On the poor design of Bentley-Draper hydraulic dampers and general suspension issues.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 56\1\ Scan203 | |
| Date | 16th April 1932 | |
| HS. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} DA. {Bernard Day - Chassis Design} } FROM R. {Sir Henry Royce} E. {Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} BY. {R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} } (At Le Canadel(Henry Royce's French residence).) X235 R2/M14.4.32. Sent from WW. 16.4.32. C. to SG. {Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} WOR. {Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} PN. {Mr Northey} X.235 X.832 SHOCK DAMPERS. Apparently the Bentley-Draper Hydraulic dampers are very poor, both in design and proportions. It is possible that generally speaking the cars were running (like many others) with badly lubricated springs, and no dampers. One sees how difficult it is to get something distinctly better than the simple orthodox device. Nine tenths of the dampers work for a short time, then go out of action, either throug wear or loss of oil, but they last long enough until the spring lubrication gets bad enough to give some friction to steady the car. R. {Sir Henry Royce} | ||
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).