Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-08-27
COPING WITH FLYING TIRES
Be Ways Of Handling Car When
Tires Blow Out.
luce on DANCE Is nMAeNARY
PurposeIy Put On Tires Loosely for
Experiment on Cars GoinE at
very HiRh Rate Of
spred.

injury for the driver. Now, however, the |
shfsding Of a tire at high speed is not /
rSrarded az anything necessarily serious |
fAom the danser point. II the car Is not /
clAsely followed or surrounded by other |
cars at high speed. In the blk races now
sdays they shed tires until the course looks
like the scene Of hoop rolling contest. /
without anybody getting unduly excited. |
And the same difference is true in regard |
20 pleasure cars on the road.
! can remember when II was common for !
drivers Of touring cars to become sbso-
iutely panic stricken II tire came off
while they were going at from thirty-five
70 fifty miles an hour Like as not the9
would sell for everybody in the car 10
s-ssrnp and they themselves would make a
flying leap for life from behind the steer
ing wheel. being certain in their own
minds that the car would slew, break
wheel and roll over. And when they let go
the steering wheel II probably would 90
that very thing.
DefyinE the warnings and protests of all
his friends. s. +. Edge, who is prominent
in the British automobile trade, became
pioneer In proving that the throwing of
tire a. high speed need not be serious II the
car is handled right. lie conducted
number Of public trials on different kinds
ings OF his tires in order that they would
come off when the car vas driven fast
He shed tires from one wheel after an
other. front ana back. and always brought
the car to q safe stop. no matter how high
the speed when the tire went Oft.
As y matter Of fact. car is sometimes
harder TO control when the tire merely
blows out and does not leave the rim. In
vAriabIy. when the tire does 80 out it
causes a certain amount OF Slowing and
skidding At q recent race meet at Brigh-
ton Beach Louis Disbrow. q prominent
racing driver. blew out a casing In the
stretch and In another event blew tire
in the turn while he was going fully seventy
miles an hour. The way he brought his
cal. 10 a stop each time, and prevented It
pIngng through the rail when within
few inches Of Il, was one OF the prettiest
things at the meet
His cleverness in such situations had
often impressed me, and I asked him the
secret of his always making a successful
stop when a tire blew out. What he told
me Is of value not alone TO racing drivers,
but to every driver of an automobile with
pneumatic tires. His explanation was as
fellows;
fThe most essential thing TO know IL
whether IL Is the trent or rear shoe that has
E{ne fiat. This is quite easy to know At
.<hce in 4 racing car, - when q rear shoe
Elbows out the tendency IL for the rear end
20 skid. II night front blows cut. the
driver can see Il at 4 glance II the steering
wheel is on the right side. and the CORES
ponding situation prevails IN the case Of
left front tire and left hand steering. When
q front shoes blows out the car does not
answer the steering wheel; that Is. II Is
Hahl to tax In a 10
direction from that in which the driver il
sndeavoring 70 steer. owing partly to the
3oIt caused by the cars being suddenly let
down and partly because the wheel with the
fiat tire IL smaller In diameter than its
mate.
The first rule 10 that II a front shoe
bursts, throw out the clutch Immediately.
II rear shoe causes the trouble do not
throw out the clutch. but use the brake
gradually with the clutch in, and do not
shut off all the power At Onee
III the front shoe nattens as the car IL
Making a turn. II is not q good plan to
fight the car more than II absolutely neces-
sary to avoid striking obstacles One is
apt to throw the wheels around too far.
so that when they do grab the whole car
will swing completely around Then all
control is again lost for the time being.
and the car Is likely TO 20 a considerable
distance without responding to the helm
Pate always seems TO find something for
1t to strike In the meantime.
with q flat front shoe a driver should
be ready to apply his brakes decistvely,
and steady the car as soon as 1t COM
menoes to mind. With a rear blowout
G.k condition Is decidedly more dangerous,
asvit is seldom that any two cars act the
SAME in such a case. This is probably
ss.H -
careful manipulation to keep the car in
check
The first thing to do in a rear wheel
difficulty is to ease up the power. not
taking IL off entirely. The clutch is to
be left in. Goodness plays a great part
here, as the impulse OF the driver Is TO
fhut off the throttle Immediately. watch
he car very carefully as IL slows down.
meeting each tendency TO skid as promptly
as possible with a slight accelsration OF
the motor; also handling the brakes gently
and cutting down the speed without cGus-
ing sudden jerk. Never feel safe until
sagr car is at a very low speed. bearing
IN mind the fact that you can run Al =
higher speed with blown mont shoe than
with a rear shoe.
ON touring cars going at fair speed
the conditions are practically the same as
on racing cars. and drivers should gov
era themselves Just as they would were
they Handling a racer 1 would strongly
advise motorists never TO run on q shoe
that is torn so that IL shows signs Of
blowing out. II they can help f. Not
only does such a shoe spoil q good inner
tube. but it may prove dangerous to life
Eight Fat Cylinders in Thts Motor.
Down in front OF an office building on
Nassau street which is one Of the mar
Towest and busiest streets In New York
city. there appears almost every morn
Inc noon and night. a stOeky-IOoking
touring car belonging TO one OF the tenants.
There is nothing remarkable In it's appear
anee. unless the chauffeur happens TO lift
the hood. When this happens. the crowd
begins 10 gather IL Is the easiest thing
In the world 10 gather crowd in New
York. but IN this case the people who stop
have good reason for doing 90. as the
bOnaet OF that car contains about the big
gest automobile engine ever seen. Instead
OF the usual four cylinders. or even six.
there are eight great big fat cylinders
that leave hardly q cubic inch OF space
under the bonnet covering. They are ar
pAhged in formation. four on a side. and