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).
Letter to Solex Ltd. regarding performance and consumption tests of their double-throat carburetter on a 40/50 HP engine.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 121\2\ scan0070 | |
| Date | 5th January 1929 | |
| X3603 Expl: Dept: Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rml/LG. 5th. Jan. 1929. Messrs. Solex Ltd., 223-231 Marylebone Rd., N.W.1. Dear Sirs, We are sending you herewith power curves of our 40/50 HP. engine taken with your double throat carburetter and with our standard instrument. Actually on the road, in order to obtain a reasonably good figure we found it necessary to use 32 mm. chokes which of course still give an appreciable gain in power at lower engine speed. We have carried out careful consumption tests on the road with the Solex carburetter, the setting being left as adjusted by your representative, with the following results : M.P.H. Solex m.p.g. RR. m.p.g. 10 10.49 16.8 20 11.25 16.3 30 10.5 16 40 10.15 15.7 It will be observed that the consumptions are definitely higher when compared with those given by our own carburetter. On the whole we are quite pleased with the performance of the Solex on the road. There is a definite weakness which is manifest from 30 to 40 m.p.h. but otherwise the car responds well to sudden throttle openings down to speeds as low as 5 or 6 m.p.h. The carburetter is of course noisy, but we understand that you think you will have no difficulty in overcoming this trouble. contd :- | ||