Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-20
EXPERT GIVES
TIMELY HINTS
AUTO DRIVER SHOULD PROFIT
BY EXAMPLE
BRAKES ON MACHINE DESERVE
SERIOUS CONSIDERATION
Cost of Upkeep, Safety of Passengers
and Ability of Car All Depend
on Handlers Con-
duct

| There is so much of pertinent good III
the article of Timothy Hay in Golfers S
automobile number of January 15 that
it is reproduced here for the benefit of
the automobile owner and chauffeur
who takes any pride in his machine
and the cost of upkeep. 1t is as fol-
| lows:
This article does not pretend to treat
of the detailed care of an automobile,
all of which may be discovered in q
book of instructions or otherwise fur
nished gratuitously by dealers, but
rather to take up the odds and ends of
| information that one Is apt to gather
more from experience than from the
ordinary literature upon the subject.
| Granking seems one Of the first
points, in the natural order of things,
to consider, and it should be unneces-
sary to lay emphasis upon the fact that
careless cranking breaks wrists and
crank heads; use the utmost caution.
A good rule is to set the spark as it
should be and grasp the crank prepara-
tory to twirling it, but, instead, release
! it, and take one more look at the spark
/ before finally cranking, at the same
! time observing whether or not the front
wheels of, the car point directly ahead,
| for if turned TO one side the steering
wheel will be revolved, so that what
| may seem at first glance to be re-
tarded spark will prove to be full speed
| ahead.
Drive with downward grip upon
the wheel, but this is the custom Of but
comparatively few. The upward grip
| is the natural one but less secure in
case of sudden jolts or the explosion of
! a front shoe, which might throw the
steering gear entirely out of hand.
Those who wish to operate a car
economically would do well to observe
how others, who care not for the cost
| of maintenance nor the comfort of the
! passengers, stop and start their cars.
| Notice how, as the low speed is en-
gagged, the car starts with a jump.
/ Examine the exact spot on the road or
pavement where this occurred, and
/ then draw your own conclusions what
/ the wear must have been upon the rear
| shoes. This may be very largely avoid
| ed by having the spark well retarded
when the power first takes hold and
then gradually advanced.
The Brakes
| Brakes deserve serious consideration.
They are relied upon entirely too much.
This keeping up twenty or thirty-mile
clip to within a few feet of an obstacle
and then jamming down the brakes SO
as to bring every one "up standing,
would wear the surface off a pile-driVer
One whose name is household word
to all automobilists has said: IF 1 eX-
pect to make a stop 1 throw off my
power long enough before to gradually
coast down to the objective point, and
with a slight touch of the brake bring
my car to rest. Ignorant and fool
hardy drivers are the ones who wear
out their brakes"
The cautious driver does not rely
upon either the foot or emergency
brake, only as in the way of an auXil-
iary or reserve use, in going down steep
or long grades. A comon way Is to
'go down through the engine" which
means that the clutch is left in and the
speed lever set at low, intermediate, or
at whatever the steepness of the grade
! may demand, and the power shut off.
Gravity will work the engine, and this
| is the most effective brake in the world.
When approaching the end of the
grade it takes but little experience to
make gravity crank the car without
any loss of speed. Be very careful,
however, that the spark is fully re-
tarded before switching on the battery
or magnetic.
! The engine is also the best possible
/ brake to hold the car in an emergency
on a steep ascent. Any real danger
may be avoided by making it a rule
never to attempt to take a sharp up
! grade except upon the lowest Speeu.
Thus there will be no need to change
gears while going up, which is usually
difficult to new drivers. If the power
is lost while going up on the lowest
speed it would be a remarkably steep
hill upon which the gears would not
! hold the car if the driver does not Sc
forget himself as to throw out the
clutch Not only can the car be held,
with a reasonable use of the foot brake,
without any possible danger, but ii
may again be cranked. If the gears
hold the car so firmly that it will not
run back at all with the clutch in, play
I it in and out gently, with the brakes in
helpful control.
Safeguards for Slippery Driving
Skidding and Slowing are two entirely
different things. Relatively the same
conditions enter into the rear wheels of
an automobile that do into the fixed
axles and wheels of railroad car, but,
i'm the former case, they are rigid. They
work through what is called the diff
ferential," an understanding of which
is absolutely essential to a cdmprehen-
sion of skidding and of safe driving.
Raise one rear wheel with a jack, start
your power and observe how far your
car will go; or run one wheel into a
soft, wet gutter, and leave the other
one high and dry on the crown of the
road, and start your power.
In neither instance will you move a
al nf the 1iffarpnti11