Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-02-14
WHY MOTOR TIRES GIVE OUT.
Slamning Around Curves Hardest on

Slamning Around Curves Hardest on
 Them-Three Other Enemies. Manufacturers figure that the life of tire should be $500 miles under ordinary usage and conditions, but it is safe to say that two-thirds of those in use fall considerably short of this mileage and are cast into the junk heap of sent back for replace men. after they have gone no more than 1,S00 to 2,400 miles. A writer in Country Life in Ameri- | ca says that manufacturers have ceased to ask the customer how far he has used rim cut or blown out tire rent in for replacement on the $500 mile part payment basis. In the early days the customer stated his mileage and an allowance was made on his figures, but now, when the tire comes in, if possible l the record of it's date of sale is look ed up. At any rate it goes into the hands of an expert who places an ap- proximate mileage figure on it, and the adjustment is made on that basis. To figure out what service a tire will give is impossible. To approxi- mate how far it ought to go is easy enough, but no two tires on any two machines of like weight, speed, etc., ever give the same service, even if driven over exactly the same roads and under the same conditions. Gre man will drive set of tires I 4,000 miles, while another will not get l.,lf that distance. If the driver is careless and slams his car over bad roads at high speeds he can mak, the tire expense figure up to more than all the other operating expenses of the car combined.
 Tha greatest strain comes in rounding turn. At these times the canvas layers of the tire are subject ed to an abnormal strain that sooner or la.er impairs their efficiency and paves the way for blowout. This practice further wears off the tire
 tread or outside cover a great deal more rapidly than when the car is rolling over the roads in a straight line
 l Sudden effect swerves of any sort have the same effect on the tires. In
 turning c'rve at high speed it may
 readily be seen that, owing to centri- fugal force, the car is thrown toward the outside of the curve and for the moment the whole weight is resting
 on the two wheels of that side. The
 back of tho car is thrown around and the ear wheels drag along the
 ground.
 It was noticed in recent prom inent race that one of the drivers
 wore out thirteen castings while an-
 other wore out only two. Both cars
 were alike and both were driven
 over the same course at about the same speed and both finished we'll up
 with the leaders one after the other. The car that wore out the thirteen
 castings rounded the curves at the
 greatest possible speed and the
 brakes were applied suddenly and
 violently at times, locking the rear
 wheels and causing them to skid
 along the ground.
 The other driver when approach
 ing the turns slackened his speed and applied his brakes some time before
 reaching the corner and then pro-
 gressively putting them on and re- leasing them, and steadily slackening , the momentum until the turn was reached; he then swung around at
 fair speed and getting on the straight
 stretch opened up his engine and was
 of like a flash.
 , Tires have three natural enemies , that are destructive to rubber
 light, heat and oil-and each has its
 own peculiar effect.
 When the car is in the garage and r it is not to be used for some time it is
 always advisable to jack the wheels
 up and keep the weight of them Many owners of cars have special t devices for raising the wheels from s the floors and even when leaving r their cars over night jack them up. This is no doubt beneficial to the tires and adds to their life and dura' t bility. but it is, of course, some little f trouble. When the wheels are moi
 lacked up and the tires allowed tG . stand for any length of time they s should be kept we'll inflated, and tht e car should be moved from time tt .- time so that the tire does not flatter
 as result of being allowed to stant on the same spot for a considerabl, f Tenth of time.
 h The contrary is the rule when tn, wheels are lacked up and the weigh
 taken off the tires, it being advisabl, II then to defiate them and so take al e the pressure of them. The ca n should never be permitted to stan,
 for any length of time. not even fo half an hour, on defiated tire. n Rim cutting is sure to result an, l. at times inner tubes are irreparabl !, ruined. The only logical and saf
 way to carry inner tubes is to rol each one up separately. taking car n to see that the valve stem is left ol e the outside of the roll.