MOTOR NOTES.

Wairarapa Age, 25 February 1927, Page 3

MOTOR NOTES.

Chicago supports 45 separate taxicab companies operating over 4800' taxicabs —enough to give each of Chicago’s 3,000,000 inhabitants about twelve hours ride a year.

“The only safe way to cross a road i-s to go with a perambulator, for even the most reckless motorist- will hesitate before killing a baby. He realises that the baby will grow’ up and one day become a pedestrian.”—Judge Sir Thomas Granger, at Greewich County Court. Balloon tyres are not “stunt” tyres. Because they absorb the bumps they should not be treated as an indestructible part of the car. Properly cared for, balloon tyres will last as long as highpressure casings. At the same time they save the car and passengers from shocks.

There are nine motor speedway tracks in the United States operating under the jurisdiction of the Automobile Association of America. The famous Indianopolis track is constructed of brick, is two and a half miles in length, and presents only one event each year. All other tracks hold two championship contests each year, while this year Charlotte is attempting a third event.

HINTS ON STARTING. When a cold engine has started, often there is a great deal of spitting back into the inlet pipe when the engine is driving the car, a sure sign that the carburetter is not warm enough to supply the correct mixture. Spitting back, which is very ’often and quite incorrectly termed backfiring, may seem to be an innocuous performance, but ,in fact, is very dangerous, since a flame caused by the firing of the mixture in the inlet pipe flashes throught the choke tube of the carburetter and may set light to any petrol in the neighbourhood. For this reason it is unwise to flood the carburetter. It is true flooding may enrich the mixture sufficiently to obtain an easy start, but if the*process is carried on too long there are certain to bo pools of fuel about the engine and on the ground under the car.

A cold carburretor nearly always results in what is termed a flat spot, that is, a point in the range of the throttle on which the engine ceases to fire owing to a thoroughly incorrect mixture, the interval being very often followed by the ignition of the mixture in the inlet pipe. Quite a number of drivers who have engines with carburetters innocent of stranglers temporarily choke the air intake with rag, an effective procedure provided that the firing of the mixture in the inlet pipe does not set the rag alight.

Another point to remember when trying to start an engine is that frequently the setting when the hiss of the carburretter is loudest is the most effective starting position, and it is to attain this position that the hand operated throttle control on the steering wheel or instrument board is useful. It is sometimes better to use one size larger jet all round in winter, the increased fuel consumption being balanced by the absence of flat spots and by the fact that the engine starts more easily. Extremely obstinate engines may frequently be made to. start easily by filling the radiator and jackets with hot water, or even by placing rags soaked in hot water round the carburetter away from the air intake.