HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20510, 28 May 1938, Page 32 (Supplement)

HIGH ROAD AND BY-ROAD

TYRES TO RESIST HEAT DANGER OF BLOWOUTS I Hot weather is probably the most ! severe element on tyres. Hot sun, i burning down on hard roads is enough j to heal tyres to such an extent that i bare hands cannot touch them. But, ; in addition to this natural heat of the sun, the friction caused within tyres ; as they hex continuously during driving adds even greater heat —heat so 1 tremendous that ordinary rubber wilts so grpnt that rubber and fabric within tyres separate and cause blisters, which grow and grow until ■ tyres blow out. The Goodrich Silvertown Company introduced Golden Ply ! to resist this tremendous heat, to keep i rubber and fabric from separating, to j protect motorists against those blow- ! outs. At speeds of 50 or more on to- ! day's small wheels, every part of the ! tread strikes the road 10 to 15 times : a second. At 40 to 60 miles an hour, ; tyres may be as hot as boiling water. | Where the tread joins the carcase is j the hottest place in the tyre. The ! rubber in the outer ply breaks down under the heat,- looses its grip on the tread, and a blister begins to form. The blister grows, becomes a weaker spot in the tyre and sooner or later a ! blowout is likdy to happen. This famous invention. the Life-Saver Golden Ply, introduced by Goodrich detlnitely resists heat aud prevents blowouts. WHEN THE WIPER BREAKS 1 Many a car owner lias found himself with a broken windshield wiper on a rainy day. Should this happen the following will prove of value: — Put a little oil any kind on a rag or a piece of cotton, or a little in the palm of the hand, and rub it over the outside of the windshield in a vertical motion. This makes the water flow downward smoothly, rather than settle 'on the windshield and difuse the vision. The drops that do form arc large and scattered and soon run down. It used to be a common practice to split a potato and rub the windshield with the inside part. Some furniture polishes are excellent for causing water to run freely from the screen. Where screens have been submitted to all these treatments, however, they should be thoroughly cleaned afterwards, as dust and'dirt settle heavily upon them when dry conditions are reached. Nothing has yet really superseded the oppn screen for driving in bad conditions. A screen which will open and still leave reasonably satisfactory conditions inside the vehicle is better than most one now meets .with. The: majority of cars are built for wintry conditions that are rarely, if ever, met , with in New Zealand, i Glare from approaching headlights Is greatly intensified by wet or dirty . screens. PARKING PROBLEMS AMERICA’S DIFFICULTIES With over 50,500,000 automobiles in use, it is not surprising that U.S.A. has a knotty problem, in finding a solution to tlie parking problem, says the Dunlop Bulletin. So vital and serious has become the problem in the biggest cities in that country, that the American Automobile Association has ! appointed a committee of outstanding traffic experts to study ways and means of providing parking relief. The President of the A.A.A. Mr T. P. Henry), in discussing the subject stated that the "Present lack of adequate parking facilities for the passenger car can be laid squarely at the door of city officials who have hoped that, the situation would take care of itself. Bather than taking care of itself, the position has become steadily worse, until today it has made almost impossible the full use of the motor vehicle.” He went on to say that, "the average pas- j senger ear to-day is not used primarily : for pleasure. On the contrary, it is used for everyday affairs, for going to I and from work, for shopping, and fre- j quentlv In the conduct of business. It ! cannot function in these fields unless it can find a stopping place. The con- ; sequence is that the prese'nt plight discourages car ownership and use to such an extent that it represents no small factor in the recession in the sales of automobiles during recent months in U.S.A.” The situation is now deemed so alarming that the official organisation of the huge American motor industry lias deemed if necessary to take a hand [ in assisting city authorities to evolve ■ measure, to ensure adequate parking , facilities in populous centres. Gener- i ally speaking, in the States, city officials have been content to erect ‘‘No : Parking" signs without worrying about j where the cars are to go. This state of affairs is now to be investigated thoroughly by the A.A.A. and U.S.A. traffic experts.

. A COLUMN FOR MOTORISTS.

NEW MORRIS TWELVE I I j PERFORMANCE AND LUXURY BRILLIANT MODERN EXEMPLAR This new Twelve by Britain's largest Motor Manufacturer is new from stem to stern, and combines a range oi 1 qualities and capabilities not previously obtainable in a car of medium size and horse-power rating. It is essentially a modern car in the sense that it provides a high cruising speed and extremely rapid acceleration, combined with excellent road-holding and a degree of comfort and ease of control which realise to the full the pleasure of travel by road. The first thing about the car which impresses is the delightful interior. The seats are of arm-chair type and are mounted on floating springs, a systern which is the last word in comfort. Upholstery is in soft leather. The rear seat has a folding centre arm-rest which is used when two passengers ride in the rear, and folded up when there is an additional passenger. This new Morris introduces a system of draught-proof ventilation which may ■ be compared with the finest air-condi-tioning systems of the day. Whatever i the weather, every passenger enjoys • fresh air without the smallest risk of , .exposure to a draught, i The luggage-carryii.g problem is I solved by a compartment of ten cubic i feet capacity at Hip rear, accessible ! by a door which, when folded down, I provides additional luggage space in 1 the form of a platform. The luggage ) compartment is completely weather- % } proof. Underneath is a separate rom- | partment where the spare wheel and 1 j tools are accommodated. 1 j Introduced in this new Twelve, after i exhaustive tests by the Morris engineers, is a new overhead-valve engine ) which gives a 50-60 m.p.h. cruising ! speed with a remarkable smoothness ‘ I and silence. Special mention must be made of ' the Lockheed hydraulic brakes. In--1 ! stantanenus adjustment is provided for 1 | by a band-screw. Widespread inter- ■ est has been shown in the new Morris ’ “Twelve” wherever it has appeared. GLASS MANUFACTURE AN INTERESTING PROCESS One of the most interesting sights at the huge Ford River Rouge plant, j near Detroit (U.5.A.,, is the glassI making department, where a great tank j containing 950 tons of molten glass | supplies the material for hundreds of miles of glass for windscreens, etc. From these tanks, a wide, white-hot riband of glass passes on its way through an annealing oven and then along over rollers like a huge glass conveyor belt. The glass, as it creeps oiong over the rollers, is cut into suitable lengths and passes under mechanism that grinds and polishes the surface of the glass. Recently, this plant was run continuously day and night for more than 4£ months,, not being stopped until nearly 500 miles of glass in a riband 51 inches wide had been run off without a single halt. A big factor in the uniformity of the glass produced is the method devised for handling (lie raw materials. Silica sand and other ingredients arrive by rail in specially designed covered ears. ' Samples are tested in the plant laboratory before the materials are conveyed to •‘silos” in the top of the building. Automatic scales weigh out sand, limestone, salt cake, soda ash, and cullet (which is broken glass) in exact proportions and the materials move into a mixer. Sodi.um silicate is added as a binder and the materials are ready for briquetting. This operation eao-verts the loose materials into briquettes about half the size of a cake of toilet soap. In this form they are moved by conveyor to the automatic feeders which drop them —at the rate of more than 100 tons a ! day—into the tank. J The briquettes are melted at 2700 j degrees F., inside the first half of the | 120 ft. tank, and the molten glass is i refined in the last 60 feet of the tank at 2300 degrees. The clay blocks which form the walls and floor of the tank are laid so loosely that the glowing glass is clearly visible through the cracks. The reason they are built that way is that there is nearly 6 inches of expansion when the tank is brought up • to full heat and it has to be allowed for. SAFETY-MINDEDNESS AMERICAN RADIO CAMPAIGN In an effort to make U.S.A. motorists more "Safety-minded,” three of the radio stations in Washington, the Nation's capital, are co-operating with traffic authorities, judges, etc., and are broadcasting traffic cases direct from the Police Court. The proceedings arc j broadcast from the Judge’s bench and 1 witness stand and actually put over the air as the events take place in court, without any staging or dramatisation. The cases are taken just as they come, says the Dunlop Bulletin. It is the belief of the Washington traffic director that this method of broadcasting actual cases serves as a warning and an object lesson because it covers the whole field of traffic offences. Few women have ever been in court, and this traffic court, broadcast brings home to them the risks and penalties of traffic violations and serves as a restraining influence when motoring with their men folk. The Washington radio campaign began in February, and the broadcasts have barn so favourably received by the traffic authorities that it is believed the court sessions will be continued as part of the regular schedule.

LOOSE SPOKES Loose spokes in the wire wheels give a peculiar squeak, and in bad cases an actual clicking sound is audible when the car is driven slowly, as each loose spoke takes the load. The nipples se- . curing the spokes to the rim should . be tightened, after liberal application of penetrating oil, until there Is no J noticeable movement when "plucked'’ : with the fingers. If spokes are left : loose, the holes in the rim will be worn ’ large, until finally the heads of the 1 nipples are pulled through, causing the 1 wheel to collapse. Loose spokes, in the early stage, may be identified by drawing the handle of a screwdriver ! or some other tool not likely to injure ' the paint, round the spokes, after the [ manner of a small boy rattling a stick j along iron railings. The different sound ■ made by a loose spoke is unmistakable. The wheel must be jacked up for this test, as the weight of the car on the top spokes will give a false impression of correct tension. With an open car, the hood is very likely to rattle in several places, but a 1 little oil at the joints will work wonders. SAFETY FIRST IN WIRING It should not be forgotten that the two sockets whteh are provided on the i facia-boards of most cars, into which may be plugged inspection lamp adap- !] ters or connections for any other elec- |j trical accessory, carry the full collage ! of the electrical system, and that '' usually this part of the wiring (on,,] British cars at any rate) is not pro- j; tected by a fuse. This means that if a fault develops ; in any gadget connected to the soc- j ■ kets, or if the sockets themselves are i , accidentally short-circuited, the bat- j. tery may be run down. Wirless deal- t : ers stock small safety fuses in sizes;; "blowing” at anything from a fraction i j of an ampere up to two or three am- | peres. Inspection lamps and similar j fittings usually do not take more than ‘ j one ampere, and a two-ampere fuse is , large enough. The bßcks of the facia- j board sockets are similar to the ends of wireless set. terminals, and it will be found an easy matter to fit a fuse :, in each lead. i