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).
Committee report on car swaying, booming, and suspension schemes including a new Bradburn & Wedge device.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 75\3\ scan0400 | |
| Date | 11th November 1924 | |
| -2- frome, apart from having the advantage referred to above, also has another advantage, namely it will enable the sub-frame to be delivered to the Coachbuilders in advance of the receipt of the chassis, when they can get on with the construction of the body and turn out the complete car in very much less time than at present. This the Daimler Company do. This scheme has been criticesd from the point of view of swaying. The car, however, was driven at various speeds round corners, but the Committee were not concious of any undue swaying. Mr. says that any increase in swaying can hardly be possible, because the body is bolted down rigidly at the back and the possible amount of extra movement in the front is only a fractional part of an inch (somewhat of the magnitude of 15,000th - 30,000th) on the rubber bolt. The Committee also tried the new Bradburn & Wedge scheme on two cars. It should be explained that the device consists of a rubber ball carried in a metal socket. Five of these are fixed to the chassis frame on each side and the body is carried on these rubber balls instead of on the chassis. On the first car, which was a 40/50 h.p. which had been in use for about a year, the inventor explained that this car had been sent back to him by the owner with a complaint of booming and he had accordingly fitted up his device, but he did not consider that the results were so very-good, as would be the case if he built the body in the first instance to be suspended by this device. This car was a very bad boomer and the Committee were of the opinion that if the device had improved it then it must have been extraordinarily bad before. The Committee were not able to learn anything from this. The second car tried was a 20 h.p. Enclosed type of Saloon Limousine with a round back. This car was quite satisfactory in every respect, but it had a leather roof and accordingly the Committee were unable to judge how much the lack of booming was due to the device and how much to the leather roof (although they are aware that leather roofs boom, and are not a cure for booming, but they consider there are less complaints of booming with leather roofs than with wooden roofs) and how much was due to the excellence of that particular chassis. Generally speaking the Committee are of the opinion that it is almost useless trying any device unless a test is made with the same chassis and the same body over exactly similar road conditions with the same driver, with and without the special device. | ||