DON’T OVERDRIVE

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 58, 31 May 1927, Page 11

DON’T OVERDRIVE

Now that some British makers of inexpensive cars have taken wisely to quantity production, vehicles vary a little in quality when they leave the factory. Engines may differ slightly in the matter of power output, but the actual road performance of, say 100 cars from the same works should vary only slightly. But after six months’ service, what a difference in these 100 models. The life of modern low-powered family cars ditiers to an extraordinary extent. Some are finished after 40,000 miles’ service, others are still going strong after 70,000 miles. Neglect is. often the cause of rapid decay, especially neglect of lubrication. But the most frequent cause of deterioration in the small car is over-driving. It is the constant driving at or near maximum speed that shortens the life of a small engine. With a high-powered car it is impossible, except on rare occasions, to drive on full throttle consequently, the engine is rarely stressed. If small-car owners were content to drive well within the maximum speed of their engines, 40 when the maximum is 50, and 35 when the maximum is 45, they would find that their cars would have very nearly as long a life as the more expensive vehicles.