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).
On the necessity of automatic water temperature control for the S.S. model to improve performance and acceleration.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\T\2January1929-June1929\ Scan219 | |
| Date | 1st May 1929 | |
| To R.{Sir Henry Royce} from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} DA.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}2/LG1.5.29. ORIGINAL X7250 --- X3499 S.S. WATER TEMPERATURE CONTROL. Although we are against fitting any unnecessary complications on the S.S., experience has shewn us that unless we have some automatic control of the water temperature the performance of the car is going to suffer. With the present Phantom we obtain a remarkable consistent performance under various conditions of water and air temperature and grades of fuel. With the S.S., unless the water temperature is kept reasonably high we cannot obtain good snap acceleration. Apart from the initial warming up, the water temperature varies on an average sufficient to effect the performance. We have spent considerable time endeavouring to improve the carburetter so that we can run satisfactorily with a wide range of water temperature but have not been successful. We prefer the thermostat operated shutters rather than a thermostat shutting off the radiator. There will always be a difficulty with hand-operated shutters and a thermostat. There is an increasing number of cars running satisfactorily with thermostat-operated shutters - all Chrysler, Lincoln, Cadillac etc. We ran a 20 HP. car for several years fitted with automatic shutters and except for one initial trouble they behaved satisfactorily. Now we rely entirely on hot water for warming the carburetter we feel convinced we have got to have automatic control. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||