MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 286, 29 August 1919, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

(By "Clutch,") Road Construction, Owing to tho meeting of the Counties' Conference/set down for September 3 having been postponed .indefinitely, it has been decided that tho general meeting ot tho New Zealand Automobile Union, called for tho same date, shall be postponed also.. It is very' desirable thu the two meetings should be held concurrently, so that the views- of both bodies on roading matters, registration, and other cogmuo. questions may be-in-terchanged. 'Ihe union, of course, deals Willi many matters connected with motoring, but, primarily, its attention is-di-rected to tho subject of roads. From its inception tho union has lJoen eteadily advocating improvement in tho methods of construction, maintenance, and administration in order to meet the modern development in motive power. This-pro-paganda on tho part of the union has been going on for some time, and is beginning now to have its due effect in the increased interest taken in the subject by all classes of the .community. Iho executive of the union is vory'pleaso.l to note that local authorities throughout tho Dominion are at last realising the vial importance of good roads in their districts as tending towards a propor development of the country. Associations are now beiiig 'foimed - under' various "ties throughout ihe Dominion, laving amongst their objects improved facilities for road travel, and it would appear that - tho time is now ripe for all these different bodies to come together on one common ground, • and make their repro. eentations to Parliament, asking for' the necessary legislation to give e'ffeot to their views. The union does not; think it opportune to insist on, or even to propoio, any particular method of road construction. This is a subject which must be-dealt with by. properly qualified .engineers, and the system of construction will doubtless vary in different parts of, the Dominion.

In conversation with the writer the othei day, the secretary of tho New' Zealand Automobile Union, Mr. W. Benu-chainp-Platta,-remarked that his attention had been called to tho enormous amount of work that is being done in America in connection with road forma"tion, and lie also stated that he was in correspondence with the United States and other countries with a view of obtaining reports upon the work done and the'method of raising the money to meet they expenditure incurred. The question of ways and moans- was ono with which the union was always , faced whenever, it mads proposals for road- improvements. "There is' one" gratifying aspect of the •case.".said Mr. Bea;iichamp-I J latts, "and that- is tho recognition of. the fact that an; improvement in the roads ie for the benefit of, tho wholo country, and sltould not of necessity bo. entirely paid'for by the very, very few ■ who occasionally travel for pleasure. ' This . has been the ,view. in tho ' past, and it is time it was contradicted." Kcferring to the subject of road materials, Mr. 'Beauchainp-Platts said he desired .to endorse the suggestion made by the En-gineor-in-Chief to the Public Works Department (Mr. R. W. Holmes,' Q. 5.0.) that, a small Moratory should bo estnijlisheci and furnished .with tho machines required for applying tests of durability of the various road-making', materials available, and their resistance to shock and abrasion. "New' Zealand abounds in bad road-making material," added Sir. Bciauohainp-Platts, "good l material being very scarce. It is in consequence of this scarcity that mearch work is necessary to determine which are the best-of the available, materials to use, and the best way to use them," - ;.- ■ Motor-Cars' and Tranicars. ' - That all niotoWirs shbujd.be compelled to.stop, behind stationary tranicars, no matter what the width of tho'road, was n suggestion made, by Councillor M'Kenzio at last week's meeting of the City Council. In support of N his contention he quoted/a case iii which an accident to some school children was narrowly averted on the Lya.ll Bay Bond. The chiild- • rmiwerein tho act of alighting- from.a stationary tramcar, . when • -suddenly- a nibtor-car dashed past at a , high rate of fpeed. fortunately 'the-'children noticed the motor-car approaching' j ust|. in time, otherwisay a serious mishap miist'have occurred. The -'Mayor agreed with tho idea propounded by Councillor M'Kenzio, and said there were too. many instances in which motor-cars rushed- past trams which had pulled up at stopping-places. There is a city, by-law dealing with this question, and it reads as follows:—"If any person- is driving a ■ motor-cnr or motor-cycle in tho rear of a tram carriage that is not standing-at a terminus-and such motor-car or motor-cycle is proceeding in tho snrno direction as such tram carriage such person shall , , if such tram carriage stops or is stationary for the purpose of talking up or setting do-wn passengers, stop such motor : car or motorcycle nnd remain in the rear of such trnui carriage- until nil passengers who luivc alighM from the- tram earrings are clear of such tram carnage, and until all passengers intending to board such tram earringo have boarded the same. Provided- that where the distance between the outermost projection of. tho train carriage and the kerb line of the near side of. tho road -is. more than "17 feet, it shall be a sufficient compliance with the -provisions o: this clause if the motor-ear or motoric; ,',16 is driven past the tram carriage oh"'the nearside at ft speed of not more than four miles an hour." . ■(

■Under tho by-laws it is quite competaut for a conductor or motorman to take the number and estimated speed of any car which travels past a stationary tramcar at a greater rate than four mile 3 an hour, and a. prosecution is sure to follow. On this- beins brought to tho notice of Councillor M'Ken&ie, ho remarked, that.sometinife it was very difficult to road a number, and owing to the circumstances it might not bo always possible* to obtain the necessary particulars in.time. The present bylaw was qnito suited to the needs of tfio average adult, but in the interests of children, who were ant to run across to the kerb from a teinicar without thinking of looking out for approaching traffic, he thought it would be as well to compel all motor-cars to pull up and 6top when, in the vicinity of stationary tramcars. ■ t ■ Motor Taxation,

_ Tho question of motor taxation is one in which New Zealand motorists are keenly concerned at the present time, therefore, tho following remarks on the subject-by a writer in the "Daily Mail" will be read with interest: "In any country in which it is desired to place a special tax on motors in .order to provide funds for road improvement tho form that such taxes are to tnke must he very carefully considered,'" he says. "Something in tho nature of tho petrol tax has. an advantage over most other schemes, because the amount of petrol used depends on the use made of the vehicle and also upon its iyeight and horse-power. It is only fair that tho man who uses his car every day should pay more for his use of the roads than the man who only goes for an occasional run. It is fair, again, that the owner of a heavy, powerful, and fast car ohould pav'more than the owner of-, a light, nioderat-e-poworcd vehicle used for tho eamo mileage. The license duty suffers from the inherent drawback that the amount cannot possibly he connected with tho inileaijo over which the car is driven. AVo cannot charge a duty of so much a milo unless wo can fit overy vehicle with an absolutely accurate mileago recorder that cannot possibly bo tam. jici-ed with. This is a. practical imiwssibility. we are obliged to base our scale of license duties merely on the weight of horse-power of the car; The simplest bjisis, and that most usually employed, is the horse-power of - the olivine, as estimated by means. of some simple 'formula. • This brings ua to another obieotion against any attempt to raise substantial, revenue iu such a way. For the purposes of a duty tho hoi-sc-powei , eajiuot bo estimated by a brake test, but must be a matter of easy calculation. Tho trouble is that; no formula that can possibly be devised is roolly equitable for such a purpose. Moreover, tho ueo of a formula tends to make designers nuxioiis to produco engines of low-rated horse-power, but much higher brake horse-power. The elTort to do this leads to extremes. It (ends to abnormal, as against normal, design. In the R-riigglc to make a car liable only to low taxation tho designer knowingly.sacrifices really good engineer-' ing features. It follows that if one particular country tries to_ make a big revenue wit of license duties depending tja mine arbitrary formula, care pro-

duced in that country will probably bj faulty from the enginewing standpoint; . and will therefore' not be acceptable in other markets." Use of Brakes. Many car owners habitually use only the foot brake, depending on the sidd brakes for emergency use, which is a mistake. One ' often hears the hand • brako spoken of us the "emergency" brake, us though it were not intended' for normal use. But in cor driving, a 9 in other 'things; "use is secopd nature/' and, unless the application of the leverbrake lias by practice and frequent nor* mal use become autoinatic-that is, a natural series of movements on the part of the driver—there must he some hesitation when an emergency arises. If, however, this brake be ns«l alternately with the pedal brake, or even more frequently;' in the ordinary course of driving, its application involves bo loss of time.- Whenone considers that a fraction of a second' may, upon occasion, make all the difference between aa accident • and the" avoidance of one, the importance of every , movement concerned with driving being , akin ..-to "second nature" is realised* . Thbre are other reasons, too, why the lever brake, should bo frequently used;' One .arises from the .fact that the constant application of' the pedal brake, especially if it ba used solely on a long descent, results in. the drum and shoes becoming over-heated. This, in' turn, ofteii causes the oil in the gear-box- trf become very, thin, and'""ton work but through the rear bearing on to "the brake.I'aiticularly on -a long' descent, .therefore, , both brakes should bo used alternately, or. on steep hills, simultaneously. Another reason , is that oil occasionally creeps along' inside tho back axle, from the differential casing at the centre, and iinds its way into the wheel brakenlrume,. In. 6uch a case, if the hand brake' be not vsed regularly tho driver may find' (l.'hen it is urgently required) that it is ineffective, owing to the presence of oil on the friction surfaces. Maintenance Hints, v'• ";':■

Demountable rime, after long use and frequent changes of tyres, aru quite apt to become out of sliape or out of round, ■usually at the break or fastening; Under such circumstances a rim is difficult to handle and frequently sets up a- dosirenofcto go over the felloe band. Excessive use of, a' heavy hammer only makes matters worse, says an exchange, just as it doos. with niariy other parts of , a car where the fit is close. If. you have a second jack, the matter, becomes simple, for this can be used to epread the rim enough to' permit to to be put into place, when it-will.frequently straighten itself out through application of the hold-, ing lugs.- But what, if you do not happen, to lmvo a. aeoond jack? Here let it be suggested, that an extra one is a very handy toolVfor more purposes than one, and particularly if the liTst one becomes out of order or, a part happens .to become lost. . Hero is a simple remedyt. Set the spare rim on the felloe band <it the valve stem, of course. • Then iura the valve stem side down, first having tied the other side so it will not fall away. If you have a companion, have him hold the rim in place.. Then let down the axle by the jack that is under it. The-wheel will be resting, on the tyre, and the jack may be removed and placed between tho hub and the rim. A little pressure by working the jack easily and quickly will spring.the rim:6ufliciently. to permit a sharp blow with', a hammer to set in place. It will, then be .wise .to, again jack up the axle so the ''retaining' lugs may be , set to place evenly. In doing tins it 6hould become a practice to 6eo that one is not in farther than another,-that is, there should be mi .equal space between rim and Mlqe band all around, otherwise thei rim is slightly out of round, which means a thump on tlio bearings and probably un-' even riding' on that one wheel. / Don't dip into the gasoline tank with: a handful of cotton waste when you have something to clean. Cotton waste can cause more troublo with the carburetion than any amount of dirt. Incidentally, every precaution should be taken to keep tho gasoline tank clean. Always strain the gasoline through, a chamois filter,-tod if,you , use a measuring;stickbe sure tEot it.is'always' clean before.it is inserted.. See, also,- .that the .surface'around the tank is clean .before removing the. filler cap.' ■ ' .

Paint is too often looked upon merely as a beautifierl It should n6t be forgotten that it-is just as important as a protector of surfaces against, the ' ele< lnents. ' When'paint begins to. chip off on an old car.the attitude is, too often,one of indifference. "The car looks like the dickens,-so why bother about a little' paint?" And then, before it is parts are allowed to. go to irretrievable , ' destruction. A fender or body panel pitted with. the. ravages of rust cannot' bVredeernod by point. The scars will never conio out. Thin metal parts, particularly fenders, are often so weakened by.riisting that they fail by cracking. Many pounds may be added to the.life of the car by using paint at tho proper time as a preservative. ■■ If you cannot afford to havo a good job done, get busy with paint and brush; yourself; an amateurish application of'this vital protect" ing skin will stave off old age, and i 4 well worth while, oven though it does not add much to the appearance of tho ve< Lighting-up time.-To-day, 5.22 p.m.' Next Friday, 5.29 p.m.