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).
Shock damper complaints, comparisons with competitors, and proposals for investigation and development.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 16\5\ Scan007 | |
| Date | 7th July 1931 | |
| EJB. from Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} c. Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} c. Ev.{Ivan Evernden - coachwork} 87520. X.7520. X.5520. X.235. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rml/AM 7.7.31. SHOCK DAMPERS. With reference to EJBL/Cl.3,7.31. We want all the assistance we can get to ensure that we are free from shock damper complaints in the future. We have therefore arranged with Trayner to let us investigate with you the next customers complaint that comes into the Repair Dept. If there is such a thing as an hydraulic knock that we do not know about, we want to take every opportunity of having its existence demonstrated. We cannot agree that you have proved to the Experimental Dept. that play in the links does not cause knocks. We hope to demonstrate the reverse to you. It is significant that Delcos, who have a full output of 30,000 dampers a day, started with links such as we use and last year developed the split piston because they could not keep the damper quiet, however good the workmanship, in any other way. Their piston has twice the working clearance of ours. Springfield frequently fit Delcos when customers demand them for silence. We know of at least eight other possible sources of noise in the shock absorber, six of which we hope have been permanently eliminated without impairing the efficiency of the damper. If we arranged our damper so that it would not work over small movements, we know that most of our noises would disappear, at the same time our suspension would suffer and we could buy Luvax hydraulics to be equally inefficient at a very much lower cost. We think that you ought to know the development work that has been carried out on these shock absorbers and suggest that you go through the experimental files on the subject. If any point arises in practice which appears to contradict the results we have obtained, we shall be glad to investigate it. In the meantime we propose to fit a set of the new dampers to the car of some customer who has frequently complained of noise, this should be the most certain way of showing up its defects which have not so far been apparent on our tests. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||