Side Sway

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 325, 10 April 1928, Page 6

Side Sway

SOMETHING .ABOLT SPRINGS

WHAT LOOSE SHACKLES DO Of recent : ear _ a great deal more attention has been given to springs ar.j spring maintenance than has been afiended that important part of the cha> sis. construction hitherto. Springing has been studied from e\ery angie and under ail conditions, and the result of this concentration of expert attention on the question : s seen :n the very fine suspension which the modem car can boast. As a matter of fact, there :s little to complain about in car suspension to-day; even in \eludes which may be considered to re in the low price category: and. what s perhaps more notieeabi* and. in a way, more remarkable, is the fact that the big proportion of designers have adopted w hat is, perhaps, the oldest form of spring suspension as applied to cars—the semi elliptic spring. We nave seen many designers who . . . . : mi- otic ::: ing who bar. previously flirted with (Auer and perhaps less orthodox meth- . .: hi . another adopted full cantilever or semicant:lever otherwise known as quarter elliptic have returned, after much actual trial, of these methods, to the semi-elliptic, and have found in the older method the more sellable and the more efficient type considered from every point of view of spring service. iu: even the best springing system—and it may here be stated that not ah chassis constructions are best suited by the seme-elliptic system, and that some are expressly built to be adapted for other special springing systems—cannot operate successfully unless it is properly looked after and due care is taken by the user in the matter of maintenance. Springs need attention just as much as any other part of the car mechanism. The snack ling of the springs is a point in question. Perhaps the bulk of motorists do not realise how much the shackic-s have to do with efficient car operation. Loose and worn shackles cause rocking and side sway. Loose shackles make lor side skidding, especially in the case of well-loaded fivesealer tourers and closed cars. They make the car unstable on grease, and they add to the wear and tear of tyres, because they cause sadden side strains. of considerable weight, to be imposed . upon them. Shackles should have good rigid side plates, and the best makers adopt the very sensible practice of fixing the side plates rigidly together. This means a great deal in preventing side sway. Then, again, makers of highgrade cars make the shackle bolts a ground fit in the plates, and ensure accuracy of fitting in the bushed holes in the spring ends and in the chassis side frame or bracket. These points are important. Really good fitting here is an assurance against side sway, but ample constant lubrication is necessary, or such wear will take place as will cause looseness and wobble. Hardened and ground pins and proper forced grease lubrication are the points to be kept :n mind. And the same applies to the leaves of the springs, which should be oil or grease lubricated and protected with spring gaiters. Attention to these points is imperative if freedom from wear and consequent side instability is to be attained, and the amount of time and trouble taken in attention here is repaid a hundredfold in the better operation of the vehicle under ail conditions, and its longer operating life. THE DEUCE! MUSSOUNTS MOTOR LAWS It seems likely that Italy's main export this year will be motorists. If : they do not emigrate then there should be fat contracts for builders for the erection of extra gaols to hold them, as the Duce has framed a new code of laws which seem effective as a discouragement for fast driving. Fines and imprisonment on a liberal ; scale are featured by Signor Mussolini in his latest dictation. A speed limit of a little more than 9 m.p.h. is set for inhabited zones, with penalties, if this is exceeded, of a fine of £ll or a year’s im prison - | merit, with a maximum of £llO or two years’ imprisonment Of all fines levied, 10 per cent, is to be paid to the policemen whose reports secure the conviction. This ; should foster imagination in the police force, particularly as police evidence ! of speed is not to be questioned, and the defendant is not permitted to bring | evidence in rebuttal. And every driver involved in an accident is to be assumed to be at fault j unless he can prove his innocence.