MOTOR & CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 February 1920, Page 10

MOTOR & CYCLE.

THE FRICTION DRIVE. The friction drive, which lias been applied with considerable success to light cars, makes use of two discs at right angles, the one being the rear face of the flywheel, and the other a traversing disc on a countershaft. Tin's arrangement necessarily is unsymmetneal, the pressure being entirely to one side of the crankshaft; and the single point of contact limits the power that can be transmitted at moderate pressures. A French engineer has developed the principle in a manner which, while sacrificing some of the original simplicity, should extend the 6cope of ihe drive considerably. Instead of two discs, four arc used. The first of the series is, as before, the flywheel. On the face of this press two parallel discs at opposite ends cf the horizontal diameter, and they in turn squeeze a traversable disc mounted on the cardan shaft, and parallel to the flywheel. An infinite number of gear ratios is obtainable in either direction by sliding this disc along its shaft towards or from the centre, where the disc is in "neutral." As regards the first and last discs of the s.eries the stresses are balanced, and as friction occurs at two points instead of one, more power can he transmitted at lower contact pressures. The modification has the further advantage of being suitable for shaft transmission, which the twodisc system is not. •BENZINE PROFITS- '$ An enquiry is being instituted in England by a representative committee of Government officials and others interested in the price of motor fuel-—as' to where the profits go, in connection with the present selling price of petTol in England. It is stated that petrol is landed in that country at one shilling and nirepence half-penny per gallon, and retails at three shilling's and a halfpenny a gallon. The committee will set itself to discover who gets the profits.

THE WEIGHT POWER RATIO. Since the resumption of motor car manufacture in England there has been a marked tendency for designers to narrow tie weight-power ratio of their ears. The weight of the average prewar car was about sewt. per passenger in a four-seater, and in the lightest of light curs the weight was rarely below 4ewt. per passenger. This mea'ns that for every 1001b of useful load, the engine hits to propel a further 40011) of dead-weight. To narrow this ratio must make for greater economy in petrol and tyres. A great saving in weight can be made by the adoption of air-cooled engines, which incidentally are also more economical than the water-cooled type, as witness the wonderful results obtained in America by the Pranldyn car—a 30 h.p. 0-cylinder machine with which over 40 m.p.g. is said to be obtained by the average user. Forty m.p.g. waa regarded as the possible consumption with the 100 c.c. lVht cars before the war, but such wn- -irely obtained, 30 and 38 m.p,g. beim< the more general rule. Often it has been said that the pre-war air-cooled engines were just internally cooled by oil, and their thirst for lubricant certainly confirmed this. Without wishing to deprecate the old light cars air-cooled we must admit that they had power plants which were little ' more than re-designed motor cycle engines. We do not think that the average motorcycle engine can be held up as an example of extreme efficiency on the point of petrol and oil consumption, and on this point the average four-cylinder water-cooled engine is not so economical as it ought to be, probablv un account of the heavy load it is ca'llod upon to propel. A 10 h.p. car weighing about 17cwt. will give 34 m.p.g., a Ford of the same weight and speed capabilities only does 20 m.p.g., because the engine capacity is larger and the compression lower. It is a very interesting subject for the motorist to study, this question of weigh, power and petrol consumption. There are so many contradictions that it is difficult to come to any decision as to which is the better—a "large engine running at a comparatively low speed, or a small engine which is almost always running at the maximum of its power. Undoubtedly a 2-cylinder engine is more economical than a 4-cylinder of the same total capacity and an air-cool-ed engine is still more economical. After certain manufacturers' experiences during the war with the production of aii'-oooled aircraft engines, we may-an-ticipate that the real air-cooled engine will fructify -eventually (as distinct from the pre-war oil-cooled type), and motorists will watch with interest the performances of all newly designed aircooled machines which are distinct from the cycle car fitted with motor cycle engines. DETACHABLE WHEELS AND RIMS. The number of detachable wheels and rims oh the market makes the question of the best and handiest way to deal with them on the road a matter of interest. It seems remarkable that while the motor car maker has provided us with the detachable wheels, he seems to have left us entirely to ourselves as regards the method of" lifting our axle and supporting it while we, make the change. The ordinary (and the extraordinary) jacks sent out with cars are totally inadequate in nine cases out of ten., They are clumsy to use, and waste so much time that even the easiest and quickest detached and attached wlieel suffers by reason of the jack- delay in gefling out, adjusting, removing, «te. Why should not the car makers take a leaf out of the book of the side-car combination makers and fit a permanent quick operated jack as part of each n7,le end? It would seem the sensible thing to do, and would save a deal of time, grovelling and temper.

i NEWS AND NOTES. ■ An English combine is to be shortly floated with a capital of £G,000,000. Its object is to handle three types of lowpriced cars—aiming at iiO.OOO small vehicles, 25,000 medium, and 2.1,000 commercial trucks per annum. It is anticipated that .by the end of the present year, the weekly output will bo in the region of 000 ears, end that this figure will gradually increase until July, 1023, when 2000 cars a week will be issued,. This combine, to be known as Harper-Bean, Ltd-, will absorb the controlling interests in several well-known English motoring concerns, Following closely on the Olympia Motor Car Show in London, is Uie motor cycle and bicycle exhibition. The following impressions are by a well-known Irish.expert:—Without a doubt the main interest of the show lies in the motor bicycles; and this year we see. a grand clash of ideas. There are at least two distinct schools of thought—the old school of the single-cylinder orthodox' machine of the brand "that won the war," and the new school of multi-cy-'Jdnder engines, cantilever spring susnen-

sion, multiple gears, and other refinements that approximate to car practice. The single-cylinder machine is in the majority and its featwes are on the whole those with which we were familiar in 1914. But it must be realised that many newcomers are knocking at the doors, and > this year's show is the preliminary to great changes. "Suspension is, to my mind, one of the biggest of the developments indicated by this year's exhibition. Anyone who has driven in a Rolls-Royce or a Lanchester car can appreciate the luxurious comfort of cantilever springing at its best. It is a nice problem to apply car type of leaf springs to a motor bicycle, but it has been done; and I prophesy that the day will come when the motor cycle will be one of the most beautifully-sprung vehicles on the road. The battie of the cylinders is enlivened by the welcome reappearance of the four-cylinder type, and the double opposition horizontal engine is pretty numerous. Choice will be largely a matter of generations. The older riders will continue to swear by the single cylinder, but the coming generations will not fear the complications of the multi-cylinder. The boy of to-day who will he thy motor cyclist'of to-mor-row is largely influenced by aeroplane engineering, and in the near future I should not be surprised to find six-cy-linder motors and. radial engines on motor cycles. "There will be more classes, of course, for, starting with the tribe of scooters, we shall have power-assisted cycles, light weight motor cycles, and medium and fast machines in several classes and forms, whilst the side-car will call for more specialised types, and it would be foolhardy to try and prophesy where a cycle-car will stop in its evolution. It looks as if 1920 will be a side-car year. In a way it is truly amazing what has been done with the "mechanical monstrosity," as the proper engineers call it. But term it what you will, it fills a purpose which, the car people cannot fill since that arch-philanthropist, Henry Ford, put up the price of his car. And now there are side-cars listed higher than the Ford of 1914; and if the brave fellows do not desist from Pullmanising them further, they may draw level with the Ford of to-day. "The audacity of the motor cycle engineer knows no bounds. I have seen side-car machines built to take two adults thus giving the little engine the task of hauling throe people. The dicky-seat is also creeping into side-car designing, and now that there bodies are smartly equipped and upholstered, and fitted with windscreens and other comforts, they are no longer feather-weights. That they can be drawn alongside a motor bicycle in the most lop-sided mode of traction ever conceived is one of the things which make the old-fashioned engineer weep. But it's a topsy-turvy world, and we shall see stranger things in locomotion before we get rid of the side-ear. None the less one must criticise the overloading and the excess of elaboration which are manifest on not a few of the new designs. Wonderful ingenuity is shoiHU this year in making the power plant compact, and the unit r.ystem of engine and gearbox is growing in favor. There is better distribution of weight, and the frames are more scientifically designed to take the big stresaas imposed upon them. "I am glad to see a big all-round improvement in brakes. Adjustment has been improved also. Engine lubrication has been given more attention, and it is pleasing to note that electric lighting has come into such favor, dynamos of notably light weight and small dimensions making this light a practical matter. In the frame designs I like the horizontal top tube carried from the head and then dropped down to give a low saddle position. In head designs we have a diverse array, with many novelties in springing. The tank work ia extra good also, and the new streamline shapes give a delightfully raeey look to the Mudguards 'are excellently designed in many instances, and it is to be hoped that their example will be universally followed. Altogether it is a magnificent show and the one regret I have is that prices do not bring these superb machines within the reach of even more people than at present. . Yet with models from £SO upwards it cannot be said that the motor cycle has noared beyond the reach of the masses, and the industry is sinsrularly free from the reproach of profiteering." In pre-war days, one of the most strenuous European motor car road contests was the annual event over the mountainous Targa Florio course in Sicily. The event has again been revived and the race provided a. sensational finThe fastest of the 17 cars competing was a "Fiat," driven by Ascari, but in the first circuit he went over a precipice, falling some 70 feet, fortunately without fatal results. The race resolved itself into a great duel between thw two well-known cracks, Andre Boillot and Rene Thomas. Both riders took tremendous risks and it was not until the last lap that Thomas retired through mechanical trouble. Boillot, on a "Peugeot" (French), drove a great race and reached the winning post in * state of exhaustion, and as he passed the grand stand his car skidded and dashed into the stand. With a last effort he reversed his car over the finishing line—and then fainted. The course of 267 miles, some sections covered with snow, took seven hours 51 minutes to negotiate—equal only to a touring averege of 33 miles an hour. ' The stupendous sum of over £»%G,000,000 is to be expended on roada in the United States during 1920. There is no doubt America has thoroughly awakened to the value of <»ood roads, 'and it will not be long before this country has the/ best highways in the world.