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).
Steering improvements, high-speed wobbles, road shocks, and hydraulic dampers.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 148\5\ scan0014 | |
| Date | 21th June 1926 guessed | |
| contd :- -3- (i) The riding of the car is not impaired by fitting these. (ii) They are the best palliative for high speed wobbles that we have so far tried. (iii) They will improve any steering by reducing minor road shocks and at the same time make the axle to hold the road better. (iiii) Has been confirmed on French roads by ourselves in recent tests, and by Ps. and GWH.{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux} in their tests on the Paris Trials cars. We cannot therefore see what can be gained by trying hydraulic dampers on cars with closed bodies because :- (a) They must be fitted to cope with high speed wobbles. (b) They are absolutely the best design we know of at the moment though of course our own tests are always going on to try and effect improvements. The only test that is really essential is the 10,000 miles to prove their reliability. With reference to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer}(2). The .720 steering has been tried on almost every type of bodied car produced and found to be a great improvement on the 1.125. Also it is the best steering that we know how to make (See Fundamentals of Car Performance - "Steering") Special tests, apart from those normally run by Sales to the south of France etc. would therefore appear to be unnecessary. 11-EX car which was run 17,000 miles by Sales had this steering fitted. The steering support is an improvement. It is the best we can do at present. Side steering tube springs are entire-ly a compromise. The question is whether a customer prefers maximum selectiveness or road shocks. We have done sufficient work on the subject, however, to be able to specify contd :- | ||