Evening star., 1935-07-28
HELPFUL TIPS FOR
WOMAN DRIVERS
Necessity for Compromise
Carries Over to Car
Adjustments.
BY FREDERICK C. RUSSELL.


Manufacturers know that every
thing In the design of a good auto
mobile has to be a compromise, but
this is lesson which millions of
motorists will need to learn If they
expect to obtain best results from
their cars and avoid troubles that
form the basis of serious accidents.
Bear this in mind whenever asking
your service man to make an adjust
ment to the cars major units.
1t is a simple matter for him to
adjust the brakes so that much more
deceleration power is available, but
If he declines to do this understand
that his hesitancy is for your own
good. Too much braking power is as
dangerous as too little. AS a matter
of fact, 1t is often more dangerous.
Tires can provide only so much trac-
ton, and II the wheels lock when the
car Is travelling fast the car may skid,
get out Of control and upset.
There has been a decided COM
promise on steering. Your service
man can make alterations In the
Gambler. caster and toe-in SO that the
car will steer almost effortlessly, but
this may be extremely dangerous. 1t
is always essential to be able to feel"
the road, for without this effort the
car will be difficult to hold to
straight course and the front wheels
will not return to the straight
position Of their own accord after
completing a turn.
The instruction book still is handy
guide, even though it is so often side
tracked. For instance, If a lubrica-
ton chart says that the crankcase of
your car holds six quarts Of oil this
may not mean that six quarts should
be added when the crankcase IS
drained. In one car a quart remains
in the system at all times. If six
quarts are added the system then
carries seven quarts. which Is too
much. The instruction book clearly
states this fact. but fabrication charts
are apt to state merely the capacity
of the cars oiling system.
When the ammeter ceases to show
charge, but registers discharge, the
indications are that one OF the
brushes of the generator has stuck or
fails to make contact with the com
mutator. The generator then fails to
charge and the cars electrical units,
including the ignition system, draw
entirely upon the battery. Any ques-
ton as to the possibility of ammeter
failure is dispelled by the fact that
this instrument is registering for dis
charge.
It's an old trick but it works as
well today as it did in the early days.
When the engine starts skipping or
acting as if it didn't want to CO.
operate, try racing it a few times
If there is a little water or dirt
in the carburetor this action often
will serve to suck the foreign mat
ter through the cylinders, where 1t is
quickly burned up. If the car car
ries a hand-operated choke it is
good plan to pull out the choke con-
troll momentarily when racing the
engine. This serves to close off the
air supply, causing increased suction
through the carburetor.
During those thousand-mile lubri-
cation jobs it is usually customary
to pass by the universal joints for
the reason that they do not need such
frequent attention. That, however,
is the starting point for trouble be-
cause anything that doesn't need
much attention is very apt to receive
no attention at all If this is some
thing you haven't thought about, bet
ter mention it to your service man at
the very first opportunity.
I notice that some women have
given up trying to wax their cars be-
cause they assume all wax is equally
hard to apply They should know
that there has been improvement in
wax equaling that in polish. re-
Gently used wax that was easier to
apply than many a polish I have
tried. So experiment a little. Pos
sibly some of the easy" wakes are
not the longest lasting, but I should
personally prefer to wax often than
to make day of hard work waxing
the car a little better than average.