The performance testing of vehicle 21-EX, detailing issues with its steering, petrol gauge, and windscreen.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 11\2\ 02-page277 | |
| Date | 15th July 1929 | |
| 124 To Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} From Rm. {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Hôtel de France, Châteauroux, Indre. 15/7/29. Re: 21-EX STEERING.- We have now put back the Phantom axle on 21-EX and have made a number of comparative tests with various cross steering tube frictions. There is no doubt that this axle is better than the standard S.S. axle for joggles and road shocks generally, at high speeds, it is perhaps not quite so selective. The car can however easily be driven at maximum speeds on highly cambered roads out here with one hand without any very great feeling of insecurity. We should say that on the whole the difference between the axles is not so great as we thought it would be from our tests in England. COOLING.- We have had ats temperatures up to 33°C. in the shade to-day. The car can still be driven all out with the rear bonnet shutters open without overheating. K.S. PETROL GAUGE.- The K.S. petrol gauge on this car is not functioning correctly. Owing to the fracture of pipe lines which occured while the car was in PN {Mr Northey} 's hands, the gauge has been up and down several times and in consequence the nipples are not in a very good condition. We have to-day smeared them with heldetite to see if this would overcome the trouble, but superficially it appears that the higher atmospheric temperature and fast driving out here produce conditions we do not get in England, and need further investigation. CAR'S SPEED.- To-day we have checked the speedometer. At the temperature in which we are running it is 5 to 6% slow. Correcting the speedometer, the maximum mean speed appears to be just over 80 M.P.H. On favourable stretches we obtained 86 M.P.H. WINDSCREEN.- The device for holding the single piece windscreen open is singularly inadequate. At speeds over 40 M.P.H. the windscreen shuts smartly, no matter what load be put on the thumb screws. The pressure on a single piece screen of these dimensions must be well over 1 cwt. at 60 M.P.H. We are therefore writing to Evenden asking him to take the matter up with Barkers. Rm {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||
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).