DEAR RUNNING.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 308, 3 October 1929, Page 7

DEAR RUNNING.

KEEP DOWN SPEED. Hints to Owners. “ My petrol bill ought to be a lot lower.”—How often .does one hear an owner-driver in reflection say this, particularly if he has tried out a fuel-economiser or two, and yet still feels that running costs are abnormally high?

One of the first things that a motorist should clearly understand is that maintaining high speeds is one of the surest ways of running up expenses. Fuel consumption increases at a surprising rate; even the best engine tends to fling out oil, the life of tyres is shortened considerably, and if the speed is maintained without any regard to the road surface, breakages may result. Few motorists nowadays have sufficient patience to limit their speed of travel to 25 m.p.h. on the open road, yet if the experiment were tried fox a month the difference in running costs between driving under these conditions, and, say, at 40 m.p.h. whenever the opportunity presented itself, would be appreciable. It is possible, however, to strike the happy medium by touring along at about 30 m.p.h., and obtaining thereby the maximum enjoyment from the countryside.

When violent acceleration and deceleration are indulged in, the tyres wear more quickly—an increase of ten miles an hour in speed has been estimated to double the rate of wear between 30 and 50 miles per hour—more fuel is consumed, brake linings do not last so long, and a far greater degree of wear and tear is imposed on the vehicle itself.

The actual saving in time, under many conditions, may be hardly appreciable. If, for example, a driver knows quite definitely that he will have to slow down behind a large furniture van rumbling along in the distance he might just as well take his foot off the accelerator and “ close up ” without using the brakes at all.

Some people make no effort to economise in petrol. They are content to take the car as it is, and if the consumption is as great as 20 miles per gallon they merely shrug their shoulders and surrender themselves to the inevitable. If one were to point out to them that they had a leaky tap, that the garage hand was not over particular as to the way he filled the tank, or that when the car was left standing the carburettor habitually tended to flood, they might take a sudden interest in the problem. Speeding, especially by fits and starts, is equally extravagant. A car habitually driven well within the compass of its powers will be found very economical in petrol, oil and spares, will give probably no trouble whatever on the road, and further require very little in the way of garage attention with the consequent repair bills.