Science: Sun’s Plan

In Philadelphia, Sun Oil Co., which had held out a helping hand to gas-rationed eastern-seaboard motorists, last week had it bitten off half way to the elbow.

The company suggested a mechanical idea which, it claimed, would save a third of the gas consumed by any healthy car. It sounded simple: just shut off half the cylinders (alternate ones in the firing order) by permanently closing intake and exhaust valves, closing the spark plug gaps, adjusting the carburetor to fit the decreased flow of fuel, etc. Five standard six-and eight-cylinder cars thus adjusted and road-tested for as much as 5,000 miles showed no mechanical damage or abnormal oil consumption. The company admitted that much gear shifting was necessary at low speeds and on hills, but reported tops of 60 miles per hour on level stretches.

But mechanics raised grease-black hands in horror. The more daring tried it on their own cars, predicted that the motors would soon shake themselves to pieces; the transmission and rear end would eventually break down from the unnatural pulsation of the drive shaft; the pumping action of the unused pistons would jam the dead cylinders with incompressible oil. Instead of being a minor repair job, Sun’s plan, they thought, would mean factory rebuilding—taking out the unused pistons and connecting rods, putting in new manifolds. The mildest criticism was that, using the Sun system, it is impossible to go slower than 18 m.p.h. in high gear. Best opinion to date: Sun’s plan is possible, but not practical.