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).
Explaining the addition of friction shock absorbers to sports cars for high-speed performance.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 51\4\ Scan139 | |
| Date | 27th April 1928 | |
| To Na {Mr Nadin} , From Hs {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} /Rn. {Mr Robinson} c. to BJ. c. to BY. {R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} 44D6 Hs {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} /Rn {Mr Robinson} 3/LG27.4.28. SHOCK ABSORBERS ON SPORTS CARS. X235 With reference to Na {Mr Nadin} 5/B41228. With reference to the fitting of plain friction shock absorbers in addition to the hydraulics on the sports cars, the reason these shock absorbers were fitted was to cope with the increased speed range of the car. It is impossible to do 90 m.p.h. without a large amount of damping in the suspension. If this damping is incorporated as a fixed quantity, the low speed riding of the car is spoilt. We therefore added the Hartfords which can be tightened up for high speed work, and slacked off for low speed work. We find with the standard R.R. hydraulics the best friction setting is about 40 lbs. on the Hartfords. The additional damping does improve the steering somewhat, but we should not say that it is essential to prevent high speed wobbles. We certainly advise these additional shock absorbers for customers who are definitely out for high speeds. Hs {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} /Rn. {Mr Robinson} | ||