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Show THE MODERN AUTOMOBILE 1 Hy Georgo Bcrggtrom, Instructor Anto-Mechanida, Ogden High School. W ritten especially for The Standard'Ezaminer. . SKOl K IJBSORBERS. No matter how good the ordinary ' ' first plat.- spring may be, such as was described in the last article, It Is not adequate for the modern automobile. 1 If it Is made heuvy enough or stiff, enough to carry the load put on it, it does not respond readily to tho larger larg-er bumps. If made lighter and more flexible to eliminate some of these larger shocks, the smaller ones have I too great an Influence on the car. This l;. eps the car and Its passengers con-' con-' tlnually In motion. These two forces nave created u ridd for tne unoeK aD-sorber. aD-sorber. The shock absorber assumes tho position of an auxiliary spring Its function is to absorb the largest shocks, leaving the springs to take care of the smaller ones- VARIETIES Ol li SIGN S. A great variety of devices are used for this purpose, these range from the simple rubber bumper to the complicated com-plicated Westlnghousc or hydraulic types. They are usually classified under un-der the following types: Coll spring, friction plate, snubber, and air cushion. cush-ion. There are also several miscellaneous miscellan-eous t' pes that muy be combination of two or more The simplest form of shock absorber absorb-er Is th. rubber bumper which Is pi iced ic-ed on top of the spring, and which take the major part of tho shock as the spring comes together, but has no provision for the rebound. When springs are broken It Is usually on tho ri.hnnn.l flint Ihi. l.rftriU oreol's mt till-. tyepe is not as efficient as many of tho others. On many of the smaller cars especially espe-cially tho closed cars arc used tho coll spring shock absorber In one form or the other. This colled snrtuc- is nl.n - I ed between th body and the axel, and docs much to keep tho shocks from tho mechanism and body of the car. This typo lo very widely used, Is i inexpensive, easily installed and Is efficient, ef-ficient, it Is also used many limes In different combinations with other types. Ilasslers, K. W. and Sagers are colled spring types that are much in evidence on the smaller typs of car. FRICTION PLA1 Ti PR, Tho Friction plate has been a very popular type of .shock ab.ioiber. It haB 1 fur its principle the rubbing together of two or more plates. ThagS plates . ii si, adjusted that the movement of the body s limited, especially the rebound re-bound On these plates are fitted two arms one Is fasten d to the frame and the other to the axel. The plates are 'held together by a bolt and nut. and i the nut regulates the pressure between tho plates. As the axel und frame iconic together or separata as the in 1 1 may be. the two arms attached to the 1 plates move in oposito directions, while the friction between the plates regu- la ten tin- up and down movement of tin- axel and springs. The snubber type of shock absorb-j absorb-j cr is rapidly coming Into its own This I type Is Verj sUnplt In construction and hai tor Its parts a colled spring and 1 a strap band. The spring end Is us ' ually fastened to the body, and the strap encircles tho axel or Is fastened to it. When the spring rises up toward to-ward the body, the colled spring in th--i aso rolls the strap around Itself. As It goes away from the body or rebounds, re-bounds, It must pull against the ton-lion ton-lion of the spring. This type has found favor on the later type of curs AIR CUSHION l I PI These are by far tho most expensive, most complicated and undoubtedly the boat shock absorber. Fastened to the body Is a long cylinder Into which i.-i fitted what could be called a piston. This in turn Is fastened to the end of tho spring, and works up and down, according to the condition of the road. A packing ring is placjd In a groove on the piston and makes the air chamber tight so when the spring comes to-gether to-gether it pushes the piston upwards The piston in its upward movement comes in contact with a wall of air in the upper cylinder which lets the piston pis-ton move very slowly. This makes an air cushion. If the proper umoont of air pressure is used, according to the weight of the car. and Its occupants no shocks will reach the body, in addition addi-tion to air, oi! Is also used, and reduces re-duces the pressure necessary. The Oil forms a seal for the air chamber and prevents its leakage and is pumped pump-ed automatically, drawn out and discharged dis-charged into the air chamber. The device Is no doubt an air spring which does its work well, but the oil is the ' medium through which It works. Most of tho higher grade modern automobile I manufacturers will now install this type of shock absorber on their car as extra equipment. Note them particularly par-ticularly on ioms of the higher grades of cars. in conclusion, it may be said that all types of oars need some form ol shock absorber, the bolter the type suited to one's particular make of car the more dividends It will pay In sdSJ riding. In saving of wear and tear and In lengthening the life of the car. |