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).
From Detroit discussing competitor frame construction and a comparison of Dubonnet and wish-bone suspension systems.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 173\4\ img071 | |
| Date | 17th November 1935 | |
| COPY. (Memo. from Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design}) DETROIT. 17th. November, 1935. To E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} from Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} Saw the Detroit Motor Show yesterday. La{L. A. Archer} Salle have abandoned rivets on their frame and now weld everything up. Olley says rivets move. By flying from New York we were able to catch Olley on Friday evening and have a little discussion before he went away for the weekend. We are meeting him again tomorrow and he seems willing to shew us anything and give us every assistance possible. He has been engaged in investigating the effect of various features on steering characteristics, and has lent us for reading over the weekend a paper which represents the results of his investigations. The paper is long with many illustrations, and cannot be transmitted by letter. But we thought the enclosed summary might be of immediate interest. We may be able to get a copy of some of the charts and diagrams later. He thought that his result tends to shew that the stability of Phantom III was due to a great extent to the "swing- axle" effects of the geometry of the suspension though he agrees that the forward stiffness of the frame has something to do with it, but would not agree that the Cadillac frame was not stiff in this respect. He also has been comparing Dubonnet and wish-bone suspensions with a view to deciding which type it is desirable to concentrate on. The conclusion he has come to himself is that Dubonnet is inferior to the wish-bone in all respects including cost, and we thought we might cable this as it might help to decide your policy. (Enclosed with Grylls'letter) We understood, however, that the engineers of the various companies are not necessarily in agreement with this. He says Dubonnet (compared with wish-bone) - 1) Requires more accurate manufacture. 2) Is less rigid especially as regards lateral flexibility which is important for steering characteristics. | ||