Evening star., 1950-02-19

"Ioll duCOlllOUllCS I'll lNlilS SOlllC
400, 0,000,0 100000 miles this year and
the price of gasoline showing no
evidence of declining. it isn't sur
prising that the motorists chief
grippe is his low score on gas mile
age. How to stretch the gallon
has already become every ones
business. 1t could become a major
problem.
So much publicity has been
given to the virtues of higher COM
preston that too many motorists
are looking to the automobile in
dustry for the answer to the cur
rent gas problem. Actually the
solution rests with the automobile
owner and driver himself 1t is
within his power to save millions
of gallons of fuel Putting it an
other way he need not pay so
much for his gasoline.
What is this magic solution?
What new tricks must be learned?
Is any new equipment required?
The answers are not what you
would expect. There is no magic
involved, the rules are well estab-
lished in motordom. There are
no tricks, just willingness to face
facts and to learn better methods.
No gas savers are required, just
the cars present ll-designed
components.
Waste in Many Forms.
While the car itself must be in
efficient condition, as will be
pointed out below, the biggest
factor in stretching mileage lies
in more efficient operation of the
controls. Waste takes some in
sidious forms. One of these is
forcing cold motor into i'm
mediate service. This calls for
excessive choking. Let the motor
fast idle few minutes until it
is reasonably warm. This will put
the battery on charge and help
prevent those cranking delays
which are always Wasteful. If the
engine runs with limp, and with
out backfiring through the car
buretor, it is overlooked. Check
the automatic choke control. It's
heat tube may be clogged or there
may be trouble with the thermo-
static spring.
Hill climbing is always wasteful,
in spite of the thrill of sailing
over the top. If you must hit the
hills as part of the daily routine
be sure to get a good start to take
advantage of momentum. Then
ease off on the gas as you near
the top. Start declines at slow
speed. This will save oil, which.
in turn, means less fouling of
valves and cylinders.
Speed Is WastefuI.
Speed also is always wasteful.
A car that could average 21.5
miles per gallon at 20 miles per
hour took nose dive to only 12
miles per gallon at 70. At so miles
an hour it showed only 1877. This
is typical. Most of the drivers
who are complaining of gas mile
age below 10 miles per gallon
could improve the situation ma
terially by dropping their speed
average. And many who claim
they do not drive fast could save
by the simple process of avoiding
toboggan driving-alternate speed
ing up and slowing down. Here
1t is important to learn to read
the road more accurately, keeping
in time with traffic.
Many car that is treated to
a tune-up doesn't come out of
the process best fitted to meet
the mileage problem. This may
be due to the owners insistence
upon an adjustment that won't
require him to use higher octane
gasoline. He must first be made
to see that unless the engine is
tuned for the best gas he can
buy, it will not give best mileage.
other things being equal. That
little proviso is important. One
owner had the engine tuned to
perfection. found it so lively and
fast that he constantly drove
above his usual speed. He wasted
what had been designed as a
saving.
For best results, ignition tim
ing should be advanced to the
point where the engine will ping"
little when accelerated in high
gear at medium speeds and when
operating on the highest octane