HOW THE METAL GOES

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 47, 19 November 1926, Page 8

HOW THE METAL GOES

A correspondent writes“ Referring to your remarks in a recent issue on the amount of traffic which passed over the experimental strip of resmex road at Taita, careful measurements were recently made to ascertain the amount of wear which has taken place on the untreated portion. From these figures it is apparent that an average depth of two inches has disappeared, representing 587 cubic yards of metal per mile of road, during tile short period of three months.”

The Vacuum Oil Company Pty., Ltd.’s nev chart of recommendations just issued is more comprehensive than ever. Motor-cars, buses, trucks, tractors, and cycles are all dealt with on one sheet, and all that anybody owning one of these units has to do is to locate his make of unit on the chart and alongside of it he will find the particular grade or grades of oil which are recommended.

Information comes from Washington (U.S.A.) that an automobile tire with inner tube immune to perforation bv nails has been perfected, according to the rubber section, Bureau of Standards, which has been testing a product of. a manufacturer with nails of varying size . and under varying conditions. The tests were made at the request of a Federal department which doubted the manufacturer’s claims. The inner tube of the puncture-proof tire contains a chemical compound or liquid which performs the function of instantly repairing any perforation made by a nail, the testers declared. It is believed that an unusually large nail would cause a permanent puncture, but such nails are not immediate dangers in regular service automobiles. The tests are the first to be undertaken by the bureau in connection with . punctureproof pneumatic tires. A similar product of Australian manufacture has been on the market for some time.

Just as second speed makes the best combination for quick getaway so does it make one of the best ways of stopping quickly in traffic. When the spurt of speed is simply a matter of passing a few snailing cars and stopping again behind a street car some two hundred feet ahead, remaining in second will be found handy for the entire job of speeding up and slowing down. Nine-tenths of the job can be done with the throttle, which is a bit closer to the ideal in speed control. A pleasing, hum resulting from skilful combination. of gears can be readily spoiled by driving too fast or too slowly in the particular gear combination. A good driver accelerates in second on a hill until he finds a ■ pleasant tone. Then he sticks to it.

Thoughtful owners of used cars will see that their property goes to the service station for the particular make regularly during the first thousand miles or so of service, even for no other reason than to be sure that everything is receiving proper attention. Owners of new cars are learning the value of trouble prevention in car care, but the idea needs to be extended to ownership of used cars as well.

Automotive engineers point out that there is no need for alarm if the. motometer seems to register a higher radiator temperature after you have filled up the cooling system with water. It makes a difference in the reading whether the water or just the water vapour comes in contact with the steam of the thermometer. If actual contact of the water makes enough change in the reading of the motometer to lead you to assume that the motor is running hotter than usual it is best to drain off a little water. Perhaps when the excess of water is drained off the motormeter still will register higher than usual, an indication that other causes apply.