RACING THE ENGINE.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 143, 29 July 1926, Page 7

RACING THE ENGINE.

AN EVIL PRACTICE. . There was a time, back in the earl; days of the automobile, when petro motors had not reached the degree o: perfection that is theirs to-day. I: was the fashion of the knowing motor, ist to race his engine a few revolutions jusf before shutting off his spark. He had a reason born of experience for this. His engine would not always draw gasoline in starting and at slow speeds. He raced his engine before stopping to “ prime ” it. Otherwise, he might have had use for the priming cups with which his motor was equipped. But those days are gone for ever. To race the engine unnecessarily is wasteful both of gasoline and engine life. Running a motor at full speed idle has a very different effect upon its mechanism than when running full speed pulling a load. The idle running is far harder upon the bearings, pis- | tons and other affected units. Yet some drivers still think it is ne- | cessary to run the engine at full : speed in stopping and starting. They | have the idea that an engine will start I better if it is raced a moment before j stopping and that it must be warmed lup in starting. This is very seldom j the case in the former and an unwise i method in the latter. It-can only re- ; suit in excessive wear, i Of the two practices, that of spini ling or racing the qngine even to , warm it up quickly can be even more , destructive than stepping heavily on the throttle before* snapping off the switch. Its destructive effects are , most manifest when the engine is cold. The different parts receiving varying degrees of heat expand in different ratios. Time must be allowed to permit the various units to expand evenly. Even more important is the effect this racing has upon lubrication. As the motor stands idle, the lubricant between the various surfaces seeps back into the oil pan. The speed of the motor must be increased slowly and gradually to permit the lubricant to be pumped up out of the oil pan to the ‘ moving surfaces above that must be oil-insulated against wear.