The Washington herald., 1918-03-24

The average motor car owner will
be startled to be informed that out
of all the power that is generated by
the explosion In the combustion
chamber less than one-eighth is de-
livered In actual driving force at the
rear wheels. Astonishing as Il seems,
this is actually true.
II, then. seven-eighths Of the original
power Is lost on the way 10 the driy-
Ing wheels how vitaIly important IL a
Tor the car owner to see that no
further and unnecessary losses occur
during the journey.
Taking the power generated in the
combustion chamber as 100 per cent,
We nnd that the first loss amounts 70
30 per cent. which Is dlssipated in the
cooling water. Another Is per cent Is
lost through direct radiation and in
the exhaust gases.
The exhaust pipe and muller ae-
counts for another per cent and fric-
ton in the motor for nearly Der
cent. Wind resistance uses up per
cent OF what Is left and there is a loss
through the tires Of nearly ( per
cent The transmission accounts for
a further subtraction Of practically 3
per cent.
As long as these power losses are
Kept at their normal proportion there
- no cause for worry. but let the car
owner get careless in maintaining the
Vehicle and the loss Immediately
mounts upward in a geometricaI ra-
ton. Fortunately, by taking heed il
Is not hard to keep the power dissi-
patton under control. as we shall
show.
The first item on our list. power lost
through dissipation in the cooling
water, can scarcely be controlled by
the ordinary car owner.
what the owner can do, however, is
10 see that there is no leakage from
the engine; this includes gas leakage,
lgnition leakage, oil leakage, etc.
The gasketing OF the cylinder head.
u there is such, must be good all the
tlme' and there must be no leaks at
tne plugs or petcocks. In Easketing
the head be sure TO see that the gas-
ket itself is perfectly clean and is
mounted on clean surfaces.
1t Is admirable to give the Threads
OF the spark plugs. valve plugs and
any other threaded device in the en-
glne a thin coating of stove black
ing which prevents or stops leak
age and also make removal of the
parts easy at any future time.
Again. carbon deposits in the
combustion chambers are excessive
wasters OF power. A viEiIant eve
in this direction and removal Of
such deposits before they have a
chance to reach serious proportions.
Is necessary.
In some cases owners who have
excessive carbon trouble NAV be
well advised to install a water feed
ing device on their engines after
the cylinders have been thoroughly
cleaned. Water injected this way
in the form OF steam tends to pre-
vent the formation of carbon de-
posits in a clean cylinder.
There is one form OF power waste
that Is not to be excused and that
is through the use Of too rich a
mixture. This simply means that
more gasoline than is necessary is
being burned up and going out OF
the exhaust possibly even in the
form of liquid.
The clutch wastes little power as
long as IL is running properly, but
the minute II gets out Of order and
slips IT fairly burns power up. Keep
the clutch properly adjusted and
lubricate the thrust bearing and
throwout collar at stated intervals
The transmission inevitably wastes
some power through friction. but II