Passing Comments
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N a paper on front-wheel stability, read before
the American Society of Automotive Engineers, it is mentioned that careful tests have shown that steering stability •is improved by increasing the weight on the front wheels. The benefit is particularly noticeable where there is rapid acceleration in low gear, which, of course, transfers weight from the front wheels to those at the rear. The limit without servo steering is variously estimated at 9,000 lb. to 10,000 lb., which may be increased by some 14 per cent, if the front wheels also drive.
THE medical officer of health for Bradford is to take samples of the blood of persons exposed to the fumes from motor-vehicle exhausts, and to report as to the extent to which the fumes affect health. Similar investigations have already been made in other congested areas, and the West Riding Smoke Abatement Committee believes that the running of engines in enclosed garages for more than a short time should be forbidden, and all garages, public or private, should be required to have efficient means for ventilation. THE value of a running recorder on a commercial
vehicle was well emphasized not long ago, when in a case concerning the exceeding of a speed limit, the police gave evidence that the vehicle speed was a minimum of 35 m.p.h., whereas the instrument, which was accurately calibrated, showed an average of 22 m.p.h. and the case was dismissed.
THAT the correct grade of engine oil should be L governed by the mileage of the vehicle, rather than by the make or model, is the theory upon which a new oil is to be marketed in America. Four grades will be available to cover mileages up to 1,000, from 1,000 to 10,000, from 10,000 to 30,000, and a final grade for mileages in excess of the last-named figure. After reboring cylinders, or renewing main bearings, a return is made to the first grade.
ONE of the most important factors in the life of roads is the impact of vehicle wheels, and to measure this, the National Physical Laboratory has in use a standard rigid six-wheeler, to the rear wheels of which are fitted electrically recording accelerometers and load gauges. The instruments produce currents proportional to the vertical accelerations of two points on the axle and the two spring loads upon it. The recording and auxiliary apparatus is installed in a special body. A N interesting case of a recent starter failure was r-Ltraced to a most unusual cause and it is desirable to record the circumstances as it may impress upon coachbuilders the need for caution in designing bodywork of a streamlined type. In brief, a vehicle having a steeply sloped windscreen to give a streamline contour suffered from a leakage of water through a screen joint, owing to the frame being originally designed for vertical mounting. This water leakage caused the wooden facia board to swell and the starter switch button jammed in the " on " position. Before the battery could be disconnected the starter motor failed.
AN instance of the way in which the use of air services can avoid much waste of time occurred recently when an Albion van belonging to a Liverpool firm was held up in Plymouth for a small spare part. The owner of the vehicle received a wire from Plymouth and telephoned to the Albion company's office at 2.40 p.m. The spare was placed in an aeroplane belonging to Railway Air Services at 3.30 p.m., and arrived at Roborough Aerodrome, Plymouth, at 6.30 p.m. The difference in cost through the use of the air mail was only 7d. The van Was on the road again with little loss of time, thus avoiding extra delay that might have held up deliveries which had to be made before the week-end.