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Show SET Mill Hardest Working Part of an Auto Is Frequently Badly Neglected. t Wood Type Is Mostly Used, but Wire and Disc Have Advantages. The modem automobile wheel is UK the hardest-working parts of the ""j1. jnd vet, so well h.13 it been yer-L'ed yer-L'ed that it rarely Rives trouble, and u average ear owner is almost obhv-jjus obhv-jjus to anything except its mere existent exis-tent And yet, strange as it may seem, it looks as if we were on the vitro c.- some change in the wheel field, 'touch it 's ot likelv t0 bo tho com' lf!e revolution that some authorities teem to imagine. Wheels at the present timo in use E-v be divided into four major classes Zvoei wire, disk and steel-spoke ,l10fK The latter type is practically .Wined to motor truck construction, Mt fimofc he entirely neglected in any comprehensive view of the wheel sit- The' predominating tvpe of wheel at the present time is the wood wheel, maiie of second-growth American h;'fkory. There is no real cause of com-pisuit com-pisuit "against the service rendered by thirty-pa of wheel, although many academic aca-demic flaws are picked in it by experts vho favor other types. Until recently jt as assumed that failure of the Eupplv of second-growth hiekorv would 'eventually compel our wheel makers to Bwiich to another type. Recent government gov-ernment forestry figures, however, leem to show that we have a supply of ! this wheel material sufficient to last I for gome time. This being so, it is scarcely likelv that any other type of i vheel will oust the wooden wheel from j its position of preeminence in the American motor car industry. Some New Types. I TChile the wooden wheel is general- j It efficient in service, occasionally this j t'rpe has been known to go to pieces I under excessive strains. Wire wheel ad- ' vocaies claim that this can never hap- j jen with their favorite type. The com- I icoiiest failure of wooden wheels is the j development of annoying squeaks. This I trouble mar be remedied by driving j wooden wedges into the spiers where j the spokes have become loosened. Car 1 owners frequently neglect to give due ! 'attention to the hub bolts of their i too den wheels. These bolts pass ' through the wheel and hold the hub plato in position. In tho case of tho rear wheels the hub bolts also hold tho brake drums. If these boits are permitted per-mitted to beeomo loose, tho wheel will be thrown out of alignment. This will make driving difficult and inevitably tire wear will be enormously increased. Xext in popularity to wooden wheels conies the wire type. Strangely enough, the wire wheel was the original automobile auto-mobile wheel, but it was simply lifted bodily from the bicycle and was quite inadequate to stand the strains of its new service." Later considerable changes in design were effected and the wire wheel was mado entirely practicable for the motor vehicle. In Europe, where no seeond-growth hickory was available and no other wood efficient for wheel construction at hand, wire wheels be came standard and still are. Here in this country, with our supply of hickory, hick-ory, we early abandoned tho crude wire wheels of the early days and switched to wood. Advantages of Wire. As a matter of fact, the modern wire-wheel wire-wheel has certain undoubted points of superiority over its wood rival. The wire w-hoel is somewhat stronger in resisting re-sisting shocks than even the best wood wheel. The latter, too, it is claimed, with continual service, becomes somewhat some-what distorted, a condition that increases in-creases tire wear. The wire wheel, supported at tho rim by a greater number num-ber of spokes, ia not liable to this distortion dis-tortion troublo. A further point of advantage claimed for tho wire wheel Is that the metal more easily dissipates the heat entfenU'ered by running. Wood is undoubtedly a poor heat conductor and steel Is an excellent one. The wire whoel never gives annoyance an-noyance by developing eqneaks. But the wire wheel demands a considerable amount of care to keep lt In pool condition. condi-tion. The enamel must be watched, and whenver it cracks off, as it does occasionally, oc-casionally, the spot must bo painted over, or e'se moisture will cause rusting:. This is particularly dangerous around the nipples where the spokes Join the rim. Wire wheels must bo kept clean if they are to continue to be an ornament to the car. The mud must be rigorously cleaned out from be l ween the spokes after every run. Inspection Is Needed. Car owners using wire wheels should give these parts of the equipment a thorough inspection once every three weeks, or oftom'r. to see that ,no spokes are loose or bent and that no rust has formed around the nippies. In one type of wire whetM a serrated drive is used and these serrat ions must be kept perfectly per-fectly clean. If nicks should develop in the serrations', there will be difficulty in mount! nq: the wheel. Should rust form on the driving surface, it should be removed immediately with kerosene. The tendency toward covering the wire wheel with steel disks la of comparatively compara-tively recent origin. The disk wheel is considered a distinct addition to the ap- ( i I pearance of the car and it serves to keep the wheel beneath from dirt, rust. etc. In France and Kntriand thy are using the steel-spoke wheels for paRtenser car i uurvice, and they are giving excellent re-I re-I suits. They are even lighter than wood. and stronger, and their heat -radiating qualities are better. In appearance these I wheels are Just the same as our familiar i artillerv type wooden wheels, It is not i m possible that tho steel -spoke wheel may be the type of the future. |