Why persist with the auto myth?
Page 35
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IT IS NATURAL that Spicers' letter "Why automatic adjustment is best" (CM July 24), should purport to outline the supposed benefits of auto-adjust clutches. However, it is refreshing to see an auto-adjust manufacturer quoting: "The advent of the use of ceramics for clutch facings has dramatically increased clutch life and extended maintenance intervals, to an extent that it is now being voiced within the industry that an automatic adjustment mechanism is a feature an operator need no longer consider."
How true.
So why does the industry still pay for a feature which is no longer necessary? Since the wear factors of ceramic materials are so slight, and adjustment with a Lipe clutch is a five-minute job — automatic adjustment is, to use a suitable analogy, like a motorist having puncture-proof tyres and still carrying a spare in the car. These days any weight savings mean money to fleet operators and if, in addition, by fitting a manual adjust clutch with a pressed cover and ceramic facings, the maintenance periods are extended — it means considerable economies in operating cost and an increase in the load carrying capacity of the vehicle.
D. R. A. wHnt General Sales Manager Lipe-Rollway Ltd Rossendale Lancashire