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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).
Engine design, including overhead valves, combustion chambers, streamlining, and dual induction.

Identifier  ExFiles\Box 142\1\  scan0123
Date  14th March 1938
  
-2-

14.3.1938.

engine gives very much better results to-day than the side valve engine ? When I was in America last year I tried to find out what advantages this overhead engine had, but from the figures available, and they were very accurate figures both on the road and test bench, I could not detect that it was giving results that justified its additional complication. Since then Buicks have made an improvement in the type, but I have no knowledge of their figures. There is a wide difference of opinion on Combustion Chamber design. I do not think Mr. Taub has told us as much as he could, but I would like to ask him something regarding turbulence. We find that sometimes you may follow his suggestions in designing a Combustion Chamber but inadvertently some turbulence is created which can affect the final result in a very emphatic manner.

While on the subject of consumption, Mr. Taub has not mentioned streamlining. It does appear to me to be quite as important as some of the other points mentioned. As a result of some wind tunnel tests, we made some calculations on a body which has been designed for one of our models. It has not yet been made, but without materially affecting the amount of room occupied by the passengers and without making the car look very abnormal, we find the horse-power to drive the car 70 m.p.h. can be reduced by a little over 50%.

One point which has been interesting us lately is producing a dual induction system to enable us to take advantage of the much improved breathing of engines at high speeds, and, at the same time, maintain high gas velocities at low speeds. The thing we have come up against is that although we can now make the engine breath
  
  


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