THE SUPER CHARGER

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 964, 6 May 1930, Page 6

THE SUPER CHARGER

GLANCE AT ITS FUTURE Super-charging gives remai'kable results in increased power output. It has not been adopted very much for the ordinary touring car, but has been used rather for speed purposes and to give a higher power output for a given displacement. In this it has been successful. But its advantages lie in the opposite direction, states a writer in the “Field.” It seems obvious that if super-charging can give increased power and speed from a normal-sized engine it can be used to give normal power and speed from an engine considerably below the normal. Applied to small displacement engines it would have the effect of reducing size and weight and tax and yet giving us the power we need. It would mean a good performance with more room for body and passengers and with reduced wear and tear of tyres and transmission mechanism. Cars could be considerably lighter for the same speed and power capacity. This is surely a step in the right direction, and it is confidently to be expected that shortly this aspect of the super-charger question will make itself felt in the counsels of the automobile engineers. If super-chargers are to be largely adopted it will be on small cars, not on large ones. They are eminently suited for the requirements of the small car maker and user, and when the latter begins to visualise what the device may mean it is probable that a demand will arise which could not be resisted by the makers and designers. The super-charger gets over the one weak point in Internal combustion engine design. That is the use of piston suction to draw in the charge. This means a reduced charge as the speed increases. The super-charge elminates this fault and therefore is a scientific and the natural method of introdouclng the fuel. '

IN CALIFORNIA Traffic police in California “booked” 217,000 motorists last year. Of this number 95,000 were summoned to court, where 22,360 were fined. Drivers of passenger cars were the most numerous offenders, as only 12,000 of the total were truck drivers, most of whom were guilty of overloading. The most common offence among motorists was defective headlights, which led to the arrest of 123,000 Reckless driving and speeding were the downfall of 18,000 more, while 22,000 were stopped for violating the rules of the road. A total of £436,556 was paid in fines.