DOING SIXTY EASILY

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 248, 10 January 1928, Page 7

DOING SIXTY EASILY

FAULTY SPEEDOMETERS Superstitions and beliefs of all kinds are as dear to the heart of the motorist as to any other sort of enthusiast, and they, as much as anyone else, would have made good customers of Mr. John Wellington Wells, if he had opened a motoring branch to his "Charms and Spells” emporium. I am all for people believing sincerely in all things, writes John Prioleau, the well-known English motoring expert, beginning with the misfortunes which befall the unwary walker under ladders. It makes life so much more interesting, specially so where motors are concerned. There is one belief, however, which I can never understand, and that is the confidence which so many people have that their car can go much faster than it was built to do. No more than the fisherman —that shamefully libelled sportsman—does the average owner of a small car mean to deceive you; but there is no doubt that he resents nothing so much as a tactless attempt to prove that his speed indicator in five cases out of ten is on the optimistic side. Does it not strike you as odd, when you come to think of it? Ninety people out of a hundred really do take a deep interest in the speed of their cars, and are naturally extremely proud when they appear to b© doing just a little bit better than the makers guarantee. Yet how many of them, suspecting in their hearts that their instruments are not working quite correctly, will have them tested and adjusted? Personally, I have met very few who will run this terrible risk, and for the life of me I cannot understand why. I myself would be thrilled with delight if my car did 60 miles an hour, let us say, but it would give me no pleasure whatsoever if there were any possibility of doubt as to the accuracy of the instrument. It is no joy to pretend that you arc going fast. It is much better to have a speed indicator which is absolutely accurate, and when you meet a friend who boasts that his car will climb a certain hill at 26 miles an hour, to get him to time the climb in his own car, and then time it in yours, comparing the showing of the two speed indicators. I speak of this with some feeling, because for the past four years I have had a faint doubt about the accuracy of my own. The maker of my car himself told m© that it was a small percentage slow, whereas at times it showed “fast” figures which I simply could not reconcile with the probabilities. Now I feel much more comfortable in my mind, for I have had it readjusted and tested, and, incredible as it may seem, the proved error is less than 1 per cent. All sorts of people who ought to know better talk loosely to-day, as they did 10 years ago, about very ordinary touring cars “easily” reaching 50 and 60 miles an hour. This is nearly always the purest moonshine, as thqy might easily discover for themselves with a stop-watch and the help of the Brooklands Track. There are very few full-blown touring cars of any f>ut high power which will do 60 miles an hour on the road, with a full load, and there are still fewer which will do it in a manner in the least deserving of the description, easy. Ask any racing friend of yours to explain to you the scale of difficulty in increasing speed. Even supposing your quit© excellent car really does reach 40 miles an hour without effort, you will find, if you watch carefully, that much more effort is required to get to 45 than to get from 35 to 40, and enormously more to get 50 and 55. To squeeze that last five miles an hour out of the engine, which brings the needle to the 60 mark needs a very good and powerful engine, of a kind not found in many touring cars. The ready attainment of a good turn of speed is the sign of a good car the world over, and the world is full of good cars. Do not be discouraged if your 11.9 h.p. car finds difficulty in exceeding 45 miles an hour, for example, and your friend with an exactly similar car brags about 50 and ove.r. A real 45 miles an hour is a high speed, and a very creditable one for the power of the engine. You will get much more fun out of the whole business if you tell yourself, as well as your friends, that your car can always do 40—and leave it at that.