couple of bricks, or any other "packing" material handy, thus forming an incline up which the wheel in question may be mudo to mount by driving the car in, kw geaT. About a foot beyond tho high end of the indine the packing blocks are placed, built up to a height of about two inches more than tlie normal clearance under' the axle. On driving the cur further ahead the axle drops down on this packing, leaving tho wheel clear of the ground. To get the wheel back to "terra firma it is easy to topple the packing over by pushing tho car forward. An old steel pen has its use in repair work, especially when replacing email ec.rews in speedometers, magnetos, electric horns, etc. These screwe are generally too small to be held in the fingers, , in which case slip a screw into the slit >■ orhole of the pen, which should be held in a penholder. In this way it is easy to start the 6Crew. Why does running with a late 6park tend to overheat an engine? asks a correspondent of an American paper. Overheating is caused by'aUate spark because combustion takes place so late that the gases have not had opportunity to be cooled by expansion before tho exhaust opens. The result is that thfl engine runs much hotter than it would' if explosion occurred on upper dead centre as it is supposed. to do. , •'

Hero .and There. The romance of. rustless eteel,. one tjf the most recent metallurgical triumphs, is given .increased prominence with, the removal.of war restrictions. The new metal, with a, bright surface and able to resist the corroding effect of air, w.ater, and acids without staining, was discovered just prior to the outbreak.of ivar, and was immediately oommaudtercd. by the British Government for use in aeroplane construction, and for purposes where strength and durability, combined with rust-resisting qualities ..were invaluable Tho steel is a Shef-field-invention, and was chanced upon largely, by accident. A local metallurgist, Mr. Harry Brearly, author of iiumeroue standard works, was experimenting in the armament shop to find a means of preventing, erosion in guntubes. . After 6oma of his experiments he noticed that certain pieces of chrome steel had not suffered from corrosive iniluences under conditions ..vliich would have yustod ordinarycteel. He followed up this olue, and what is known as stain-' less eteel was eventually worked out and added to Sheffield'e -.metallurgical triumphs. There 1 is'little doubt but that rustless steel will yet b» wrteneively used in motor, motor-cyclo, and bicycle construction. : ' Mr. S. If. Edge, the well-kuown English motorist, and onetimo motor-car manufacturer, takes a very pessimistic view as regards the immediate prospects of the English motor industry. In his. opinion the homo industry is up against very difficult times, and the cheap car is not- an immediate possibility. Labour cost is the great trouble. Mr. Edge cunsiders that the English' motor trade is perilously near the • vergo of ■ disaster owing to' labour troubles, and he is of the opinion that action ie nncessary if commercial ruia is to be averted. ,",When tho time, comes Mri Edge intends to : produce? a,\cheap car. He ie Wfraid, however, that'ibe'ie.-is i>6 hope of approaching pre-war prices, it is.a question of labour coats and output. Not only is tho uost of labour twice as high as before tho war, but the output per man is leia—in softie cases half the pre-war standard. Even at the best of times it would take a year to 18 months to put *--wr-model on the market, and ho thinks that only eampies of post-war models will be available for Olympia in November next, and an output in a serious commercial way Borne months later. Au enormous combine, comprising many of..the biggest American car and parts manufacturers, has been effected in the United States. ; -All told, there are twenty-nine firms in the corporation. The great international motor show at Olympia, London, wliich was ono of the premier automobile exhibitions in the world in pre-war days, is to be revived this year, being. 6et down for November next It is interesting to note it has been decided that whilst tho exhibition will be fully internatioiial.no goods ot enemy origin wKI bo allowed to be shown. This decision is comprehensive, and means not only that no German or Austrian cars will be allowed to be, exhibired but that 11a tyres, parts, accessories, or fittings of any kind from enemy countries will bo permitted. Lighting-np time: To-day-4.55 p.m. Next' Friday-5.1 p.m.