Evening star., 1927-10-16
Low GEARS URGED
FOR USE ON HILLS
Advantages Of Shifting on
lncIines Set Forth in
Road Tests.

WHY try to climb a Hill in higl
GEAR when the ascent in second may
I'm many instances be made with ever
greater speed?
Motorists who take the modern cal
up virtually every hill in high woulC
90 we'll to ask themselves this ques
ton If they give the matter a little
thought and few trials on the road
they may he surprised to find thai
they have been overlooking the ad
Vantages of the lower gears.
Instead of regarding low and second
gears as so much superfluous mech
anism once the car is well in motion
more experienced drivers find these
speed combinations not only more use
ful than ever. but capable of pro
ducing even better performance on thu
long, hard grades,
Can Climb Faster.
The greater use of the lower gearA
is being emphasized so as to prepare
the driver for the discussed coming
era of automatically shifted gears.
Meanwhile, the newer uses for the
lower gears are being accentuated.
Some experienced drivers are discov-
ering that they can climb steep hills
faster in second gear than their fellow
motorists can climb them in high. 1t
has been demonstrated that this rprac-
tice gives one a definite advantage,
particularly when a speedy start can
not be had at the bottom of hill.
"Seconl" has become a handy speed
on many cars. Some cars have been
geared slightly lower in high so As
to meet the competition for stunts on
lsl lie "a
greater engine power and speed re-
sulting in low and second being faster
than formerly.
In the former case the motorist may
find that second is more nearly like
high and that he can make as good
time with less strain on the engine
by shifting to second on steep hills.
In the latter case, the car will travel
in second quite as fast as cars used
to travel uphill in high few years
ago. 1t may be an advantage to en-
joy the greater acceleration available
with second.
1t is not unusual for skillful driver
to climb hill in second at so miles
an hour. passing cars which are climb
ing very well in high. This speed in
second with a good car can be main
tanned without nursing" the engine,
whereas the driver who starts up a
hill in high at 20 miles an hour is
often obliged to allow his engine to
pick up gradually. He may not be
able to attain 80 miles an hour until
he is very close to the top.
Goes Up Sooner.
The excellent acceleration of a car
in second is being utilized to good
advantage by many motorists. Many
Apsiu - A AAA A&,.A ..~
on hills because they fear they will not
be able to obtain response from the
engine. They appear to overlook the
advantage of dropping back to second.
In recent tests it was revealed that
the car travelling in second on a hill
reached the top in shorter time. Both
cars We're started at 10 miles an hour.
The car in second Immediately took
the lead and, while the car in high
travelled faster near the top, the car
in second went over the top first.
Another test was made with the cars
starting at 20 miles an hour, and the
car travelling in second again went
over first. An interesting feature of
the tests was that when a showdown
was ordered for each car, correspond.
ing to a traffic delay, the car in second
displayed quicker getaway
1t has been customary for race driv-
ers to use second gear for fast driving
over the sleeper portions of test hills
during hill-climbing competitions. Con-
siderable skill is required to make
shifts at such high speeds, however.
> One OF the reasons why more drivers
do not use second gear is because they
md 1t noisy and disagreeable. This
is due to the fact that they do not
travel fast enough in second. 1t has
been demonstrated that the pitch of
rotating gears varies with their speed,
and that the sounds given forth by
the transmission at high speed in sec.
Ond are much more agreeable than
they are at lower speeds. Some of
the newer cars run more quietly at
70 miles an hour i'm second gear than
they do at Is.
Engine Is Cooler.
On the other hand. some drivers
prefer the humming of the transmits
sion in second to the clicking of the
strained piston pins in high. Few
motorists appreciate, too. that an en-
gine climbing a hill at a fast clip in
second runs cooler than one that is
pelng nursed along in high. In order
TO climb in high a large volume of
gas Vapor is required on each COM
preston stroke. 1t is the volume of
gas per revolution that increases the
operating temperature of the engine.
Low gear can be very useful to q
driver when he is in doubt as tn the
running of his engine. Suppose for
example. that he Isl driving in trafic
and suspects that the engine is NOT
running as it should. He has no on.
poftunity TO drive at 80 miles an hour
nut he can find a good substitute. as
rar as the engine performance il con.
cerned, by driving fast in low gear
This may enable him to check IN tbe
charging rate Of the generator. the
OH pressure, or perhaps the action of
Inc valves when the engine is run.
ming faster.
1t was in noting how slow the car
picked up in low" that one driver
came to learn that his timing had
slipped oack TO a very retarded point
He had not noticed 1t while driyinp
along in high.
Improvements in engine design
making Tor extreme quietness in on.
Grafton are further Incentives r.
greater use of the lower gears. Prom
eriy used. the lower gears can be made
to keep the engine always meeting it,
load and road demands at the speed a I
which 1T can deliver maximum power
sH or which means great savings In
repairs and longer lives for motors
The lower gears are coming into their
own.