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).
Experiments on side steering tube springs to prevent high-speed wobbles.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 154\3\ scan0065 | |
| Date | 27th April 1928 | |
| To Ns.{Norman Scott} from Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} c. to BJ. c. to BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} X3682 Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}4/LG27.4.28. SIDE STEERING TUBE. X8450 X3682 With reference to Ns{Norman Scott}6/B41228. Our experiments on side steering tubes have covered a great deal of ground. The conclusions we have come to are, that if high speed wobbles are to be avoided, reasonably flexible springs must be used in the side steering tube. For this reason our present standard springs have a rating of 1500 lbs/sq.in. and are arranged to N.Sch.2258. When we drop the overall steering ratio to between 15/1 to 16/1, we find that these 1500 lbs. springs do make the steering feel rather spongy. Therefore on the sports car we have gone to a spring with a rating of 2000 lbs/sq.in., but from the point of view of high speed wobbles we do not like these springs. We think that a reasonable compromise for standard work with shorter pendulum levers will be 1750 lbs/" rating. We have not adopted N.Sch.2301 because this is really only useful if employed with friction in the column, which Mr. Royce does not propose to adopt. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||