The Washington times., 1923-05-12
4-WHEEL BRAKE
GREAT.SAvER
Of TIRES
Capt. n. M. Horton, Distribu-
tor of Duesenbergs Here, De-
scribes Their Advantages.

That capitalizing the quick STOP
ping advantage of four-Wheel brakes
has blinded the motorist TO solus
of the more important features oI
this new development in American
cars, is the opinion OF capt. HaTry
M. Horton, local Duesenners as
tributor, who is discovering iiluCli
about the subject which should
be of interest to car owners gen
orally. :,
s"The ability to stop rapidly"
says Captain Horton, rs sate'y
factor and not something Wnlcn
driver of the fourfwheel orake car
utilities in his ordinary driving: :.
"In practice with tour-Wneel
brakes the driver does not stop
his car any more abruptly tnan ne
does with two-wheel brakes, BE-
cause the action would be too Sc
we're uncomfortable for passen-
gers, and unnecessary.
9"This means that since the total
normal braking action is no
greater than. that of the two.wheel
brake the wear and tear is re-
duced to one-half, which accounts
for the long life of tires under the
four-wheel brake arrangement"
Little Wear on Tires.
A Duesenberg car, operated from
ten to fifteen thousand miles over
gravel roads of Indiana and Ohio,
is said to have showed practically
no tire wear, and no variation in
the condition of front and rear
tires. This has led to a very in
teresting fact which upsets tradi-
tons in motordom.
Wear on rear tires was generally
supposed to be due to traction, but
the experience of Captain Horton
with Duesenberg brakes proves
that the wear is due to the brak1nS
effort which, when confined to two
wheels, causes the tires to slip or
slide over the road in stopping.
''The fact has come to light,
says Captain Horton, that prac-
tically no cars have torque enough
twisting power at the wheels pro
duced originally by the engine) to
slim the wheels. while practically all
cars with properly adjusted brakes
can slide the wheels in stopping.
Damage by Two Wheels.
ION a wet pavement with smooth
tires driver with a powerful en-
q ne can sometimes spin the wheels
while hey are in contact with the
ground hut even this results IN
but nin3r wear compared with the
constan sliding of the wheels over
thc pavement when tWO-Nheel
brakes are applied with sufficient
force TO bring the car to quick
stop.
with four.wheel brakes the
quickest stop that is possible with
conventional brakes is accomplished
with one-half the wear on the brake
shoes, and therefore one-half the
wear OF tires. With cars evenly
balanced, and brakes which accom-
plish normal stopping without slid
ing the wheels, the tire wear should
be evenly distributed over all four
tires.
This is exactly the result being
found in the operation Of Duesel-
berg cars.
THE advantage is not found
merely in this important saving in
wear of the rear tires, but in OBJ
waiting the nuisance of shifting
rear tires to the front wheels when
they are half worn down. 1t has
never been good policy to shift
weak tires to the front wheels on
account of the danger and conse
quences of front wheel blowout,
yet the motorist hesitates to dis
card tires which still should give
several thousand more miles of
service. With four-wheel brakes the
rubber wears out evenly, as well
as slowly. Tires can be used longer
on the rear because the stopping
strain is reduced to a minimum"