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).
Secret report detailing feedback on a car's engine vibration and road spring performance.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 20\11\ Scan260 | |
| Date | 4th May 1928 | |
| SECRET. 14-EX. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} suggested that Sales officials would probably like to try this car on the following points: 1. ENGINE. We all greatly appreciate the acceleration although there was rather more vibration than we should like to accept as standard. It was rather difficult for us to ascertain what was the cause of this or how far it could be modified, owing to:- i. The rubber insulation of the engine. ii. The under-frame. iii. The turbulent head. iv. The reduced back axle gear. v.{VIENNA} The high compression. Generally speaking, however, we should like to keep the maximum of the acceleration, but if necessary lose a little of this to reduce the vibration. 2. THE ROAD SPRINGS. Sitting in the driving seat these seemed to me a distinct improvement but I never drove at high speed. We noticed that the body shivered a good deal in front if the road was at all uneven. We were unable to form any reasonable opinion of the effect of the springs when sitting in the back of the car as unfort-unately the back of the car was entirely different from the cars we sell to our customers, the seat being too narrow, flat, hard and lacking in springiness, the back being too straight-up and hard which naturally gave us a feeling of great discom-fort which we were apt to blame on to the road springs. Our standard bodies are made to represent rather a comfort-able armchair with soft cushions and a feeling of luxury. Therefore, it would have been quite unfair to come to any decision about the road springs. We suggest that, to obtain a comparison, it would be advisable for us to re-make the back seat and back cushions | ||