MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 78, 27 December 1919, Page 2

MOTORS & MOTORING

(By' "Clutch.") Wellington Automobile Club. A meeting of the committee of the Wellington Automobilo Club was hold on Monday, and was attended by Messrs. C. M. Banks (chairman), J. Donne, W. Mniitcll, C. C. Holmes, L. E. Partridge, u, Stuart Wilson, 11. Lloyd, and the secretary, Mr. H. J. Stott. A sub-committee consisting of Messrs, C. M. Bank 3, W. Fryor, and the secretary, set up for the purpose of socimint further information on tho subject of traffic in tho city with a view to putting suggestions and amendments to the City By-laws Committee, submitted a report with regard to regulating the traffic at Courtenay Plaeo by altering the present tram lines and shelter sheds. It proposed a doublo tram line from [ the present reserve, or a single tram lino for north-hound trains in Cambridge Terrace and a single lino in Kent Terrace for south-bound traffic, vehicular traffic to follow tho, tram traffic; also, that vehicular traffic from Lambton Quay should Iw diverted down lYathoreton Street and the surface of Featliw'fton Stre?t and Thermion Quay should be improved. The very grave danger of vehicular 'traffic, caused by tlfe present carrier stumls being situated in busy portions of tho citv, was also pointed out. Further suggestions .will be made to the B.v-'laws 'Committee on this point. One member mentioned that this week, in a certain street in tho i city, whoro a carrier stand is situated, | he had to get out of his car and put a | carrier' 9 horse in position on tho stand j in order to allow the traffic' to go by. | It was resolved that the secretary be I instructed to» write to the Town Clerk j asking that a'deputation lie received by the By-laws Committee in order.to put their views before them with regard to this vital question of street traffic. Tho Wairar.ipa Automobile Association wrote asking for a donation of wire, in order to fence a portion of the Uimutaka IFill on the Wellington side'i It mentioned that the Gear Company and tho Meat Export Company lia v " I given one ton each, and are now being I asked to further contribute. j It was decided to refer the matter lo the club's solicitor in order to find nn f the actual legal position of the landowners in that district. The following new members were elected Victoria Lnimdrv fS.. Mossv*. V. ,T. T. Turner, J. Donnelly, J. W. St. Clair. 0. B. O'Donnell, Dunbar Sioaiie. '• !!:•■■■ ■' T'. ■"'•'viir V, \ Cluidley, M'>s L. C. Kohn. Cvc'e and Motor Supplies. Ltd.. Mrs. Hope Gibbons. Messrs. H. J. P. Briftain, F. W. PotborHc T). Stanley Smith, W. G. Chisnall. Oaudin Marr 'Ltd.. J. My. C. E. Bell. S. Kellv, S. Smith and Sons. W. Warren Kellv. C. F. Murnhy, V. Eiirarlsford. L. A. Jacobin. Mr? C'. ,T. Durrn... j }l"r. J. Swimon. Father," P. J. Smyth. Me«rs. W. A. CM*. 1). PMhn. V. .1 ITvams. E. anfi. E. Tingey, W. .T. Carrig. JPw E. 0 Plimnie-, jr r . T,. J. Rcid. Central Jfornr Accessories Ltd.. and Mr. J. E. M'Kenwe. Mis. A. n winlwr of the club, wrote po=nfin? out Ibat every mepi. her, in order to strengthen the membershin of the cb'.b. had been asked to secure one member each. As she had failed to do so,- she <Mirlo.*ed a further donation of .£1 Is. The Mercian- was •Vtrwfed to -.■rite thanking; Mis. Ec-1-den for her donation. S"veral complaints were received from vnWo»? iMemti"rs iv'th rward to the danger of npproaclrnrg trains at Petoue cressinir on Hie Jfult.Eoad, information Ivn'ng g : veu that trains approached without givin:; any warding whatsoever. It was resolved that the Cen«ral Mi'mmo? tho Railway Deimrtnien l ' be asked to supply a warning bell at. this oros^in". Tt was inl!'iiatr-"l liy a membnr of the coiiunitlee t'.i?t i!i» S A ulh Island As=nry,itions wove endeavouring to form n South Is'nnd Union. Tt v.-« decided that tfc" sper"tary should write all associations in th.e South Tsla"d painting out Mm' such a course would ser'ou=lv interfere with the work of the pivsent N"w 7, lend Automobile Union, inasmuch as the objects of th" two unions or.nld "ot powiWv b» other than the same. The conimiHe? hoped that tho South Island associations would not take 'fmv hastv action in tlr's matter. and suggested that the fWibicct could br> thoroughly /lis. ens™,] .at the neyt of Hid New Zealand Automobile ITnioii. Hints to Novice Drivers. In tho early days of motoring in this country no driver would dream of venturing on a long trip until he was fairly well acauaintcd with tho mechanism and able to put any little matter likely to got out of order right again. Nowadays thousands drive .cars, and are absolutely ignoKint where to search for cause o'f trouble when tho engine strikes work and the. car comes to a stop. A few points as to the likely causes of trouble are here brieilv touched upon by an expert, and mav bo the means of helping a few of tho venturesome ones to get going again when tho inevitable "stop" does (jvurtnko them. Taking it for granted that the tank is not empty, and the petrol is turned ou~ —both points which tho beginner is apt to neglect—tho. most likely causa is tho ignition system. - A sudden stoppage is vorv often the result of - a wire breaking. or one of the terminals becoming disconnected. These, therefore, should be hastily examined. Sometimes in asccniliuif a hill, when tho petrol is low, it does not; reach the mouth of the feed-pip:, and this, of-,course, will cause a etop. Tho same applies to a totnl loss of compression, djje to valves breaking or sticking in their guides. The latter trouble mav ba due to overheating, but it is generally caused by a deposit of burnt oil in the guides, which should at once bo cleaned out by a copious application of pa ratlin, find if tho trouble recurs the valve or valves should be removed, the tmides cleaned, and if the valve stem is still a tight /it, or is rough, it should bo smoothed with emery cloth. As a rule an engine stops gradually, and the process is frequently accompanied ,by missfiros. In this case a short circuit or firluro of the ignition svst-rn may account for the trouble, and' its sourco should bo located. If the engine then runs satisfactorily the motorist will know ho has diagnosed tho trouble. If, however, there is no improvement, ho should search for a short circuit or a loose terminal. Failing that, he might examine tho plugf. The points may >be fouled, or tho plug may be broken. If thoro is any doubt on tho question turn off the petrol tap, disconnect tho supply pipe, then turn on the tap and see if tho petrol flows ill a full stream. If thero is nothing wrong hero clean tho carburettor, removing all foreign matter, and if thoro is still trouble examino tho jet, which may bo choked. If the petrol is turned on. whilo the jet is exposed, and tho spirit docs not spurt through freely, it may be taken for granted that thero.is a stoppage. A very fine wire, such as is used for tyinp llowers, if passed through tho jet, will clear tho obstruction. Tho next point to examine is tho filter. This sometimes gets choked with dirt, innd interferes with tho supply. Should the petrol flow be partially obstructed from any of theso causes, the car will probably run fairly well on the level, or when the eari.-uiolir.r iliv-!:,:, ;,ik v. ii jib on meeting a hill. Water in tho petrol is another causo of stoppage. To remedy this tho tap. or not, at tV.» ly-l-torn of the carburettor should bo opened, and the water which has collected will run out with the spirit. A. valve spring broken or out of plaeo nlso may affect tho running to .such an extent that tho car will slop on a hill. If tho _p iiou Men ovcrh™'tin.'! caused by"want of lubrication, or failure in the circulation system, the engino will, of course, come to a sudden stop; but a careful driver should never allow this to occur, as the preliminary symptoms are unmistakable. The em:iun will begin to slow, there, will be a knocking no:se, the water will steam, and, as a rule, there will be a smell of burning. Nopilless lo say, a broken connecting rod will have tho same effect, but this is a very rare occurrence. Joltings and Tips. ' The French arc-determined to revive motor racing nt an early dale. Already they are or»ißi.4ng a meeting for cais and inotor-i.'yelw iu the ne'ghbourjuwd of Lo Mans. 13y all accounts, it is going to be an exceedingly big meeting. Undoubtedly the wonderful development of Flench motor-cars has been largely duo to racing. The experience gaimxl in the var;ous contests has proved invaluable. Earing in England and the T.-lo of Man also lias had a big effect on the English,

motor trade, though probably not to the samo extent That long-sighted sport-;u]au, Mr. S. F. Edge, was ono of the first to realiso tho importance of racing, and holds tlio honour of being the only Englishman who secured tho Gordon-Bennett. He is exceedingly keen on the subject. Ho says that he does not think that tho fullest possible advantage has ever boon takc-n of tho improvements evolved in constructing and preparing cars for racing—improvements often considerably in advance of tho times. Ho considers that very valuable knowledge can still bo gained from races, trials, and ooutests of a competitive nature. Owing to the high prico of cotton, plus the increased oost of labour, it is anticipated that manv of the English motor lyre concerns will hnvo Co raise the prico for covers. Already a few makers havo announced a 10 por cent. rise. A difficult problem hits been that of controlling the oil supply in an automobile motor in order to havo sufficient oil under the worst or most seven; conditions, and still not too much oil when using but little power, or that which would be needed under average running conditions of a car on good roads and with a light load. Continual study has enabled ■ the engineers of a prominent motor-car maker to perfect a ntnv automatic oil control on .which the.v have applied for patents, and which is said tn accomplish tho following results:— When the motor is pulling its maximum laid, or usiu.g its full horse-power, with tlio tlnottle wide open, the automatic oil control provides the maximum oil pressmo needed, as well as the nocessniy oil supply to maintain tho proper oil film under this full-load condition. When the motor load is reduced and the throttle closed, the control automat : cally reduces the oil pressure as well as the oil supply. It prevents the piling up of oil at either end of the oil basin— i.e., when going up a. grade or who? going down a grade. It d'stribules the correct amount of oil- in the oil pockets for well cylinder, regardless of the grade, load conditions, or speed. It is said no cylinder is ever starved of oil t-, v , much. Hundreds of silencers have been invented f;om time to timo, > muny of these embodying such fantastic ideas as strongly to support the contention that the inventors of these devices did not trouble about fundameiial principles at all. The timo would seem to bo opportune, now that scicntific research is indispensable to progress in nutomohilisih', to investigate the subject of silencing, and lay down the correct principles to apply. There a! e various practioal considerations also to be taken, into account. For example, there should be some, method of knowing' whether a silencer is retaining its efficiency, and not reacting oil the engine by the creation of back pressure. Very few car-owners givo any thought to the silencer. Generally speaking, it is 'inaccessible and dirty to deal witih, even though it be made to take apart, and consequently the internal baffle-plates aii.-l tubes become gradually choked uii with carbonac-ious material from the 'gases. It ought to be possible by ins]);el:nj u gauye or other device, to tell at a glance whether or not a silencer is in good condition. Tho adoption of tho 2Sin. by Sin. wheel for high-powered motor-cycle? lias certainly been attended by good results, and where roads .are not good or machines have to bo driven over very irregular surfaces, an ample crank-case clearance is a boon. Ijt this country tho need of such is keenly felt: The mischief is, however, that so many people making or possessing such .machines are apt to nullify the advantages thereof to some exlout by fitting low-built sidecars, and tile driver, conscious of the fact that the crank-case clears tiie'grourid by Siu. or more, thinks lie can steer any courao he likes on the worst of roads or tracks. Many nasty hits have been registered in this way, tlio eide-car chas-is ill soma cases sustaining severe damage.If theio is to l>e big clearance for the eh, h, i>e 'ogie/il, tho whole turnout must be built higher from tho ground. Many motorists do not appreciate tlio fact that graphite, as prepared and sold for use with, oil, in power cylinders, is, an excellent contributor to friction and wear reduction. An elementary knowledge of the theory of lubrication will convinco one that girapliite alone-cannot act ns an efficient lubricant. A largo number of racing-car drivers in Europe and America consistently use. grnuMt? mixed with oil in their engines, and this alone is almost conclusivo evidence of the .utility of graphite as an aid to lubrication. After using granhita in the lubricating oil, tlio cylinder walls and piston liavo iv glossy black and smooth appearance. This is caused by tho flakes of graphilo adhering to the bearing surfaces, which _ the mixed lubricant reaches. At liigih temperatures, steel has an appreciable' affinity for carbon. Graphite is pure carbon and is prepared for the use of internal-combustion engines in email, silky, scalc-liko formation. Tho reason for the friction-reducing effect of graphite is that the minute irregularities of tho bearing surfaces becfme, not entirely, but to a great extent, built up and overlaid by a. layor of graphite wihich is smoother, aud consequently less friction-producing, than any metal bearing surface can be. Tims, in placo of tho metal bearing, tho layer of graphite coating the bearing is worn by friction, which is never entirely absent in an in-ternal-combustion engine. Tho coating of graphite on the hearings is constantly renewed, and takes the brunt of the wear, also assisting the lubricating oil to overcome friction. Graphite as prepared by the best manufacturers can in no iviso harm an engine, and, having the property of not adhering to itself, cannot combine to make thick layers, or balls, which would, of course, be (harmful, Tho transmission, hubs, (fear-box, etc., can also be lubricated with oil or groase mixed with Here again a more efficient lubrication results. Lighting np Time:—To-day, 7.26 p.m. Next Saturday, 7.28 p.m.