MOTOR NOTES

Wairarapa Age, 30 March 1920, Page 6

MOTOR NOTES

What a difference there is at the present time in the . respective service rendered by the motor car engine and aeroplano engine, Thousands of car engines in this country run montl after month—sometimes a full year 01 -so without being taken down for an an overhaul. An aeroplane engine, it due for a general overhaul after a hundred hours' flying. The former ha* to put up with all the vibration incidental to bumping over bad roads, the latter is free frorp the troubles brought about frt>m" this cause. The difference is so marked that it makes me'wondei why the stresses ion the aero-engine are so much mare than with the automo bile power unit* Of course the aviation engine in cut in weight to the barest minimum to ensure lightness, but against that the hoaview made cat

■ngine has to put up with continual arring, and working in an atmosphere f dust and grit. The question arises f an aero-engine were fitted into a ar chassis how long, would it rim ithout overhauling under road condiionsf Leaving tlie safety factor out >f consideration—why should an aero)lane engino call for usuch frequent ttention at the hands of skilled mehanics wlien the conditions . under /hich it works appear to be infinitely asier than those under which the car jngine has to perform its duties. We know that the aero power unit is run at high speed, but only in exceptional circumstances for more than a few hours at a time. , Many a car engine appears to get far more brutal treatment week after week —under a mid--1 summer sun —without the slightest hought of attention —only pertol and >il being necessary. Is it that effiiency and durability have been sa6riiced to war necessities, and that the eally durable area engine suitable for ;ommercial aviation has yet to be jvolved? New figures for the motor cycle sido ;ar record for the run between Laun ;eston and Hobart have been estab ished by L. Agate, a Tasmanian rider. The time for the 121 miles was three, iours—or one minute better than the previous best, which stood to the credit af 1\ Yott, a Victorian motor cyclist.. The actual- riding time of Agate was I hours 40 minutes, so that he -must iave lost twenty minutes en ruote. Elis mount was a Dunlop show HarleyDavidson. The story is told of a London motorist, who, in despair of finding a suitable mechanical thief-proof device, purchased a savage dog, which he had trained to sit at attention in his cai whilst he was absent. One day he left ;he car, with the dog on guard, in Pal) vlall, but when ,he returned found that ;omeone had stolen —the dogl One of the most interesting features >f the recent London motor cycle ex libition was seen in the greater ten lency to render the engines of motoi :ycles clean in appearance, particu arly -where the crank case and othei if the larger "surfaces are concerned. It Was formerly considered good prac ice to embellish the crankcase witL lesigns in raised and sunk portions oi ;haracters setting forth the name oJ he makers or otherwise constituting iistinctivo markings, all of which pro

I/ided nooks and comers where mud ',nd oil could accumulate, and in time ;ive the engine a very untidy and ne ;lected appearance*-The -work entailed n keeping the parts free from sucl. ccumulations at times amounted tc omethings considerable, and the pre ont day tendency to provide smootl ;rank cases, gear boxes, etc., is a movt n the right direction: Several Eng ish firms have now adopted this prac ice, and it is one that should become general in the interests of both trade And public. ' A well known English manufacturei advertises the fact that the driving seat of his car is adjustable. This h d move in the right direction, foi nothing is more uncmofortable than io bo either jammed up behind tht steering wheel, tfith insufficient room, or drive with the pedals and steering ivheel too far away. On a long journey it means all the difference between comfort and never ending discomfort. Body'builders in this country might well give this matter theii consideration—for even when acai jody is built to an owner's persona.< requirements it eventually passet nto other people's hands —when in many cases it means additional cush .ons or driving discomfort. No doubi it would mean an additional few pounds for extra work, but it would oe well worth, the outlay. At a bicycle ract meeting, held at che Exhibition track, Melbourne, recently, the Canadian sprinter "\V.' Spencer had little difficulty in defeating' F. Wells (N.Z.) in a half-mile match. The Canadian rider also won n half-mile scratch race, with L,_ C. Stevens (Vic.) second, and P. Wells(N.Z.) third. The Victorian road crack, E. Tamme, carried off a mile handicap in good time. "Dunlops' : as usual captured the bulk of the prizes. ' h m / The popularity of/"pillion" riding on motor cycles at the present time and the almost universal practice of making a machine built for one rider i serve for the conveyance of two, brings to our minds once again the question of the tandem motor cycle, and whether it would ho likely to meet with favour if re-introduced in a modern form. It is easy to sketch out the details of such; a machine, equipped as it would be with a 4 or 5 h.p. engine, three speed gear, clutch and kick-starter, and. minus the pedalling gear tfaat formerly was considered indispensable. Such a machine so far as propulsion is concerned, would bo sufficiently powerful to gc anywhere and convey two heavy rider; up the Bteepest hills without diffi cutty, and it would doubtless be em-' ployed on' innumerable' occasions for the transport of a. third rider on the carrier. The engine would even then have an easier task than if a side-car were attached, the propulsive effort being in a straight lino and the whole of the load supported on two wheels. The main objection would'probably be .that of increased length, and for a single'track vehicle the greater weight compared ,with the ordinary machine use dfor pillion riding whilst is sometime urged that tandems are more prone to skid than other ma-' chines. Conservative estimates place the | production of automoble and motor trucks in America this year at 8,500,000. That means that 14,000,000 covers and tubes must be made for initial equipment alone. On top of that there are something like 7,600,000 cars and trucks already on the American roads, callmg for 45,000,000 tyres a year. The United States re- < quirements for motor tyres for 1920 are placed at 72,000,000 —a stupendous output.