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).
Questioning the expense of a new road spring manufacturing method compared to its unproven benefits over existing reliable methods.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 106\1\ scan0160 | |
| Date | 23th July 1929 | |
| To Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} to BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} X5410 Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}1/MJ. 23.7.29. x7410. X5410. X2900 ROAD SPRINGS. ----------- We feel that the present method of manu-facturing road springs is likely to be very expensive and there is no evidence to show that the product is being improved in proportion or at all. As the modification only consists of an alteration in the method of production there has been no standardization sheet, the point however may arise if the cost of the S.S. car comes out high. It is difficult to justify for instance all the machining being put into the rear springs when we have not yet even run on the bump or the road rear spring made in this way. We have run 60,000 miles on S.S. cars with rolled leaves and not had a single failure. It is difficult to justify the increased work on the 20 HP road springs when we have recently completed two 10,000 mile tests without spring failure of any kind with the rolled leaves. The tests on bump do not justify the increased cost because the results are no better than the American springs which we know have not the same amount of machining on them. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||