STIFF STEERING.

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 242, 3 January 1928, Page 7

STIFF STEERING.

EFFECT ON DRIVERS. MONOPOLY OF THE ROAD. Discussing why many drivers cling io persistent iy to the crown of the road, thus blocking following traffic, Mr. S. F. Edge had some interesting things to say recently in the “Motor.” “Very often,” he remarked, “you will notice that their cars are old or of poor class, I have been so impressed vith these circumstances that more than once I have asked the driver who has been holding to the centre of the road why he did so. I was surprised to find, on the first occasion I put this question, that the driver found a difficulty in going to the side of the road and getting hack to the centre again without a big swerve. I thought this was a matter to be followed up, and asked if I might try the car while the driver took the wheel of mine. I found the source of the trouble in a few yards, and I realised at once why he drove in such a dangerous manner. The steering heads of his car were so stiff that, no matter in what way you turned the front wheel, there they remained, and you had to pull them back again to the straight with the steering wheel. “He in turn found my car quite different from his, and the steering perfectly free; in fact, as he put it: ‘You seem only to have to think the way you want to go, and the car goes that way.* Truly, that is how a good modern car should steer; it should hardly require more effort than thought of the way you wish to go. “However, I was not satisfied that this was all the trouble, so I tighten'd up the steering heads on my own car to such an extent that the front wheels stuck in whatever direction one turned them. It is possible to do this Dn some cars, and it will be found ■hat the difference it makes is appalling. My own car, which previously had been a delight to drive, became a really dangerous road instrument. To steer it was to make a succession of dives, while passing or meeting another car was a most unpleasant performance. “The ease with which a beautiful car can become a most abominable and dangerous one must be tried to be understood, and in future I shall, when ever I get the chance, explain this to people who say that driving tires them, or who feel nervous on a steeply cambered road: or, again, when nassing or meeting other cars. I shall look, nr ask them to look at their steerincr. It may, of course, he had. hut stiffness alone will create the likelihood of accident more than anything else I know In connection with a car.”

Should a fan belt be needed, and the pulley is a flat one, an ordinary lampwick of suitable width and length is a good substitute. Place the wick in position on the pullies to get the length, then cut and sew together with coarse thread or fine string. Failing this, an old leather strap will do the job nicely.

Use of strong soap when washing your car will affect the finish if not washed off immediately after applying. It should be used only for removing grease from chassis. Clear water and a sponge will remove all dirt from body. Wiping thoroughly with a chamois will give it lustre and remove water streaks.

If the traffic cop smiles at you. smile back at him. Don’t mind the people ahead: it makes them active settingout of the road.