High-speed safety, springing, and engine roughness of a 25-EX car.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 11\3\ 03-page427 | |
| Date | 10th July 1931 | |
| G.W.Hancock Esq., Hotel de France, Chateauroux(French test region), Indre, FRANCE. From Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} Sg. {Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} is anxious to know at what speed you consider 25-EX. car is safe. Is it safe up to 60 m.p.h., 70 m.p.h., or at what speed is it safe? What he really means is that your remarks as regards the condition of the car were not sufficiently clear. We know, you know, the limitations of springing. If it was not for that we should not put extra stiff springs on to Continental cars. I am positive that if you put standard type springs on that car it would still be dangerous at the speeds you have been doing. It would be a certain degree better, but if one is going to get any sort of comfort, as one expects in a chauffeur driven car, we do not know how to get controllability at high speeds. What I think you should do, is to do a series of tests sitting in the back of the car, and imagine yourself an owner who has no wish for thrills and to be driven as you would expect your chauffeur to drive and see what speeds are safe. There is no reason really why, for average conditions, the French roads should be any different from ours. Another point is - you mentioned that the engine is smooth up to 70 m.p.h. and then rough. What degree is this roughness, is it worse than a standard car? Is the Diamond engine mounting (which is the chief feature on that car) any good at all? When you make these statements it is essential that they must be qualified to some standard. Sg. {Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} in London tries to understand these reports and his impression at the moment is that he does not understand why we are keeping the car out there as the Diamond engine mounting appears to be no good, the springing no good, the torque reaction dampers no good, etc., etc. "e have got to keep in mind that as long as one says a thing is no good you are certain to be right, noone could ever question that decision because there is no such thing as perfection. Your acceleration figures, although they may be the accurate times you have taken there is no technical explanation | ||
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).