New-York tribune., 1919-07-06
Gear Changing
Tells the Story
Good Driver
Shifting Noiselessly and
Haudily Will Lengthen
Life of Transmission and
Ccr, Too; How to Do 1t

.o..;~~ Of the clutch and transmission
l.. . -~oat deal 70 do with easy gear
...r.,,~ hrt ev~n with these advan-
60. certain amount Of practice is
AIRY in order to shift the gears
S.r.,v. without noise or clashing. This
eless.rr is caused by the outer 4nds
- r, GEAR teeth striking each other
;r-...i Of meshing as they should
a., tie result that the transmission
Geo. ~, sometimes injured by con-
star. improper shifting u gears.
Gar understanding Of what hap
,er. in inc process OF gear shifting
v.u enable the driver 70 master the
proc.s in very shOr; time.
rh. transmission IL made up OF
s.-,, q gears. mounted on the main
sbaf. a-l the countershaft. with the
;ser ccar mounted on the transmission
c,se. The FIST speed, second speed and
rsverse combinations are simply three
ss-s of reduction gears with various
-..iss % give the motor greater
leverage against the driving mechanism
vhsn required. High speed Is direct
a-;v, which means that the propeller
sbsst rerolves at .he same rate OF
s,os5 IS the motor crankshaft. The
v.~;oYs gears are brought into play
b. moving the gear shifting lever TO
the proper positions.
When the Clutch Is Out
V,e- the clutch pedal is pressed
Ill .so way down the power OF the
- is Disconnected from the trans
-, system. which releases the
,-essyrs of the gear .eeth against eacn
asie- and MAKES il possible TO shit
IL Gears easily. Also, when the gear
sh;frinr lever Is in neutral POSITION
~ rove~ IS disconnected from the
rsa~ driving mechanism, because nom
Of the traasmission gears ar IN mesh.
The lower eA4 c- 10 ge.- sn,tt!ne
lsvsr connects with tn gear snlf'lhg
FORKS. which are so arranged as W
rnsa tho gears forward and backward
or the square main shaft IN order 10
rate ne different gear combinations.
Tbe whole theory Of gear shifting
ma, be summed Up in the statement
.hs- the two gears about 20 De
weshed should be revolving slowly
ana as nearly as possible at the same
~ of sueed. II one is revolving
nnch faster than the other II is diff
frul- % shift without clashing. In
r. Buick disk clutch all the heavy
rotating parts of the clutch are car
ried by the fywheel and the light
ones bT the transmission, so that the
gears slow down very quickly. Inis IS
wonderful aid in shifting gears.
l. is.a mistake. tor the above rea-
sons. 70 let the car gain too great a
speed before shifting into a higher
coordination. The following method
will be found 20 give good results;
How To. DO 1t
With the throttle closed and the
spark lever about half way down the
quadrant, so that the engine ieles
slowly. throw out the oiutrh and put
tha gear shifting levers la first speed
Pc ition. Engage the c'1tch slowly,
a. the same tine pressing down on
the accelerator pedal grad aally. Let
the car attain a speed of shout four or
fve miles an hour ar then throw OFT
the clutch. removing the rlgac foot en-
tirely from the scceleratoE pedal. Push
tn lever slightly forward INTO neutral
position, then clear % the left and for
ward into second speed. Let the l1tch
N ntly IS before and accelerate the
speed Of the car % about eigat or ten
miles an hour when -re clutch should
agaIL be dlserre -cl. the foot removed
from the acce.eratCr and the gear
sht.rg lever pulled straight back into
Llgn speed position.
All q these motions should be made
deliberately. without haste. Most triv-
efs are N too much q q hurry to make
tnc satt, ort sm0o-her shifting VIII
result #, after moving me lever from
Ars. or second speed, +. is allowed 20
remain r neutral for a second before
p-zning :. o the higher speed posi-
ton The driver wall acquire this
inack much quicker il he will cultivate
the na0it O. not gripping the shifting
lever TOO firmly For example, shifting
from s,cord . high speed 9 a straight
aackwarc mcvemcn. By moving the
yer backward With the finger tiis,
the driver can act- -aily feel when the
Ferrs are rotating az proper speed 20
nfs1 perfectly. N..h the lever gripped
t.g-,y .lis ls not possible.
For Uphill Work
These rules will apply 20 all ordi-
nary driving n fairly good and level
r.ais where the car does rot lose mo-
rea-gu quickly. But OF al Up grade
~ n heavy pulling OF any kind where
te car slows down the instant the
power j. shut OF, the shiis should be
IL quickly and armly from ell
speeds.
Slif .rg from a high speed to a
lower speed is practically the reverse
~ ~aofIr~a fna~~. bod cfC-re ~
81 ne matter Of handling the throttle.
Tne pnnc pal thing is 10 make the
s.ilt a. lrmly and quickly az possible,
30 as not 70 let the gears slow down.
Il = also well 20 press the clutch medal
down only far enough 70 barely release
tre clutch.
Never a-t.mpt 20 reverse the car
u1t it has come 70 full stop, nor 20
thiit from reveire INFO forward speed
Until the ear - standing still. be-
ea1se this action throws an enormous
s.ra.n on the mechanism.
These rules, II observed. soon be-
come as automatic as the act OF walk
ing. ard The driver who observes them
vi. have no difficulty in shifting gears
With perfect ease and sllence.-Buick
Bulletin.
Peerless Sets New Mark in
Rim Of the World" Climb
4