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).
Tests and opinions on flexible road springs for the Phantom II model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 16\7\ Scan331 | |
| Date | 18th November 1930 | |
| To R.{Sir Henry Royce} From Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/An. c. to Be. Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} E: EB ED{J. L. Edwards}: Rr. Handwritten: X7410. PHANTOM II FLEXIBLE ROAD SPRINGS. We have ordered road springs to the deflections you suggest i.e. front 4.00"., rear 9.00". We have been doing a lot of tests on low rating springs recently. We fitted to Eg's car front springs having 5.5" deflection, rear springs having 10.25" deflection. We made the car quite controllable at high speeds by attention to the shock absorber loads. We found that we could do much the same with 18-G4 and largely overcame the feeling of instability that was so noticeable on this car at West WitteringHenry Royce's home town. A slight difficulty with lower rating front springs is that if we increase the number of leaves and so the total thickness of the spring we raise the front of the car by that amount. So far our tests have indicated that lowering the rear spring rating is just as valuable as lowering the front spring rating, but to get the best results, front and rear should be treated simultaneously. Our opinion is that the springing of Eg's car is a very marked improvement for Pitching and low speed riding comfort, but await confirmation of its behaviour on roads round London. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/An. | ||