WILL KAYE DON SUCCEED

Hokitika Guardian, 26 March 1930, Page 2

WILL KAYE DON SUCCEED

SEGRAVE'S. AND. DON’S CARS. Although Kaye Don is doing his level best; to establish a new world’s reqbrd, his so far on, Daytona Beach have not come up to the standard set last year by Sir Henry ’Segrave,, 'whose speed of 231.3 d miles an liour lias not yet been beaten.

Kaye Don’s machine is reported to be a 'beautiful job. both in conception and execution. Features include supercharged engines, ice-cooling, a hy’draujic clutch, stabilising fins, air brake, hydraulic four-wheel brakes, and other exceptionally ingenious ideas. A brief specification of the Silver Bullet and also specifiations of Sir Henry Segrave’s Bolden Arrow, with which he 'established the present world’s record of 231.33 miles per hour in March last year, afford an interesting comparison. Segrave’s Golden Arrow.— Napier engine, 900 li.p., 12 cylinders in blocks of 4 set in fan formation. Engine speed, 3400 r p.m. Weight of engine, 10031 b. Three forward speeds. Heigh, 3ft 9in, wheelbase, 13ft 4in, tiacK, oft, overall length, 26ft, ground clearance Tin.

Silver Bullet.—Two Sunbear-Cbatu-leen 12-cylinder, supercharged engines, 2000 h.p. each, with banks of six cylinders on each side of each crankcase. Engine speed, 4000 r.p.m. Weight of each engine, 10001 b.. Engines are coupled in line, but not directly through the crankshafts. Actually a secondary shaft runs along the bottom of the engines and is coupled to each crankshaft by geais in such a manner that the secondary shaft runs at rather more than twice the engine speed, thereby reducing the stress in the shaft, and avoiding the necessity for the sepond crank-shaft to transmit the torque of the fust engine plus its. own torque. W heelbase, 15ft. Length overall, 30ft. Three forward speeds. Track, sft. . r J otal height, 3-H't. Width of chassis and body, 21ft. Disc, wheels, not forged, but machined from the solid. W eight of car empty, 21 tons, equal to 1.41 b per horse-power. Ignition by generator and coil. Ground clearance, <sin. The measured dying mile over which the record is timed is the centre mile of a fine nine, miles stretch of hard -beach sand, allowing four miles to work up to maximum speed and four miles for pulling up, and here lies the problem of bringing the oar to rest, which is a very difficult one. At 231 m.p.h. (Segrave’s speed) jf no brakes were used the car would have coasted the four miles under its own momentum, in 2min 4-sec. It has evidently been realised that with the Silver Bullet which has a thccnetical speed of between 250 and 300 mill's an hour. Don would have no easy task in bringing the car to rest within this distance; therefore, the speed monster lias been equipped with an auxiliary air brake. 4 his consists of a special contrivance fitted at the rear to’ slow the speed of the ear before the brakes are actually applied, while if a skid occurs it will have the effect of straightening the car. ■Fuel is carried in the tail, while an ice tank in the “nose” forms the cooling medium for the engines. Everything that human ingenuity can think of lias been incorporated in the design, so as to make the attempt as safe as possible.