SAVING PETROL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 26 July 1940, Page 4

SAVING PETROL

TRAVELLING AT ECONOMICAL SPEEDS TESTS ON GLADSTONE ROAD. EFFECTS OF BAD DRIVING. In these days of petrol restrictions it is imperative that motorists'' should study the most economical speed at which to travel. It is well known that the faster a car goes, the greater is the consumption of petrol. With a view to ascertaining petrol consumption in relation to speed on local roads a test was carried out yesterday afternoon, by the courtesy of Mr P. F. Fagan, on the Masterton-Gladstone Road. The tests, which were made in a 30 horse power car, indicated that the most economical speed was about 30 mile per hour, when the petrol consumption was at the rate of 22 mile,s to the gallon. At a speed of 35 to 40 miles per hour, the mileage a gallon fell to 19 and at 50 to 60 miles per hour it was only 17 miles to the gallon. Two tests were made for each speed and the average taken. A somewhat illuminating disclosure was a test made with a view to showing the wasteful petrol consumption resulting from bad driving, such as the practice of running at an erratic speed, which necessitated needless accelleration. Under these conditions, although the speed was only 30 to 35 miles per hour, the petrol consumption was at the rate of one gallon to 171 miles, or about equal to the amount consumed when travelling at 50 or 60 miles per hour. The saving of petrol, if attention is paid to speed and careful driving is obvious. Another way in which petrol is wasted is through filling the tank to capacity. On several occasions cars parked in Masterton streets have been seen spilling out petrol through over-filling of the tank. Under these conditions, too, petrol is lost when the car is in motion, when the vehicle passes over a corrugation.

Not only is petrol consumption, wasteful at a high speed, but oil consumption is similarly affected, not to mention wear on tyres. Tyre wear at 50 miles per hour is more than twice as fast as it is at 35 miles per hour. There is a tendency on the part of many motorists at present to travel at a moderate speed with a view to getting the biggest mileage per gallon of petrol but there is still room for a big improvement.