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THE PETROL TRAIL

ROAD CONDITIONS HOLIDAY TRAFFIC PROSPECTS GOOD AND BAD SURFACES. The holiday season is approaching and motorists are looking forward to extensive tours. The road report issued, by the Wellington Automobile Club in conjunction with the Aard Motor Service will be of interest. Wellington to Palmerston North Improvement work is in progress in Ngahauranga Gorge and sections are under repair as far as Porirua, and the surface has been greatly improved. Leaving Porirua the road is in splendid order as far as I'aremnta and from there to Pahautanui it is bad, and only fair to the foot of Paekakariki hill. On negotiating the hill, which is in excellent condition, motorists will find a good surface with short areas of roughness right to Palmerston North either by way of Shannon or Foxton. Palmerston North to Wanganui There is not much to complain about respecting the road surface from Palmerston North to "Wangaehu. On mounting the hill it will be found to be very rough and water-worn in places. On reaching the summit by taking the cross road to Fordell and then in to Wanganui better running will be obtained. Wanganui to Ohakuno There is a block about 40 miles from Wanganui owing to slips and the road is not open for traffic. There is a good road from Bulls to Taihape, but from there on to Ohakune it is very bad and impossible without chains, lu

is also impossible between Taumarunui and Te Kuiti. Te Kuiti to Hamilton There is 52 miles of good surface on this section, and not an over-abund-ance of pot-holes. From Hamilton to Auckland the road for the fig miles is fair, rough in places with some bad pot-holes. Taranaki Area There is a creditable road surface from Wanganui to New Plymouth and several of the side roads are also in good order. The conditions arc not so good between New Plymouth and To Kuiti, but tourists visiting Waitomo Caves will find the 13 miles ail that may be desired. Wairarapa Route The road from Wellington to -Mas_bertou is good for tho whole 65 miles. The improvement to Maui,.garoa hill will be appreciated and when tlie conditions between Lower Hutt and Silverstream are made more agreeable as well as in the vicinity of Featherston the surface for tho complete distance will be a pleasure to drive on. Palmerston North to Napier Slips have taken place in Manawatu Gorge, but these have been cleared and there is an excellent thoroughfare to Woodville. Continuing on to Napier the road is good and several improvements are being made. Napier to Wairoa The condition to Wairoa and the 68 miles to Gisborne are good even at this period of the year when so much bad weather has been in evidence. NapitPr to Taupo I No difficulty should be found in negotiating tlie bills as the road is good all the way, but from Taupo to Rotorua it is not so satisfactory. The road is being regraded and being unmetalled dry weather is essential to provide a reasonably good surface. Rotorua to Hamilton The Mnmaku hill has always been a “bugbear” to motorists. It has been impassable during the winter months, and it is advisable to carrychains at any period of the year. The remainder of the journey is not inviting as the road is not in good condition. Ninety- retail stores in Boston, U.S.A., give free parking in central garages to customers during morning hours. At olio garage, entirely under cover, with room for 1500 cars, there is free parking from 9 n.m. until II a.m. Customers may leave their cars after the three hours at a charge of 10 cents for each additional hour. Thirty-five cents entitles a retailor’s customer to storage in tho garage for the day. Steady customers may buy coupon hooks of 25 coupons, each entitling them to a day’s storage in a largo garage. Following the British example, a German firm has recently sent a fleet of seven motor-cycle side-carriers on a tour of tho chief towns in Germany, to demonstrate the value of sm’li nec!iiues for delivery purposes.

GARAGE DANGER X.EWARE of exhaust gas CONCEALS® IN MOTOR-CAR. Addressing the staff of an Australian manufacturing company, on the subject of carbon monoxide and automobile exhaust gas, Mr A. A. Myers, chairman of the Royal Life Saving Society, said primarily Health Week aimed at concentration of thought upon what was dangerous to health, and how such dangers could be avoided. Daily hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to little-known hidden dangers concealed in tbe motor-car. All were familiar with tile purring noise emitted by the running engine of a stationary car. Not one per cent., however, realised that the exhaust gas coming from such a source contained enough carbon monoxide to cause certain death to a man in ten minutes. It was the more dangerous because it was a colourless, tasteless and odorless gas. It had always been the most widespread poison associated wttn human life. VICTIM LOSES WILL-POWER Carbon monoxide, lie proceeded, was effective only when it was inhaled. It did not choke like some fumes, but drove out the oxygen from the blood, and in mixing with the red corpuscles of the blood formed a new compound. Breathing then failed and the blood ceased to flow. The whole change would come on gradually. Perhaps where only very small percentages of carbon monoxide were present the victim might experience a slight headache. He certainly would be overcome with a tired feeling. But the strangest effect of all was that the victim bad scarcely any will power. Uncon-

sciousness would follow, and then tho breathing would cease. If a motor-car engine were allowed to run for ten minutes in a closed garage it would result in the death of those remaining in the garage for that length of time. In underground tunnels where motorcars were used there was special danger, and in order to safeguard tlie public extra precautions were taken. In no circumstances should v,omen be allowed to work where the air was vitiated hy carbon monoxide. Young men had a stronger resisting power than men over forty. An engine running idle produced, more carbon monoxide than when under a load. The. Schafer method of resuscitation should be practised everv month in all works where electricity- was used, and should be understood hy every man who owned a motor-car. and bv all those -dm worked in shoes where cars were stored or repaired. acrosTgobTdesert CONQUERF.D BY MOTOR-CAR. Dr ILov Chapman Andrews, who startled the world a few years ago hy discovering a nest of dinosaur eggs, fen million years old, roccntlv returned to America from his third Asiatic expedition under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History, Again he attributes much of the success of the expedition to the astounding performance of his five Dodge Brc*.’ motor-cars. The Gobi Desert in Mongolia is the pmst extensive und f ' T ' ri lopcd and uno’ I ’- n’nrcrj region now Tcft in the world. Until a few years pem it was retarded hv tlie impossibly slow traffic in camel trains, +h» only means of communicn--lion. "Rut now it is rriss-rrossed in ov"'-v direction Lv motor-cars. The-*- ar« , making regular trios far into the interior o* this vast wr'ste. hrin r dn" nf precious furs. wo'’ l , and other products. all these en v s arc T)o' lnro s is prl'inv-i o-f Dm sound rnr'*t”ur , t'nu and reliability oath's well-tested midic. petrolTeakage EXAMINE SUPPLY PIPE. Livery motorist should see that he uses all the petrol he pays for. Jn searching for leakage, the petrol tank and supply pipe can usually ho considered free from suspicion. The two points which should be examined are the connections to the tank and the carburettor. Even a very slight leakage at either of these points will, if allowed to continue dav nftrr day, result in n serious loss of fuel. The rnto of leakage mnv be* so low that it is invisible to the eye. the petrol evaporating as quirklv as it is liberated. The best, test is to pass the fingers, when entirely free from grease or oil, over tli" pine and txnmections. and then smell them for traces of petrol. Slight leakages arc very liable in occur at tlie petrol cock, particularly if this is not of the screw-down true. Very fine particles of foreign matter suspended in Ihe petrol are apt to lodge on two surfaces and form grooves .sufficiently deep to allow of leakage. To remedy this, the tap should he ground in with very fine emery powder. Leakage can also bo looked for at MlO . needle valve of the carburettor, for owing to its constant rise and fall and the ybght inruuritios in the snirif there i« always a certain amount of ivpi," which mnv ; n <: mo l.e«-npi 0 suffiD* f, auso flooding and leakage at the jet.

TYRE TEMPERATURE DUE TO SEVERAL CAUSES WHAT TEST REVEALED. When a car is running a certain amount of heat is generated in the tyres. This is due to a number of causes, such as frictiou with the road, internal friction in the tyre itself, ccanpression of the air in the tube, the heat of the sun, and a number of minor causes. All these help to increase the temperature of tile tyres. It is a well-known fact that the wear of the tyres on racing cars is abnormal, and that they do not last very long. This is not wholly due to the increased friction of the tra«ck or road, due to the higher speed, but is also due to the higher temperature of the tvres

themselves. Rubber wears and disintegrates much more rapidly at high temperatures than at moderate temperatures. Owing to the difficulties of measuring or calculating the actual temperatures in tyres themselves, due to the variation of inflation pressures, speed, load, and road conditions, no attempts have been made to measure their actual temperature and carry out experiments for wear at these temperatures. A series of tests has been carried out, however, at varving air temperatures, it being assumed that the temperature of the tyre increases with the temperature of the air, and the results of these are rather startling. WEAR RESULTS NOTED In these tests, which were carried out by the State College of Washington in the course of a series of experiments to determine the relations of tyro wear for various types of roads, it was observed that there was a definite connection between tyre wear and air temperature at a given speed, using the same car and load over the same road. Therefore a series of tests was run at varying air temperatures, aud the results with regard to wear were noted. From theso it was found that the wear on a tyre when the air temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit was twice what it is at 60 degrees, and approaches jour times the wear at 40 degrees. This does not mean that a tyre would do lour times the mileage if it was run continually in an air temperature of 40 degrees as compared with 90 degrees, for there are other factors coming- into the question, but it dees mean that the wear is considerably greater at the higher temperature, and therefore the mileage obtained will be less. If the best results are desired from tyres it will be necessary to do everything to keep down their temperature. People used to laugh at the old-fashioned motorist who covered his tyres with a rug when he had to leave his oar in the sun. but there was a good deal to bo said for him. hen parking the car for any length of time it is desirable that, a shady place should be found, as this will not only protect tho paintwork but. as shown, will make the tyres last longer. A VEXED QUESTION DIMMING HEAD LIGHTS. The vexed question of headlight dimming is again under view. It can only be repeated that the necessity for dimming is obviated if the headlights aro correctly adjusted. Both the Auckland City Council aud the Hamilton Borough Council have made bylaws requiring that the main beam ot the lights shall not project more Limn 31 feet from the ground at a distance of 7.i feet from t.lio vehicle. It is immaterial how bright lights are if they cannot reach tho eye level of approaching drivers. Many motorists cannot distinguish between bright lights aud dazzling lights, and when they see a bright light in the distance they give the signal to dun in ignorance of the fact that a powerful light may have no dazzle effect, while a rather poor reflector with a high efficiency bull) may produce extreme glare if not correctly levelled. Some drivers object to adjusting their lights because the dipping of the beams deprives them of a very farreaching beam for country driving. The difficulty is easily settled if motorists who do much country driving would use a spotlight for the long distance light anil rely on the properly dipped headlights for closer illumination. The danger of dimming was remarked on by the judge of the Totnes County (Joint, England, recently, in giving .judgment in a motor collision case. His Honour said that a driver who dimmed his headlights, either too late or at a time which rendered himself and the driver of the oncoming car for a moment blind—or of defective vision—was doing a thing that no wise or careful driver would do upon reflection. Motorists arc being prosecuted in Sydney for failing to adjust, their headlamps to prevent- dazzle. In America certain States require drivers to produce a certificate of adjustment. on demand. Prosecution follows if a card is not forwarded from the adjusting station within 24 hours. Tho Aiicklnna City Council has achieved a. reputation for giving the lead in many traffic matters. It would seem to be wise policy for every applicant for a driving license to lie given a circular requesting him to report at. the testing station with his new ear and have the headlamp adjustment recorded.

WHEEL ALIGNMENT INSPECT FREQUENTLY. The alignment of the front wheels should lie imported occasionally. Often tb.‘ humping of a kerb, or a slight accident that results in no apparent damage, will throw the front wheels sufficiently «-\it of correct position to need attention; while it would involve a highly technical explanation to show why this is so. it is a positively proven fact that the front wheels of a car should ‘‘toe-in'’ slightly. The front edges of the. rims should ho ”11 1 sof an inch closer together than tl»e rear edges, measuring at the same height from the ground. This not only causes the car to steer more easily and naturally, .hut avoids excessive tyre wear r.s well. If. uj)on inspection, it is found that the wheels are not correctly aligned, it will also usually he found that- ihe reach-rod from left to right steering knuckles has been bent. Springing this back into position will ordinarily correct the trouble. Tt is possible, however, for continuous wear to cause tho trouble. In this i-vcnt )l is hut a few moments work to .shorten ur longtheu the reach-rod.

LIGHTING-UP TIME To avoid trouble and it is advisable for motorists to light up at- sunset or as near thereto as possible. The times for the week ending on Friday next are: Saturday. December 4th. 7.i1l p.m. Sunday, December oth, 7.2 d p.m. [Monday, December 6th. 7.2 d p.m. Tuesday. December 7th. 7.27 p.m. Wednesday. December Btb, 7.28 p.m. Thursday. December 9th. 7.29 p.m. Friday, December 10th, 7.30 p.m. Tn Australia there is a motor vehicle regulation requiring that rear lights he so adjusted that they cannot be. extinguished by the dashboard switch. The driver must descend from the car to light or extinguish the tail light of his mr. The regulation i« designed to previ nt a motorist nh>curing his r'.ar number at night in tb» event of being hailed for a driving offence. There is a tendency for American companies to merge. The latest more \\ tho joining ot the (handler and Cleveland Companies. The Cleveland will now known as the Chandler Light S'x. There also a standard or intermediate six. and til* original Chandler i> non the big dhr of ti* line.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM19261204.2.168

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12621, 4 December 1926, Page 18

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,724

THE PETROL TRAIL New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12621, 4 December 1926, Page 18

THE PETROL TRAIL New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12621, 4 December 1926, Page 18

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