THE AUTOMOBILE July 4, 1912 R-C-H 1913 Models While No Radical Changes Have or the Body Design, Special Provide Highest Class of Electric Lighting, Non-Skid Tires, Special Curtains, Auto- B ELIEVING that full equipment will be the keynote for the coming year, the R-C-H Corporation has announced its models for 1913 with this as the talking point. Practically no changes have been made in motor, transmission or in body design, the car presenting the same general lines that characterized it when it first made its appearance in the motoring world less than a year ago. The equipment of the new models will be most complete, consisting of non-skid tires on all four wheels, size 32 by 3 1-2 inches, electric lighting, Bosch magneto, Warner Auto-Meter, demountable rims, extra rim holders, Tally-ho horn, Jiffy side curtains, top and top-cover, windshield, rear-view mirror, roberail, tool-kit, tire-repair kit, jack, and pump. In so equipping this machine, R. C. Hupp is of the opinion that 1913 will be a season in which the convenience and comfort of the passenger and driver will be demanded. The fitting of electric lighting, non-skid tires, special curtains and Warner Auto-Meter to cars in the $900 class is an innovation for which the R-C-H is responsible. The lamps on the new R-C-H cars are all of the bullet type, the headlights being 12 inches in diameter and fitted with parabolic lenses and 16-candlepower bulbs. The two side lamps are 6 inches in diameter, have the parabolic lenses also, and 4-candlepower incandescent globes, while the rear light measures 4 inches and carries a 2-candlepower bulb. On the headlights the parabola is set into the lamp body, permitting of easy access to the focusing device and facilitating the cleaning of the reflectors while they remain in place. The sockets for all the lamps are of Edison make. Current for the illumination is furnished by a Fig. 2-Plan view of chassis, showing motor suspension, torque arrangements and principal control features lels Now on the Market Lave mitted to it through a clutch of the dry plate form. The gear- Been Made in Motor, Transmission box and which is inclosed in a torsion tube bolted to the rear cial Efforts Have Been Made to s of Equipment Throughout Auto This axle. Two radius rods pass from the axle to the torsion tube The rear springs are elliptic and they are mounted on swivel Meter and Other Adjuncts Peculiar to High-Priced axle and they are of semi-elliptic construction. 100-ampere storage battery which is carried within a case on the The only mechanical changes which the new car shows are the No change whatever has been made in the four-cylinder, monoblock motor, which has a long stroke of 5 inches and a bore of 3 1-4 inches. The rating is given at 25 horsepower. The crankshaft is mounted on two bearings-one at either end, which is in keeping with the general compact construction of the power plant. The motor is mounted in the frame of the car on the three-point suspension principle, there being a support at either side of the crankcase in front and one in the center in the rear. The valve rods and springs are all inclosed by an easily-removable cover-plate, while the timing gears are housed by plates fastening with cap screws. The Bosch high-tension magneto with single set of spark plugs is used, while the carbureter is of the latest B-D make. The transmission, which is integral with the rear axle, is of the three-speed selective, sliding-gear type, the power being trans The frame is of pressed steel, channel section, and it is braced at front, rear and center. The wheels are of artillery-type wooden construction, the designers, in keeping with most of the other American engineers, still adhering to them in place of the muchheralded wire types. As to body design, this $900 touring car presents a decidedly foreign light-car appearance with its nearly square hood and Fig. 3-Showing center control and dash features of new car Fig. 4-Mounting of control levers and rigid cross member supporting clutch; view of magneto side of motor $2.75 per day, and on trucks, $3 to $4 per day according to size and length of day's work. Helper on trailer $1 per day. These figures in the case of a very large day's work might conservatively be figured a trifle higher. Depreciation is figured at from 10 to 15 per cent., varying according to mileage and the size of the units, the tire value being deducted from the cost of the complete vehicles. One of the highest-priced types of truck is assumed in each case. The depreciation figures are based on experience with hundreds of this type of truck in use over a long period of years, in many instances longer than 10 years. It is only fair to say that the depreciation of the newer, more flexible models will be less than that of the older ones. Drivers' wages on 1000-pound delivery wagons are taken at Garage charges include only washing and storing of the vehicle: $240 to $300 per year according to size. Tire cost is based on prices to user and 8,000 miles life as guaranteed by makers. The sizes figured are all in accordance with the makers' specifications based on weights of vehicles and loads, and therefore this large item of expense is figured conservatively. sweeping lines. The cowl has a low slope which is set off by the same design of windshield as marked the car on its début. The door handles are all inclosed, while, except for the battery box, the running boards are clear. The interior of the car has been designed to give the maximum of leg room consistent with the wheelbase of 110 inches. Seats are set at a comfortable angle, which the designers have deemed most restful for all occasions. Gasoline cost is taken at II cents per gallon. The price at this writing is a little higher, but only 3 to 6 1-2 miles per gallon is assumed as the performance according to size of vehicle. Oil cost is taken at 30 cents per gallon; 50 to 125 miles per gallon according to size of vehicle. Insurance: $100 to $250 per year according to size. Repairs and replacements have been figured up to 3 cents per mile in the case of heavy trucks. This is based on extensive records. Operating days per year have been taken uniformly at 300. This figure is a trifle high, particularly in cases where large daily mileages are made, although it leaves 65 working days and holidays for the upkeep of the equipment. The two-passenger roadster is continued in two models, the standard and the EE types. The former, selling at $700, has gas head lamps, oil side and tail lights, 30 by 3-inch tires on clincher rims, gas generator, top and Jiffy curtains and horn as its regular equipment, while the EE model, which is to cost $750, has the same equipment except that a Prest-O-Lite tank takes the place of the generator and 32 by 3 1-2-inch tires on demountable rims are substituted for the 30 by 3-inch tire equipment. In all respects, these roadster models retain the mechanical construc. tion as outlined for the touring car. A Comparing Costs of Hauling. TTENTION is now, called to the set of curves showing actual costs of hauling, expressed in dollars per year, for different sizes of units for varying average daily mileage. The ordinates indicate the average daily mileage from 10 to 100 and the abscissæ the total cost per 300-day year, all charges included. It so happens that on the basis of these figures 'the plotted costs are straight lines in every case. This indicates that the total cost increases in constant ratio with the daily mileage. These straight lines if continued to zero miles should indicate theoretically therefore the fixed and other charges against the equipment when idle, and in fact this is approximately the case; for it will be found that costs thus indicated at zero miles are practically the sum total of Depreciation, Interest, Part-Time Wages, Dead Storage, Insurance, Tire Depreciation, etc., actually chargeable against a vehicle temporarily out of commission. This situation has suggested to me a convenient thumb-rule for figuring costs of operation, making unnecessary the use of this chart, as follows: Cost per Day "Fixed Charges" + (Miles per Day X Daily Increment in Cost). Increment Per Mile .0686 .0860 .1253 .1540 .1718 .2070 these costs have been derived from the first set of curves. From 10 To 20 3-ton 20 30 25 44 20 44 20 30 40 40 50 17 17 12 11 14 14 In other words, increasing the daily work from 10 miles daily average to 20 reduces the cost per ton-mile, or per unit of work, 44 per cent. in all cases. Then increasing the daily work to 30 miles another reduction of 20 to 25 per cent. in cost per unit of work is effected. And increasing from 30 to 40 miles per day 11 to 17 per cent. reduction in cost is effected. Substantial gains in economy are made by further increase in daily mileage; increasing from 40 to 100 miles per day, for instance, effects a reduction of 30 to 38 per cent. in cost per unit of work. Fig. 1-Illustrating comparative actual hauling costs for different whether light trucks, heavy trucks, or trucks and trailers are em- These curves are also of interest and assistance in studying They show also, for instance, that the same economy, viz., 10 cents per ton-mile, is obtained by operating a 3-ton truck 84 miles, a 5-ton truck 44 miles, a 7-ton truck 35 miles, or a 12 1-2ton train only 18 miles per day. The proper routing of heavy transfer units and of lighter distributing units, the adoption of correct sizes of units for such service, or for pure straight haul service, the proper load handling facilities, are all problems which frequently require careful study, always with an eye to the practical conditions of each particular service, to obtain maximum efficiency and economy. Carbureters for Kerosene-While designers in England and Motor Overheats Badly; Does Not Believe intend putting an asbestos jacket around the cylinder since it is in Water Jackets; Minimum Fuel Consumption Under Different Circumstances; Repairing Oakland Clutch; Care of Locomobile Low-Tension Ignition System; How to Reach the Cadillaqua from Wheeling E Regards His Case as Hopeless DITOR THE AUTOMOBILE:-I have a Flanders 20, twospeed gearset. It has been overhauled, the cylinders cleaned and the crankcase has been cleaned out. It has a 4-inch spark advance at most. I have tried all kinds of carbureter adjustments and all kinds of timing. I have polished the combustion chamber; tried all kinds of lubrication and lubricants; put on air valve; ground the eight poppet valves and have done all that I know or ever heard of. The motor will heat up to boiling point in running 1-2 mile and loses power after it has run about 10 minutes in spite of all my care. At first it works finely and while cold pulls strongly. What should I do? -You have apparently overlooked the very first thing that should have been done. That is to clean out the radiator. A scale gathers on the radiator that will cut down its efficiency to a remarkable degree unless cleaned out. If the water is hard, as it is very likely to be in North Carolina, the deposit of lime would impair the radiator efficiency so much that the trouble you encounter is only to be expected. The cure is as follows: Secure a large wash boiler and put in about 10 gallons of water. Bring the water to a boil and add twenty handfuls of washing soda. Stir this up until it is well dissolved and allow it to drain through the radiator. When there is just enough left in the boiler to fill the radiator, fill it up. Keep the drain cock closed, put on the cap and start the motor. Allow it to run for 2 or 3 minutes; stop it and drain out the water. Flush out, with rain water if possible, or, if not, use the purest water you can get. After this, refill the radiator and there should be an improvement in the running. You do not mention if the water pump is working satisfactorily. Examine this also. Other causes for your trouble are: bad valve timing, magneto timing, dragging brakes and bad oil feed. In connection with the latter it would be advisable to fill the crankcase until the motor smokes and then see if it runs without heating. If it does you have found your trouble. Criticises Engineering Practice not hot enough to suit me. Editor THE AUTOMOBILE:-I would like to enter upon a discussion with your readers upon some points which may be quite a matter of course, but which are not clear to me. For what reason are means for cooling gas engine cylinders resorted to? What sound reason is there for their present use when it appears that an engine will work better without them? To be more specific: My engine is conventional, being of the horizontal type designed to run on city gas. It is waterjacketed, but I have run it for 2 months without any water; and, what is more, I The present temperature of the motor I cannot state. It is sufficient to melt babbitt and yet I am tempted to believe that I can nearly double it. The oiling is very good, less oil than usual being required. The compression is excellent, being probably about 80 pounds, and what I use for fuel is immaterial. It has been stated by authorities that an increase in efficiency is practically impossible in a gas engine. Does not the above refute this? The losses in the waterjacket have been given as a result of tests not less than 33 per cent; would they be in this case? I have also noted that the highest compression pressure is obtained at the rear dead center only when running at very low speed and that at all other times the compression maximum wave is considerably behind the piston speed. This would indicate that all our high-speed engines at the present day are radically wrong. What have our designers to say to that? Will some of them be good enough to verify my statement? I think it is a discussion of great value to the industry. One more: Some makers claim that they can inject water into the cylinder for cooling purposes. this water forming steam; I have been unable to duplicate this: it will leave as water. What is the answer? New York City. P. G. TISMER. Speed Affects Fuel Consumption Editor THE AUTOMOBILE:-Will you answer the following questions and clear up a controversy between our local automobile men? (1) Given a 20-mile stretch of level road, will an automobile consume more gasoline if driven over it in 55 minutes than if driven over it in 30 minutes? (2) Given a stretch of road of the same length in hilly country, uphill and down being about equally divided, so that it would be possible to coast part of the time, would more gasoline be consumed in 55 minutes than in 30 minutes? The latter question, you will see, brings in the question whether the open throttle, as would be required for quick work up and down hill, would be offset by the shutting of the throttle when coasting down the hills. (1) Assuming that the carbureter on the car is adjusted for ordinary touring, its speed of best economy would be about 25 miles an hour, as was explained in THE AUTOMOBILE of June 27, page 1487. If the distance was covered in 55 minutes, the speed would be about 22 miles an hour, which is very close to this; while 30 minutes would mean a speed of 40 miles an hour The best economy would be obtained in the 55-minute run. (2) This question resolves itself simply to one of climbing I miles of hill. The best economy would be secured when the ca |