-·THE AUTOCAR B Journal publisbet' > in tbe tntcrcots of tbe mecbanicalll? propelle~ roat, carriage.

ED ITED BY H. WALTER STANER.

No. 607. Vm .. XVIII. SATURDAY, JUNE 8TH, 1907.

[PRICE 3D .

THE AUTOCAR.

(Published Weekly.)

Registered a s a newspaper for transmission in the United Kine:dom.

Entered as second-class matter in the New York (N.Y.) 0 ost Office .

EDITORIAL OFFICE :

COVENTRY.

PUBLISHING OFFICES:

20 1 TUDOR STREET, LONDON, E.C. , ENGLAND.

CONTENTS. NOTES . • UsEFUL H1NTS Axe T1rs ( lLLUSTRATED) . .

PAGE

837-838 , , 839

NOTES ON THE TOURIST TROPHY A:..'D HEAVY TOURING CAR RACES

(ILLUSTRATED)

THE CROSS PATENT H EAVY OIL EN"GINE (ILLUSTRATF.D}

SLOW RUNNING TEST..

8-40- 85 1

8y2-85,1

. . 654

CONTINENTAL NOTES AND NEWS: THF. FRENCH DFFEAT IN THE lSLE

OF MAN-THE NECESSITY FOR RACI NG-TH E FUTURE STRUGGLF.THE GRAND PRIX OF THE A.C.F .- T OWN-TO-TO\VN RECORDSTHE ST. PETERSBURG S HOW-THE PROVENCF. H !LL·CLJMBI NG TRIALS .. CORRESPOKOEXCE THE WHITE STEAM CAR Lo:sc DISTANCE TR1AL .. THE RACES SEEN FROM A SUNBEAM CAR (ILLUSTR.\TED) CLUB DOJNGS {ILLUSTRATED) FLASHF.S • . THE ,, GRAPHlC • . TROPHY (lLLUSTRATF:D) . . IRISH RELIABILITY TRIALS . . IN THE HOUSE OF COM MO :SS .. MONTE CARLO TO LONDON ..

THE DESIGN OF STEERJKG GEAR Jo1:-:Ts ( ILLUSTRATED)

SOME QUERIES AND REPLIES .•

855-850 857-86r . . 862 863-865 866-867 868-870

. . 871 .. 871 . . 872 . , 072 . . S73 . • 874

" THE AUTOCAR " SUBSCRIPTION RATES: British Isles, 16s. Abroad (thin paper edi 1ion), 22s. 8d . per annum.

Notes. ~ The Tourist Trophy Race. There was a Yery general exp ression of opinion among the competitors in th e Tourist Trophy Race that the conditions should be considerably altered before another year. At the same time, it must be confe seci that few seemed to have a \·e n · clear idea of 11·hat th e improvements a nd alterations should be. \,Vhen th e Tourist Trophy Race \\'as first institu ted we \·ery strongly opposed the fuel limit . At the same tim e, the races have been so successful that \re ha \·e come to regard it as a most satisfactory \\'a)' of pre\·enting unduly powerful engines being used in the race, the more beca use till this year it has not really played a prominent part in the final result of the contest . It is true that th e carburette rs had to be most carefully adjusted and petrol cut down to th e extreme limit to enab le th e course to be covered on the fuel allowance, but no car whi ch entered the last circuit with a fair chance of winning fai led for \\'ant of petrol to cross the line eithe r first or in a good place. This year, however, out of the half-dozen evenly balanced racers which en te red the last lap only two were able to finish. It is true that the bean· roads and the studded nonskids greatly increas e·d th e work, and so brought the fu el 1 imit into undue prominence.

On th e other hand, it is only fair to ask what can a competitor do? If he makes his engine of such a size th a t he can be sure of finishing if the roads are heavy and he is forced to use studded tyres , it stands to sense he will not have very much cha.nee of winning on a fin e day with dry roads. A paltry half pint of p etrol may stand between victory or failing miserably by the wayside, as has been the case this year. What is really wanted is a race which gives those who fail to win outright a fair chance of getting placed, and this is where th e fu el limit sy tern fails. We know the re are objections to a race run upon maximum engine dimensions, because it practically means th at eve ryone will use the largest engine allowed, and then, other things being equal, the competitor who can run his engine th e fastest will win. If it is found that engines are really raced ridiculously , it is quite easy to stop it if nature does not impose a low enough limit. It seems to us in a rapidly developing movement like that of auto· mobilism, and particularly of automobite design and manufacture, it is advisable to vary the conditions of th e great annual race as circumstances dictate .

The Tourist Trophy is a magnificent event, and one which should be encouraged by every possible means, and o, too, is the recently instituted H eavy Touring Car Race, and th e right thing to do is to revise the conditions as often as necessary. Settle upon a maximum size of engine for each race next year, and abolish the fu el limit. The wh eelbase and other leading dimension would ti ll have to be specified ; also th e number of gears and the slow running test on the top gear, as we! I as the hill-climbing test on the bottom gear. As to the load and the bo ly , load there must be, and it must be carried in some sort of a body, but as the test is one of chassis there is no reason whv the bod\' should not to all intents and purposes t~ke the foi·m of a box of certain minimum dimensions. ln fa ct, it 1rnuld be better so. The great thing to do is to simplify matters as far as possible. Gradually the regulations have become more and more complex, and th e difficulty of building a car to compete in the race has only been second to that of persuading it to cove r the course on the fuel limit when it is actualh· constru cted and in the short time al IO\\·ed for practice on the course before the race.

~o doubt after a year or two with limited engine dimensions certain abuses will creep in, and it will