1935-02-19 — Page 2

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MOTORING HINTS

Acceleration After. Freewheeling

There Is a drawback to free-. wheeling on some cars in the ir- regularity with which the engine, responda to the use of the accel- erator pedal when the driver wishes it to take up driving again after a period of coasting. This erratic response to the accelera- tor implies, first, a longer delay period between free-wheeling and driving; next, a doubt on the part on the driver as to what will hap- pen when he commences to de- press the accelerator, which may. be rather disconcerting in some circumstances; and, finally, an' all- too evident "saatch" when the engine eventually picks up the drive through the operating

2 clutch

28

free-wheel transmission

This erratic acceleration of the engine after free-wheeling is more or less reproduced on all cars- with and without a free-wheel- when the engine has been idling for half a minute or more.

It is due, as, a rule, to the ne- cessarily rich slow-running mix- ture tending to cause deposition of fuel on the inner surface of the walls of the induction mani- fold, and the longer the period of diling the more prone is the en- gine to accelerate erratically when the accelerator is depressed with that object. On some cars this irregularity in acceleration of the engine is more pronounced than on others, owing to some peculiar- ity of design in the induction tract, It may be.

A Drawback Overcome When a car is free-wheeling its engine is idling. Just as in the case of a stationary car with its lengine running slowly with the gear lever in neutral of the And as clutch held disengaged free-wheeling is often continued without break (on a long down- hill run, for instance) for Ave. minutes, if not longer, it follows that fuel deposition may be more than ordinarily active in its effect " acceleration subsequently. upon

i

The point is, therefore, how can this drawback be overcome? The following is an answer that will. be told to apply in most cases.

When it is desired to accelerate ` the engine after free-wheeling for more than a few seconds give the accelerator pedal a quick "dab".. (quickly depress and release it). and then proceed as usual to de- press it gradually until the engine 13 running fast enough to take up the drive. The preliminary "dab" accelerates the engine mo- imentarlly, but long enough to carry of deposited fuel and rep- der the mixture stable.

Thereafter, if the accelerator be used normally at once. there will be the progressive and controlled acceleration of the engine that is essential to the object in view-- ie., a plek-up of the drive with- out perceptible jerk. To what ex- tent of possible accelerator move-o ment the "dab" should go is a matter to be determined by ex- periment with the Individual car. As a rule the pedal needs to be pressed down quickly about half- way and instantly released.

disturbed.

To Reduce Wiper "Blue" No motorist who has set his screen-wiper going soon after a light rain or drizzle has commen- ced needs to be told that for a little while the vision becomes "mare. blurred than before the

rainspots were

The area of the screen over which the wiper blade oscillates remains smeary until the blade has been allowed time to displace sufficient water to wash off the grime de- posited on the glass from the at- mosphere; for it need hardly be said that the smeariness and blurred vision occur initially even though the screen be free from mud-spray or dust,

It is, however, possible with some types of screen-wiper to cut down very considerably the time during which the smears peraist, providing the glass is not coated with mudspray or otherwise posl-

*

HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, TUESDAY FEBRUARY 19, 1935.

MOTOR JOTTINGS

THE FIRE MENACE

There was quite a galaxy of racing celebrities present recently at a demonstration at Slough when the value of asbestos' was convincingly shown in the sup- pression of outbreaks of fire on" a car. Many of those present had unhappy recollections or some oc- casion, on road or track, when ow- ing to a crash or some other cause, fire broke out and did vary- ing amounts of damage, with con- siderable risk to life and limb.

demonstration a

Luring the dummy car was set on fire, with wood-wool etc; soaked in paran and petrol providing most realis- tic, flames, and a Bestobell sheet of asbestos cloth was then flung over the entire conflagration, thereby smothering the fames.

tively dirty. This is done by operating the wiper by hand for two or three seconds, swishing it to and fro quickly half a dozen to. a dozen times.

In the case of the modern elect- ric wiper with its motor and oper- ating gear within the scuttle, and its blade or blades oscillating from the bottom of the screen, the wiper mechanism is set going by pulling back a knob on the instru- ment board, partially rotating and then releasing it. The preitmin- ary operation by hand is done, in this instance, by keeping the knob pulled back and twisting it to and tro. With a top wiper the swish- ing" by hand is not quite so easily dorie; but it can be done, as a rule, quite as effectively.

But with almost any screen- wiper it is necessary to keep the

mechanism operating

out of action for the time being; it is of no use, for instance, attempting to accelerate by hand the move- ments of a blade that is already and still being moved electrically, or by a flexible shaft from the gear-box or elsewhere.

A CERTAIN WINNER!

WAKEFIELD CASTROL MOTOR OIL

has more achievement to its credit on the highway, the byway, the

fairway and the airway, than any other lubricating oil.

PRICES SUBSTANTIALLY

REDUCED

on account advance in exchange.

Send for Price List and Green Booklet.

ROBERTSON, WILSON & CO, LTD.,

Agents for

·Messrs. 0. O. WAKEFIELD & 00,, LTD.,

The All-British Firm of Oil Manufactures.

IL

||

TWO OBSCURE FAULTS

In The Electrical System

Two cases of trouble with the electrical system of cars

PETROL TANK FLAME - TRAPS

Tank Filled Through Flame

No motorist in his senses would have" think of holding a lighted match come to knowledge recently show- immediately ing how easy it is for even the experinced electrical engineer to be deceived as to the cause of a fault. The result may be a great deal of time spent in testing the all sorts of ways equipment in and for a large variety of post- ible faults, only for it to be found

the trouble is eventually that really due to some simple shart- coming that may not be concerned with an electrical detall at all.

In one case the ammeter be- haved most erratically, absolute- ly preventing any "reading" from being taken.

After overhauling and testing, by means of special instruments, every unit of the electrical equip- ment two or three hours being spent thus without finding a fault, it was noticed that when the engine was running at not much above the slowest speed at which the dynamo cut in the flickers of the ammeter hand coincided with a faint "swishing" sound. The latter was in due

course traced to the fan belt

which also

drove the dynamo and water pump, and it was then seen that at one point the belt fode higher in its pulleys than. at any other part of its length: It had swollen at this point-or failed to stretch and lose width there as at other parts.

A new belt was fitted and the ammeter operated normally. The trouble was due; therefore, to variations in dynamo speed owing to the belt riding different heights in the pulley and so varying the ratio of the drive.

In the other case the complaint -was-that-the... dynamo was not -"charging. This was soon ‹ found

to be due to a blown fuse, so a new, one ywas/put in; but this one, too, blew immediately,' and a long and careful search was made for some electrical fault in the circuit. Nothing wrong was discovered until the electrician looked at, the car owner's spare fuses. They were not of the correct voltage!

DRIVING IN FOG

-Some Appropriate Advice

In view of the serious fogs that have enveloped such large areas of the country of late; the Automobile Association has issued some appropriate-advice-to-moto- rists; though it does not repre- sent any new solution of the pro- biem of driving in fog it. Is worthy of note by those car owners lacking experience in motoring under the conditions. implied Here, then, is what the A:A. says on this subject:-

"Direct a fairly intense and concentrated beam to the near- side of the road elther from a fog lamp on the near side of a spot-light attached to the near- side pillar of the windscreen. Thus the driver will be able to look either over or under the beam. If special fog lamps are not available. extinguish the offside headlamp and direct the other headlamp beam on to the nearside of the road. This met hod, necessitates driving close to the nearside kerb. Tissue paper of one or more.. thicknesses at- tached to the outside of the headlamp glasses, or whitening mixed with water, will be found helpful,

"If the driver, has a preference for any colour which suits his sight tinted tissue paper, or dry colour mixed with the whitening will produce the desired effect. Either paper of colour is easily removed, and does not involve ex- posing the lamp reflector, which is undesirable. Water le a con- stituent of fog, and powerful illumination merely intensifies re- flection – from the particles of Isture. It has been proved

the use of yellow or

loured light has no pe

tha

advantages and merely

the intensity Orths 197KE

over the Alling orifice of his petrol tank; he would know full well that fire. explosion would instantly ensue. But, according to unbiased re- ports of tests made recently of two devices intended for inser tion in the Aling spot of petrol tanks, and in the outlets of pet- rol pumps and cans, it is im- possible when either devise is in "position. to cause either fire or

explosion by a naked flame.

1.

One of these devices is known as the Amal flame trap, and in testing it a lighted taper was up- pilled to the filler mouth, with petrol at warious levels in the tank, and both with and without the trap in postulon. When the tank was empty an explosion oc- curred without the trap and not with the latter, When the tank was nearly full the petrol caught alight and burned steadily, until extinguished without the trap, but

ignited reluctantly with the trap, the fame going out almost im- mediately the taper was taken

away

In the other case the tests

were even

remarkable.

more

The device termed the Nonex, was fitted in the petrol tank aller of a car and also in the outlet of a two-gallon can; and petrol was then actually poured into the tank while fumes Issuing from the latter were alight! But the flame did not penetrate into either tank or can, and the tank was led through the flame! A similar test was made with petrol pump. the latter Atted with the device.

2

MOTOR NOTES FROM GREAT BRITAIN

(From a London Correspondent)

was

tion.

it

Captain J. P. Black wil con- tinue to be sole managing directar.

VALUABLE BUS PROFITS

A GOOD YEAR'S WORK ler B.S.A.-Lanchester drganisa-`

Considerable progress shown in the export of British cars and commercial vehicles last year, representing an increase of over £1,000,000 in value, the ma- jority of which resulted from the greater number of vehicles taken by New Zealand and Austraila, There is already conclusive evid- ence that the reduction of tax at home has stimulated the industry to provide cars of higher power, of a type which will undoubtedly prove popular in the Overseas markets,...

The production of private cars was 258,866 as against 220,779 in the previous 12 months, while the corresponding figures for commer-- cial vehicles were 85,833 and 65,- 608,

SUCCESSFUL RESULTS

A very successful year of trad- ing on the part of Vauxhall Motors has been crowned with the declaration. of a. dividend of 75 P.C., representing an actual distri- bution of £281,562. The Light sixes have become well known to many Overseas visitors to London who have made their acquaint- ance to many Overseas visitors to London who have made their ac-

quaintance through Shaw & Kl. burn's "Leave Car" scheme, while it is interesting to learn that these cars are being exported to. no less than 67 Overseas countries from the works at Luton,

Birkenhead Corporation oper- ates more than 100 buses, the great majority of which are Ley- lands, and it is noteworthy that; resulting from the satisfactory operation of this fleet, it has been able to allocate £22,000 to the re- lief of rates from its bus profit.

In future the local Transport Committee la to make an annual contribution of $5,000 towards the cost of removing tramway. tracks and re-instating roadways until the total amount £28,000. has been paid off.

F

FOR RAILCAR WORK

There is an increasing use for internal combustion engines for railcar work in many parts of the world, particularly on branch lines where the running of steam trains has proved to be unecono mic. At the present time, for in- stance, Thornycroft engines are being installed in railcars in South America and Poland.

In connection with this type of work various systems of transmis- slor are employed possessing in- teresting characteristics. The " Voith-Sinclair turbo converter and coupling, for example, is a torque converter in the truest sense of the word and displaces both or- The dinary clutch and gearbox. drive is continuous from start to finish and rapid acceleration can be obtained; there is no vibration to cause discomfort to passengers and the life of all working parts is considerably increased.

From Coventry comes the news that last year provided a sales re- cord in the history of the Stand- 3rd Co, and that, up to date, this year looks even better. As a re- suit of the recent death of Mr. R. W. Maudslay, the chairman and founder of the

company, there have been several changes in the Board of Directors. Mr. C. J. Band has been elected chair- man, while Commander G. Her

the rigid type at cruising bert, D.S.O. will shortly be taking speeds, that is, when the conver- up the position of sales director; ter is out of action, prevents shock be" is a brother-in-law of Mr. due to rai unevenness- being Maudslay and has been connected transmitted to the engine and with the sales side of the Daim-other transmission parts.

The engine and turbo converter can be placed in the chassis to sult other accommodation require- ments, while the use of a fluid coupling, in preference to one of

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