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).
Customer complaints about the slow running of Bentley engines and carburetter adjustments.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 85\4\ scan0091 | |
| Date | 24th October 1934 | |
| S/W. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Copies to:- Bly{B. W. Bleaney - Bentley Sales} Bt.{Capt. J. S. Burt - Engineer} Re: Bentley Carburetters. We want some guidance to enable us to reply to owners who complain of the slow running of their Bentley engines. We are inclined to think that in some cases owners are expecting too much in the way of regularity in slow running and "ticking over". We gather from K.{Mr Kilner} that there is no special provision in the issued carburetters for a slow running adjustment and that the final adjustment of the carburetters is a compromise between reasonably regular slow running and proper carburation, i.e. avoiding any flat spots when opening up. We also gather 1) that the carburetters in so far as slow running is concerned are very susceptible to any change of petrol, temperature or atmospheric condition, 2) that the life of the jets is short, there being some tendency for these to wear oval quite quickly (?). As we have cases of recurrent complaint and even from customers who have just had a careful adjustment made at Kingsbury that on arrival home after a bit of running there appeared to be no improvement, we want to know how much of the above, if it is correct, we may tell the customer. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} considers that we should not make a practice of telling them too much of it until we have your views. Certain customers, of course, have Rolls-Royce cars and it will seem useful to us to point out to them that Rolls-Royce carburetters have special slow running adjustments or jets and that therefore a comparison with their Bentley car is unfair to the Bentley. We must tell them something because if we do not the complaints are bound to be recurrent. We have had cases of owners having a special tune up before going abroad, only, of course, to find that on Esso or some foreign spirit containing either benzole or alcohol the tune up was useless, and K.{Mr Kilner} informs us of a case recently where the customer himself first reported satisfaction with the slow running, then changed his petrol in this country for another brand entirely upsetting it, and then regained it with yet a third brand. | ||