OCTOBER 7TH, 1905.
THEAUTOCAR a Journal publisbeb in tbe interests of tbe mecbanicallr propelleb roab carriage.
EDITED BY H. WALTER STANER.
No. 520. VoL. XV.]
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7TH, 1905.
[PRICE 3D.
Tff E A UTOCAR.
(Published Weekly.)
RegJstered as a newspaper for transmission in the United Kingdom.
Entered as second-class mattE'r at the New York (N.Y.} Post Office
EDITORIAL OFFICE :
COVENTRY.
PUBLISHING OFFICES :
20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C., ENGLAND•
CONTENTS.
PAGE
NOTES : ENGINE BRAKING-D1scR1tTI"'tN NECESSARY-How TO Use:
THE ENGINE AS A BRAK!!';-USE OF FORCE BY POLICEMEN
THE BRITISH MOTOR BoAT CLUB R ,cEs (illustrated)
415-416
417-418
AN IRISH MOTOR CURRICLE REFLECTIONS ON THE TOURIST T ROPHY RACE THE PooNA RELIABILITY TR I ALS (illust rated 1 THE EXAMINATION OF SecOND·HAND CARS I continued) Moae AsouT THE TouarsT TROPHY. By Henry Sturmey THE VANDERBILT CUP ELIMINATI?fG T RIALS (illustrated)
418 . .. 419 420-421 422-423 ... 424 ~25-427
THE EDGE H ILL AFFAIR .. .
427
USEFUL HINTS AND T IPS. By Lieut. Windham, R.N.
... 428
CONTINENTAL NOTES AND News (illustrated): T HE CttArEAU-THIERRY
HILL-CLIMB
429-43J
CORRESPONDENCE: EN GIN~ RATtNG-T HE MOTOR CAR IN j AMAtCA
DETECTING SHORT CIRCUITS-THE INDICTMENT OF AUT0MOBILISTS-THE: MURPHY PETROL GAUGE-SPECIAL S PEED LIMIT SIGNALS-TO COUNTERACT POLICE EVIDENCE-TROUBLE WITH FRENCH A GENTS -DECAUVILLE CARS-POLICE TRAPS ON OPEN ROAD-THE ;'JEGLECTED TOURIST-O1-IE RESULT OF UNJUST FINES-SIGNAL OF DISTRESS-DOCTORS AND THE ROYAL CowMISSION-A New CAR-THE AUTOMOBILE CONSUMER OF THE WORLD-SOLID T YRES v. PNEUMATICS-THE TouRIST TROPHY RACE-TYRE REPLACEMENT-A LOST TAI L LAMP 431-434 To CONSTANTINOPLE- THE BARMOUTH BENCH 435 A~ ACETYLENE LAMP PRIZE COMPETITION 436-437 A New LosooN DEPOT ... 437 FLASHES .. , 438-440 CLUB DOINGS : CLUB FIXTURES-MOTOR UNION OF WESTERN
INDIA-MIDLAND A . C .-PROPOSED CLUB FOR YORK- YORKSHIRE A.C,- CLUBS AND THE MOTOR UNION DP.FENCE FUND- ESSEX COUNTY A .C.-NOTTS. A .C. - BLACKHEATH A .C,-AUTOMOHILE ASSOCIATION OF BENGAL 442 SOME QUERIES AND REPLIES 442
"THE AUTOCAR " SUBSCRIPTION RATES : British Isles, 16s. Abroarl {thin p~per edition). 22s. Bd. per annum.
/ Notes. Engine Braking. We have received an interesting letter from Mr. Edge upon the subject of engine braking. He. like ourselves, is a believer in using th e engine for retarding purposes as well as for propulsion. :\' 011· many cars are made with the brakes inte r-connected with the cl utch. That is to say, if the foot brake i applied the clutch i automatically taken out. a.nd the same remarks apply to the hand brake. This means that when either of the brakes is in operation the car can only be checked through the brakes, as the engine is entirely disconnected from the road wheels. Some cars are made with the hand brake onh· inter-connected with the clutch. anrl on thf's the perlal brake can b,e used with-
out of necessit) taking out the clutch. Then there are those cars in which neither the pedal nor hand brake has anything to do with the clutch. and pe rso1~al_ly we think this is the best arrangement for the maionty of cars, and we ha.Ye more than once dismantled the connections bet11·een the brakes and the clutch on cars that ire ha1·e had. The rea.son we object to the inte rconnection of the brakes and clutch is that we can neYer use the engine and one or both of the brakes in concert. Many hills and slopes can be taken by switch or throttl e alone. but if the application of the pedal or side brakes disconnects the engine, it means t hat directh· more retardation than the engine can afford is required it can only be had by the brakes, whereas the best way is to use the engine and then to supplement it 1rith one or othe r of the brakes as occasion requires, and in nine cases out of ten only a light continued application of the side brakes is wanted, or a touch here and there of the pedal brake at the bends or steeper sections of the descent.
There appears to be an idea prevalent that to switch off the enrrine down a hill. and to let it therebr exercise a steady ~becking influence upon the car, is· very bad for the engine, and that it is much better to use the brakes for this purpose. We can only say that an engine 1rhich would be damaged in this way would be such a hopeless contrivance that it would never propel d. car up a hill. if, indeed, it would run it on the level. On the other hand. we may be asked what is the goo<l of usi ng an engine in this 1~·ay, as it is no more trouble to put on the brake or brakes? Our reply to this is that the great advantage of engine braking is that it is so regular in action that the car is much less likely to side-slip, and, in addition to this, it is not only regular but gentle. though it is astonishing what a retarding e ffect it has. In addition to this, the brakes themseh·es run for very much longer distances without requiring adjustment and without OYerheating, so that it not only means afer driving but a positive save in 1rear and tear, not mereh· to the brakes themselves, but to the car as a whole. ·
Discretion Necessary. Some little discretion is required in using the engine as a brake. 'o hard and fast rules can be gi,·en, because cars differ. Preferabh- the switch should be upon the wheel, so that the ct1rrent can be cut off in the ea.siest possible way, but there is not much in this. It is practically as convenient if it is on the steering column or just at the side of the driver. If, on the other hand. it is placed upon the dashboard in a positi on which the driver cannot reac h. he must give up the idea of switching off unless he has an intelligent friend b,· his side who will do it for him. As a rule, it is not a· difficult matter to move the switch to an accessible position, but leaving the switch out of the question altogether, the engine can be controlled quite as well by the t hrottle, and we have one car which we always drive this way. When we come to a hill on ll'hich we desire to slack, we simply close the throttle, and we m1v S'lv. frnm experiment, "'P h'll'e made. ll'e have
