MOTOR AND CYCLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 January 1921, Page 11

MOTOR AND CYCLE.

NEWS AND NOTES. It is difficult to account for the marked difference in the treatment meted out to motoring and aviation. Since i the early days of the automobile, little has been done towards the fostering of the former, by either authorities, or general public, in fact, restrictions on top of special taxes have been handed out to motorists by the authorities, right from the swaddling days of the car. The publio have watched the class legislation against motorists with a certain amount of satisfaction, and yet, strange ito say, the motor-car has been the greatest boon to the world of the century. In spite of restrictions and taxes, the use of the motor advances, its utility being unquestionable, and to-day it is one ( of the world’s greatest industries. What a difference as regards the advent of aviation. Encouraged and pampered from the start everything is done to help its advance, and yet it is extremely doubtful if aviation will ever do one tenth of the good for mankind that the automobile has conferred. Is it not time that the unwarranted set against the automobile was swept away, and appreciation of its merits and utility generally recognised? A regular feature of the well-equip-ped private American garage is an electric buffer with which the chauffeur with no labor to himself, keeps all the fright and plated work on the car in very high state of polish. The appliance consists of a small high-speed electric motor of l-Bth h.p., having a double-ended spindle, each end having a polishing “mop”—a sort of circular brush of calico—screwed on. To these the chauffeur applies the usual polishing powders and holds the motor, which is very light and manageable, so that the brushes or “mops” press while running at very high speed against the part to be polished. The result is a finelyburnished surface, far superior to any polish obtainable by hand labor.

The leading European car manufacturers are already making arrangements for the French “Orand Prix” motor car race to be held over the Strasbourg circuit next July. Before the war this annual contest was the Blue Riband Road event of the world. Already the Ballot firm, one of the leading French makers, and the winners of many of the big road and track contests has entered four cars, and been allotted numbers I, 2,3, and 4, for the race. The great American driver, Ralph de Palma will drive one of th,gm, whilst another wellknown driver in Chassagne will drive another. It is anticipated that at least 15 teams of cars will compete for the Blue Riband, including one or two English makers. A demonstration was given in New York recently of an invention known as an automatic safety fender for motors. The inventor is engineer of the University of Naples, who himself demonstrated the device. Playing the part of the “victim” he permitted a motor-car travelling at 25 miles per hour, to strike him full on. The fender worked perfectly, lifting the inventor off his feet and depositing him in the apparatus without a scratch. It is said that it has taken nine years to perfect the device, which weighs 751 b, and can be attached to any car. An attempt is to be made shortly by J. Ghassagne, the well-known Frencli driver, to lower his own European hour motor-car record of 107 miles 1672 yards, which was established at Brooklands (Eng.) in October 1913. The attempt will be made at Brooklands, and his mount will be an eight cylinder Ballot. The world’s car hour record at present stands at 110 miles to the credit of Ralph de Palma, and was established at the Sheepshead Speedway, New York, in November 1917. Remarkable speed has been developed in racing motor boats of recent years. The fastest boat in the world to-day

is undoubtedly the “Miss America” which in a recent contest/ over 6 heats of a mile each, on the-'Detroit River (U. S. A.) showed an average speed of over 76J miles per hour. This is an amazing performance - . The “Miss America” is only a small craft, butjs fitted with enormous engines viz, two 500 h.p. “Liberty” motors. There is no doubt that a great deal of engine in efficiency, developed after the car has been long in commission, is due to radiators which have become clogged and do not sufficiently cool the circulating water. Ths use of reallv dear, dean ra : n water is a certain preventive, if it is started and continued from the very fir«t. There are several forms of chemical solvents which will dissolve the accumulated fur in radiators. One or other of these should be used at fairly frequent intervals. They have the effect, if introduced into a full circulating system with the engine running, of also clearing the water jackets and so adding very considerably to the efficiency of the whole system. Some radiators are faulty from other causes, but these are generally mechanical defects, such as choked inlets or outlets or leaky tubes or fins. Leaky radiators require careful treatment and are generally best left to the care and attention of the expert. It is a job which requires care and skill and lengthy experience. It pays to put it into the hands of the skilled specialists. Judged by the cars on show at the recent Olympia Exhibition London, the much discussed aluminium piston appears to be losing quite a lot of ground, for many well-known firms have reverted to the use of cast-iron pistons during the last year. Motorists who have experienced trouble with cylinders scored by loose gudgeon-pins will be glad to learn that many examples of the “gudgeon fixed in connecting rod” Were in evidence, and not a few designers have adopted the full floating gudgeon pin, secured from lateral movement in the piston bosses either by soft metal plugs or else by a piston ring passing over the ends of the gudgeon pin. As to the engines themselves, very little advance is apparent in respect of detachable cylinder heads, the only real advantage of this system being in cases where the cylinders are cast integrally with the upper half of the crankcase, which method is finding a large number o' - adherents, presumably on account of reduced manufacturing costs. Here, again, the actual car owner receives but little consideration, for this form of construction has obvious drawbacks when the annual overhaul is contem-

plated, and also in the case of accidents, guch as a rqn-out big-end bearing or broken piston ring. On most of the engines, the valye pockets are arranged on ojip side; the T-headed cylinder, neceSfcitaring two camshafts having disappeared entirely. Thermo-syphon cooling is increased in favor, and many firms adopt the assisted thermo-syphon system in which an impeller driven from the fan spindle is situated on the front cylinder water jacket. For six-cylinder engines, the cylinders are often cast in pairs of three but the monobloc type

casting appears to be the most popular. Integral inlet and exhaust manifolds

are shown on several well-known cars, and the method of leading the exhaust away from the front of the exhaust manifold has the advantage of protecting the bodywork and the passengers from the heat of the exhaust pipe. Recent tests conducted at San Francisco by Traffic Authorities demonstrated the wonderful efficiency of the airbrake for automobiles. The tests proved that an effective air-brake is nearly five time more efficient than the ordinary brakes. A striking illustration of its stopping power was the pulling up of a 5-ton motor-truck hauling a 5-ton trailer, travelling at 13 miles an hour in the remarkable space of only eleven feet; whereas with ordinary brakes a similar outfit with the usual brake system, travelled 50 feet before coming to a standstill. The airbrake system tested is said to bo of a very simple nature, and can be adapted to all classes of motor vehicles.

Air pressure is obtained from one cylinder of the engine and is automatically maintained by means of an accumulator valve with only one moving part. ■ Only a very small quantity of air (or spent gas) is taken at each stroke of the motor, and only excess pressure can pass through the accumulator. When the engine is running slowly a pressure of 25 to 50 pounds per square inch is maintained in the tank but a fast running engine will raise the tank pressure to 200 pounds. The accumulator automatically stops when the tank pressure balances the pressure in the engine cylinder. The control valve operates on an entirely new principle and is designed especially for the close regulation of brake pressure necessitated by the wide variation in loads, grades and road conditions. The_ brakes are applied by pulling the brake-valve lever toward the driver, the greater the movement the higher the brake pressure. To release the pressure move the lever back an amount corresponding to the effect desired. Quick return of the lever to full-release position exhausts the brake pressure through a quick-release valve which has only one moving part. In order to ensure instantaneous and complete response to the slightest variation in the brake-pipe pressure, the brakes are actuated by a heavy rubber diaphragm in a. bronze case. There is no leakage through a diaphragm and no friction is generated to resist movement at the least variation of pressure. No piston packing and no lubrication is required. The diaphragms are designed to apply more brake pressure with only 20 pounds of air than can be generated by the ordinary handbrakes. The system can be installed on any motor without any changes in the usual equipment and without affecting the operation of the ordinary brakes. The diaphragms may be mounted on each wheel or one for each pair of wheels, according to the type of vehicle. The system operates uniformly with full load, no load or even with broken springs. The air-braking system is controlled by the driver with a small hand-lever, which is located just below th© steering wheel on the support that carries the spark and throttle control. Directly in front of the driver is a gage which indicates the pounds per square inch pressure in the air tank, carried under the chassis alongside the frame, and also the amount of pressure per square inch used, at each braking operation. The accumulator valve is waterjacketed and is usually installed at one of the compression taps. When the air tank is full the valve automatically closes until the pressure in the reservoir is reduced. About twenty or thirty revolutions of th© engine are required to raise the tank pressure high enough to balance the engine compression. After this pressure is reached, no loss in engine efficiency will occur, but the effect on 'the engine- is not noticeable even when the tank is empty. When coasting down a long hill, die engine may be shut off as usual, and the compression will generate ample pressure to control the brakes properly. Motorists will watch with interest this latest development in brake application. There is a tendency amongst motor cyclists nowadays to regard the singlegeared motor-cycle as out of date and unworthy of perpetuation. Certainly where the heavy twin cylinder models are concerned there is justification for such a contention, but when relegated to the range of the lighter and medium, weight machines the matter assumes a totally different aspect. For purely solo work and the use of the younger t generation where agility and strength t makes up in no small measure for the ( disability an older and less energetic , rider feels in the non-availability of a . change-speed mechanism, the single-gear- > ed model has still a distinct place in the . modern range, and some very attract- ) ive mounts are being turned out on j this principle, in England. If the engine is an easy starter and . possesses ample power, whilst the ma- ■ chine as a whole is moderately light, but little strain is thrown upon the J rider in starting or keeping going under . any circumstances. A clutch is of . course of great benefit, and with a gear . ratio slightly lower than otherwise it

is remarkable what can be achieved when minus a gear-box. It is, however, advisable to so design the frame that a counter-shaft gear-box machine may change hands and the new owner prefer to have at his disposal the means of fitting change-speed mechanism, or the original purchaser may himself change his views on the subject and desire to convert his mount. Despite the influx o-f over-sea made tyres into England during the war jier-

iod, the recent Olympia Motor Show in London demonstrated that “Dunlops” still hold the foremost position in England. Out of a total of 3326 tyres fitted to vehicles on show, 1617 were “Dunlops,” the balance being divided between 20 other makers. It is significant that this tyre has held premier position for 40 years, conclusive evidence of its good quality and service. It is considered by experts in the English Motor Trade that the cost of motor car bodies is getting quite out of pro--1 portion to the intrinsically more ex- | pensive chassis and its miscellaneous j equipment. Open touring bodies in EngI land of quite ordinary patterns are now, ! listed at 300 to 400 per cent higher than just before the war. Either this result denotes an. abnormal rise in the cost of materials and labor, for it certainly does not concern design as such, or it suggests failure on the part of the body-trade to curtail productive ctist by reference to and adopting processes of production more in keeping with the need of the times and the practice in regard to chassis production. The effect ’ of the high priced body only serves to 1 advance the price of the already high costing chassis, and undoubtedly plays into the hands of the American automo- . bile manufacturer who by standardisation has reduced body production to a science and about a quarter of the cost. In this part of the world the price of motor car bodies has about doubled, which is bad enough, but apparently not as bad as in the old country. Few motorists in th?s z part of the world realise what a huge concern the Austin Motor 00., is in England. At no time is the partly finished materials going through the works of a less value than . £2.000,000. The value of orders in hand lor “Austins” and. tractors, and on which deposits had been paid, was £8,000,000. This year the anticipated output is 5000 cars, and 4000 tractors, big figures for England, but small of course as ■Mntrasted with some of the big plants in America. The grip the American motor trade got on the English market during the war period may be gauged from the fact that during, the past year there were imported into England from America, 17.528 passenger cars and 4593 commercial motor vehicles. It’s no wonder the English manufacturer is asking for protection for his industry, which is already feeling the effect of the American invasion, which is likely to gain in strength owing to the existing slackening on of car sales in the United States, the output having exceeded the demand.