MARCH 23RD, 1907,

THE AUTOCAR a Journal publisbc~ in tbe interests of tbe mecbanicall~ propelle~ roat, carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALT ER STANER.

No . 596. VoL. XVIII. SATURDAY, MARCH 23RD, 1907.

[PRICE 3n .

THE AUTOCAR.

(Published W eekly) .

Registered as a newspaper for transmission in the United Kingdom.

Entered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y.) Post Office.

EDITORIAL OFFICE :

COVENTRY.

PUBLISHING OFFICES :

20, TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C., ENGLAND.

CONTENTS.

P.6.GE

NOTES

. . . . . . . . . . . .

USEFUL HINTS AND TIPS: ON ACCESSORIES • .

THE 40-50 H.P. THA!\1ES CHASSIS (ILLUSTRATED)

THOU Gl-trS ON LUBRICATORS

. . 39g-400

401

.• 402-404

404

SOUTHWARD ON A SIX • • . . . . . . • .

. •

405

THE INTERCHANGEABILITY OF TYRES (ILLUSTRATED)

As OTHERS SEE Us . . . . . .

A HANDY LABOUR SAVER (ILLUSTRATED)

IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS • • • . • •

EQUAL P OWER: ACCUMULATOR OR MAGNETO..

.• 406-408

408

409

409

4ro

DOCTOR~' CARS AND WATER RATES • • . • . • • • • •

NEW AND O LD CHAIRMEN OF THE R .A.C . AND M.U. (ILLUSTRATIONS) 41 r THE NEW LACOSTR HIGH TENSION MAGNETO (ILLUSTRATED) . • 412-414 ALCOHOL AS A FUEL • • . • . . . • 414 THE. SMOKE EMISSION TRIALS (ILLUSTRATED) .• 415 -418 CORRESPONDENCE . • . • . • 419-424 LUBRICASTS FOR MOTORS.. • • . , 425-426 MOTORING IN INDlA (ILLUSTRATED) .. 427-428 THE 4 0 H.P. SIODELEY TRIAL . • 428 CoNTtNENTAL NOTES AND NEWS .• 429-430 FLASHES . . . . . . 431·433 THE FUEL QUESTION • • • • • • . . . • 434 CLUB DOINGS. THE EDINBURGH MOTOR CAR SHOW 435 SOME QUERIES AND REPLIES • • 436

410

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Notes. Accu11ulator v. Magneto. At last we are in a p ositi on t a make something ljke a definite pronouncement upon the vexed question of whether the accumulator or the high tension magneto gives the greatest power, as on page 410 we publish particulars of some comparative tests which have been made in the Daimler works. It will b e seen that the results obtained were to all intents and purposes the same with either system. No extra power could be ob tained from the magneto, despite the widely current belief among motorists that more power is obtained with the magneto. Persona.lly we attribute this widespread belief to the difference in timing. If, say, when running on the accumulators one switches over t o the magneto there wi ll at once be an acceleration of the engi ne speed, and because of this it has very naturally been assumed that the magn eto produced more rapid and more complete combustion than the spark produced by the accumulator and coil. It has not been realised that equal results could have been obtained from the accumulator if the spark had been advanced. . However we have no hesitation in saying that, despite the Dai~ler tests, there will be many unbelievers, though we must confess we do not see any valid reason for unbelief. It may be, and probably will be, argu ed that at very much higher speeds than 1,000 revolutions per minute the magneto will be shown to have an advantage. This is a matter which ca n on ly be proved by direct and ca.reful comparative tests. It is, however, necessary to bea.r in mind that on the vast majority of cars fitted with the two ignitions th e tendency is to use the macrneto a lmost constantly, and merely to switch on the° accumulators for starting. The r esult is the accumulator system is not kept in a ve ry high state of adjustment, and very often the accumulators are not kept properly cha.rged . They will give sufficient voltage to start the engine, and so long as they will do this they a re neglected. The t rembler or tremblers are not kept in adjustment, and in nine cases out of ten a common coi l is use d . On th e other hand, the magnetos a re keprt in proper trim, and it may be said that there are scarce ly any common magnetos at the present time. They are almost all well made and good, this factor again tending to the disadvantage of the accumulator installation.

With single trembler coil and high tension distributer in best trim, r esults a.re ob tained which, it appears, the magneto cannot beat. As we mention in our other remarks about th e D aim ler tes t, there are other comparative experiment s. .yet to be made, but so fa.r as the present ones are concerned we must admit they support in a, remarkable way the evidence which is accumulating against the fat, hot , long, longmingling, and other sparks, which have so long been believed in . It must not be imagined from this that we a.re disbelievers in the magneto. As a matter of fa.et we thoroughly be li eve in it because we think it is a better system than the accumulator system in many respects . At the present tim e we prefer to have it supplemented by an accumulator system just as in the old days we liked to have our accumulator ignition supplemented by a standby tube ignition, but this is only a transitional state. Alrea,dy the more advanced among motorists carry a spa.re magnet o instead of a standby accumulator installation, and it is only a questi on of a comparatively short time before no one will think of ca rrying supplementary ignitions of any kind; only a fer,, are magnet o p arts will b e considererl necessary u ess one be touring in most out of the way places.

Faulty Steering and Brakes. We have received what we regard as a very excellent suggestion from Mr. T. C. Pullinger. His idea is that the Automobile Club should endeavour to pers uade the a.uthorities to institute a, system of inspection of each new model or make of car which is introduced. This work is carried out in France by the Mining Engineering Department. There l'Ingenieur des Mines, or ofli c ia.ls responsible to him, inspect every new type