El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-03-16
n BE average motor car owner, {


~ HE average motor car owner
viii be startled to be informed
4 hat out OF all the power that IS
! generated by the explosion in the
combustion chamber, less than one
eighth is delivered IN actual driving
force at the rear wheels. Astonish-
ing as It seems, this is actually true
! II, then, seven-eighths Of the original
power is lost on the way 70 the driv-
ing wheels, how vitality important Is
Il 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 percent
we find that the first loss amounts
to IS percent which Is dissipated in
the cooling water. Another 80 per-
cent IS lost through direct radiation
and In the exhaust gases. The exhaust
pipe and muffler accounts for a fur
Their two per cent and friction In the
motor for nearly six per cent. Wind
resistance uses up seven per cent OF
what is left, and there is a loss
through the tires OF nearly four per
cent The transmission accounts for
a further subtraction OF practically
three percent
As long as these power losses are
kept at their normal proportion, there
is no cause for worry, but let the car
owner get careless in maintaining
the vehicle and the losses immedi-
ately mount upward in a geometrical
ratio Fortunately, by taking heed.
il Is not hard TO keep the power dis
sipatton under control, as We shall
show.
Less Through Cooling.
The first item on our list, power
lost through dissipation IN the cool
ing water, can scarcely be controlled
BY the ordinary car owner Within
the past year or two engineers have
taken up seriously the problem Of re-
ouc1nE this item OF waste By means
Of thermOstatic control II is now
possible 10 keep the temperature Of
the engine at or near its point OF
maximum efficiency Heat IS simply
form OF power But unfortunately
the nature OF the internal combus-
ton engine prevents more than a
certain degree Of temperature being
utilized, the protecting lubricant
would be broken down and the engine
would be quickly ruined However,
by the use Of thermostatic devices,
designers have been able TO reduce
the amount Of heat, which means
power, wasted in the cooling water.
What be can do, how ever, is to see
that there is no leakage from the en-
CINE; this includes gas leakage, igni-
ton Leakage oil leakage etc. The
gasketing OF the cylinder head, II
there is SUCH must be good all the
time and there must be no leaks at
the plugs or petcocks. In gasketing
the head. be sure to see that the gas
ket itself Is perfectly clean and is
mounted on clean surfaces. There
must be no hicks or dents in metal or
gasket The head must be frightened
carefully TO avoid springing. It is
admirable to give the threads OF the
spark plugs, valve plugs and any
other threaded device in the engine.
a thin coating Of stove blacking.
which prevents or stops leakage and
also makes removal OF the parts easy
at any future time.
Accessories Consume Power.
Il must not be forgotten that the
various accessories and devices 10
Gated on and driven by the engine.
consume power. in some cases as
much as six percent Of the total Add
TO this the inevitable friction gener-
ated by the various moving parts