Mr. Summers' complaints regarding his Phantom car's springing and engine performance compared to his old Silver Ghost.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 47\1\ Scan243 | |
| Date | 4th February 1926 guessed | |
| -2- (1) (b) Contd. other cars having been made clear to him, and the question of best compromise considered. It was considered that St's car was better from dithering point of view. The speed and acceleration of this car, however, were very poor compared with Mr. Summers' "Phantom". We are now taking particulars of the springing of St's car at the Works. To satisfy Mr.Summers, we shall have to fit springs and shock absorbers for high speed work, regardless of all usual R.R. comforts. I doubt if this can be obtained without special front shock absorbers to overcome the trouble complained of, and still retain 50 lbs. specified tyre pressure. (2) Having spent a considerable time in going into the question of springing, I certainly got the impression from Mr.Summers that this was not by any means his chief complaint of the car, and this impression grew into a certainty as the interview proceeded. There is no doubt that Mr.Summers' chief complaint is that the car is not powerful enough to meet his requirements. At the same time, I can state emphatically that his "Phantom" car is one of the finest cars I have handed as regards performance, and I do not hold out any hope of being able to effect any improvement, (as a standard chassis) and made this clear to Mr.Summers. Mr.Summers did not consider that the "Phantom" engine was 30% more powerful than the "Silver Ghost(1907 40/50 historic RAC 15,000 miles trial)", which he was given to understand would be the case when buying the car. He appreciated this point however, when the question of actual power curve engine output was shown to him, and appreciated our claim of the best compromise. His chief point was that the engine failed in horse power at the higher revs. He was disappointed to find that on third gear the car would not do more than 60 m.p.h., which he could do on his old "Silver Ghost(1907 40/50 historic RAC 15,000 miles trial)". He did not seem entirely dissatisfied with the maximum speed which could ultimately be obtained, 80 to 85 m.p.h. having been recorded. It was the time to get there about which he was dissatisfied. He was not a "top gear" driver and believed in using his gears, the gear box being an excellent feature. I consider that his "Silver Ghost(1907 40/50 historic RAC 15,000 miles trial)" was a specially good car of its type, he himself admitting that he had specially increased the compression ratio. He asks for some stronger valve springs for his "Phantom" which he considered was the limiting feature for the performance contd. | ||
From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).