MOTORDOM

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 604, 5 March 1929, Page 8

MOTORDOM

A HINT FOR NOVICES WHY FEAR TO DESCEND GRADES The bugaboo of descending steep grades probably worries more motorists than any other problem of automobile operation. This is especially true in New Zealand, where there are hilly or mountainous sections. Descending a steep grade need not be a hazardous adventure, provided a few simple rules are observed. If the grade is exceedingly steep, throw the car into low gear. This offers resistance to the downward pull, because the rear wheels have to “turn the engine over.” Always keep the throttle closed, but do not shut off the ignition, as this is not necessary. Driving down a steep grade in this way not only keeps the car under control, but makes excessive use of the brakes unnecessary, thus diminishing brake wear. To stop the car while descending a grade apply both the brake and the clutch. But if you want to stop suddenly apply both brakes and do not touch the clutch until the car is nearly at a standstill. If the rear wheels start to slide, release the brakes for an instant and then apply them again.

When you stop on a grade in the city, not only apply the hand brake and leave the lever in reverse gear, but go further than this to be absolutely safe and turn the front wheels so that one of them rests against the kerb.

The experience of having your car stall on a grade and start rolling backward need not be nerve-wracking. If this happens when you are on a country road let the car back toward the side of the road and partly across the road.

Of course you cannot do this if there are ditches. If you cannot steer the car to the side of the road and the hand and foot brakes are both necessary to keep the car from rolling, shift into neutral and then try to start your engine. Open the throttle about one-quarter, shift into first and then, just as you let in the clutch, release the hand brake and the foot brake at the same time. Brakes that work as efficiently in reverse as forward do much to prevent “that panicky feeling” when you are forced to stop on a steep grade.

MOTORING IN CALIFORNIA COURTESIES TO VISITORS Those who may be contemplating a trip to California in the future will find it to their advantage to communicate with the Automobile Club of Southern California, either before starting on their journey or on ai-riv-ing at Los Angeles in the southern part of the State. This organisation invites all travellers from the Antipodes to call at their home offices at Los Angeles, on their arrival in that city, in order that they may be proffered the manifold services the club offers to all strangers within its gates (states, “The Radiator”). There is no charge whatever for any and all of the courtesies which the club extends to tourists, and these services will save time, money and annoyance to all travellers. If motoring trips are contemplated, the club will furnish complete maps and road directions together with a book showing the location, accommodation and charges of all automobile camps in the entire State of California, as well as those in Oregon, Washington and the Province of British Columbia, Canada.

The club has a fleet of twelve light trucks patrolling the main highways of Southern California, each being handled by an experienced driver. Each one of these drivers is a competent mechanic, and the truck carries extra supplies of gasoline and oil, together with a fire-extinguisher, a towrope and a full kit of first-aid appliances.

The Outing Bureau of the club -will furnish visitors full information as to the best places to shoot and fish, play golf, and avail themselves of all avenues of outdoor recreation. All courtesies and services furnished by the club are given without a penny of charge to the recipients. Anyone may write to the Touring Bureau of the club at Los Angeles from New Zealand on any point they may wish information. If a visitor from New Zealand intends taking his car with him, the Automobile Forwarding Department of the club can save him a substantial sum of money in freight charges between New Zealand and California, without any charge whatever.

A.A.A. OFFICIAL TOUR SECOND WEEK’S ITINERARY Wednesday, March 13. —Travel to Tauranga, via Waihi; address meeting of members at Tauranga in evening. Thursday, March 14.—Visit Mount Maunganui; address meeting of members in Te Puke in evening. Friday, March 15.—Visit Matata; visit hot springs and historic sites round Whakatane; address meeting of members in Whakatane in evening. Saturday, March 16.—Travel to Ohope and via Wainui Road to Waimana; visit TJrewera Country road: travel to Opotiki. Sunday, March 17.—Inspect Waio-eka-Matawai Road; return Opotiki. Monday, March 18.—Inspect Opo-tiki-Cape Runaway Road; address meeting of members at Opotiki in evening. Tuesday, March 19.—Travel to Rotorua, via Te Teko; address meeting of members at Rotorua in evening. Wednesday, March 20.—Return to Auckland, via Cambridge.

STEEL SPOKE WHEELS SPECIAL FORD DESIGN Automobile wheels have undergone considerable change within the past 10 years,, and some of the most notable improvements are to be seen in the wheels with which tfie new model “A” Ford Gar is equipped. iThese new wheels are known as "steel spoke” wheels, and are of special Ford design and manufacture. The wheel department in the giant machine shop at Ford City, Ontario, is in reality . an industry itself. Machines take strips of flat steel and make rims and hub shields. Another set of machines turn out spokes from rolls of steel vwire. Welding makes the individual units one piece of steel. Like other features of the model A Ford, they combine lightness and graceful appearance with strength and durability to a degree never before attained.

The steel spokes, of which there are 30 in each wheel, are made of a fine grade of Ford steel, electrically welded to the steel rim and the hub shell, so that the entire wheel, hub, spokes, and rim becomes in reality one piece of steel, with no part that can work or wear loose and weaken the wheel structure or become noisy. Besides, each spoke, before being welded to hub and rim, is set at Just that angle in relation to the other spokes which makes it perform the best possible bracing and pulling function. i

The birth rate of baby cars is declining, says an English journal. There hasn’t been one announced for three weeks!

iSETTING AND TIMING LOOKING AFTER THE VALVES Many faults in engine running often can be traced to wrong tappet adjustment. Correct setting, using a feeler gauge, is a simple task, and, done at regular intervals, will guarantee better and more economical running. If both sets of valve stems are tight on the tappets, compression will be poor, starting difficult and pulling bad; in addition, the engine will tend to overheat. * Insufficient inlet-valve clearance will cause blowing back in the carburettor, and consequent petrol waste, but if the exhaust valves cannot seat properly their heads will be burned, and possibly the seatings will warp. However, there is one point which should be borne in mind by owners of the less expensive types of car. Small, but often appreciable, variations in the theoretically correct opening and closing points of the valves may occur owing to slight inaccuracies in the cam shapes or in the rockers. It will be appreciated that an absolutely perfect cam-shaft is extremely expensive to produce, and is a practical proposition only on the very highest class engines. The valve-operating mechanism on normal engines is accurate enough for all practical purposes, but if the exact opening and closing points of the valves be checked against the crank angles, it will be found sometimes that they do not agree with the makers’ timing diagram. The test must be made, of course, with the tappets adjusted to the correct clearance,' and it is here that an alteration in the timing can be made if necessary. 1

Let us suppose that the inlet valves should begin to open exactly on the top dead centre, but that a test shows them to be opening, say, three degrees before t.d.c. By increasing the tappet clearance an extra thousandth of an inch or so the discrepancy can be corrected, and the additional clearance need cause no concern, because it is far better to lose a “thou.” on the lift of the valves and have the timing correct, than vice versa.

The exhaust-valve timing will also pay for treatment in this way, and it is important to remember that the most critical point in the cycle of operations in a petrol engine is that at which the exhaust valve closes and the inlet opens round about top dead centre. The opening of the exhaust before b.d.c. and the closing of the inlet after b.d.c. are within limits, not nearly so important. The valves of each cylinder should be checked in turn at the t.d.c. positions, but if the timing is out on the wrong side —that is, if a smaller tappet clearance than that recommended is needed to make it correct —then it is better to let well alone and thus avoid the risk of burned valves. Tuning enthusiasts should remember they cannot improve the timing by remeshing the timing wheels.

REAL MASTER MIND CHEMIST AND THE CAR To whom does the credit belong for the immense development that has been made in the motor-car in 20 years? To the skill of the automobile designer and engineer? To the art of the constructor of the elegant and comfortable bodies? Undoubtedly. To the intrepid pioneers of motoring in the early days and later to those who have succeeded in taking British made and other vehicles into what were erstwhile considered impassable and impossible regions for a motor vehicle? These have certainly' helped, but while it is easy to call these important principals to mind and to accord to them the credit due, there is a tendency to overlook the service rendered in this connection by the man in the laboratory. It must, however, be conceded that the researches and efforts of the chemist have aided in and made possible much of the progress that has been achieved. Indeed, on close inspection it is found that the chemist and metallurgist feature largely the picture from whatever angle the modern motor vehicle is viewed. The manufacturer needs to be assured of the right type of component for giving the satisfaction which it is his aim to provide to the users of the vehicles he makes, and science has come to his aid by showing him just the right kind of alloy from which to fashion the chassis and other important parts of the vehicle.

Having fitted his vehicle with a body, the manufacturer must needs complete that body, both inside and outside, with the right kind of finish to give satisfaction from an artistic as well as from a w'earing point of view, and in these respects the chemist has assisted in the matter of suitable upholstery and cellulose lacquers. Directly attributable to the chemist’s research and assistance is the improvement in tyre equipment and braking; the reduction in the matter of road shocks by the provision of finer springing; the reduction in upkeep costs through the provision of accessories and components giving service without the need for constant attention; improved electrical equipment: all securing for the owner of the vehicle the maximum economical service with the minimum of trouble and expense.

The efforts of the laboratory have further been directed to the task of rendering motoring ever more safe, an important result of which is to be fqund in unsplinterable glass. The vehicle, when complete, is useless without the motive power, and the chemist has not only succeeded in providing this, but has assisted also in showing the best methods of alternating and conserving the fuel resources of the world *so as to assure an adequate and never failing supply for future requirements.

Good vehicles give the maximum satisfactory results of which they are capable on good roads, and the chemist has assisted tremendously in the improvement of highway construction. The roads in Great Britain are an outstanding example of highway construction at its very best, and their propensities for hard usage and longevity are due in a large measure to the effective materials which are used in their composition, for which the road engineer and roadmaking contractor have to thank the laboratory.