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).
Road tests concerning a Swedish iron axle, pivot breakages, and steering dynamics.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 2\12\ B002_X168-page025 | |
| Date | 10th December 1931 | |
| AM/RH{R. Hollingworth}19/L12313 (contd) The ordinary bumps or hollows on the road always have a good radius in them so the wheels can mount them and are not forced back so much. We had the Swedish iron axle on the first car we did this test on and although we have not been able to manage this over the worst road we could find, it has bent a lot going over the ballast bags. There was an interesting point, that is, the tension on the cross rod when the ballast bags were down is worse at 25 m.p.h., after that at the higher speeds it gets less, this I think is due to the kinetic energy in the wheel or the gyroscopic action. The reason for the pivots breaking I suggest is due to a crack started by the car striking a cavineaux which twists up and springs, levers, cross tube and pivots, the reaction of the springs in these parts gives the reversal. Steering pivot tests. We tried running an out of balance wheel but the reversal was so gentle that we abandoned it, we tried it with our split cross rod and there was not a pull of 200 lbs with a wheel 2 lbs out of balance. The effect of it is not sharp enough to do any damage, it is a gradual push and release. 100.10.12.31.(2000) WDS 20.32 | ||