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).
Conversation with 'De Ram' regarding shock absorbers, a test drive, and a discussion on brake drum design referencing Bugatti.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 152\1\ scan0175 | |
| Date | 7th May 1935 | |
| x4698 PARIS Sr21/Dm {D. Munro} :7.5.35 To: "Rm {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} ", DERBY. De Ram Shock Absorbers. -------------------- Referring to our correspondence on this subject, I have just had a conversation with De Ram this morning, and the position is as follows: As soon as he receives the dismantled shock absorber, he will assemble this and hand it in to me for reshipment to you, so if you have not yet despatched same, you had better get it off by air. De Ram was unfortunately unable to give us an assembled shock absorber at the present time. Incidentally, he insists that the best method of testing his shock absorbers would be to fit a set on a car and trying same on the road. I told him you would probably do this afterwards. I took him out for a trial run in our open torpedo Bentley trials car B-5-AE, with which he was very impressed. I went over my course which he knows particularly well, having used it as a testing ground for his shock absorbers. He was somewhat amazed, and said quite definitely that he did not think it would be possible to improve on the road-holding performance of the torpedo as it was today, but he did think he could improve the steering of our cars by fitting his shock absorbers to the front. He added that the steering shocks would become very much more "woolly", or in other words - not so sharp. Naturally, for people who are willing to have a stiffer type of motor-car, a set of his shock absorbers would give the car still better road-holding qualities and steering. I was interested in a certain remark of his, i.e., "I am glad to note that you have not fallen into the errors of most motor-car manufacturers and fitted very large sized (diameter) brake drums". I 'egged' him on a bit on this subject, and he said that during the exhaustive tests carried out by him with Bugattis at Montlhéry, it had been definitely proved that the breaking, also wear and tear of ferrodos was due to the thickness of the brake drum. They got to the stage with their tests on the Grand Prix type Bugatti (the very latest model) where Benoit completely burnt out a set of ferrodos in one lap on the road course of about 12 kms odd. On this occasion they had fitted brake drums which were little more than 2 m {Mr Moon / Mr Moore} /m thick. Later on they fitted drums which were 4 m {Mr Moon / Mr Moore} /m thick. This automatically put things right, and they are using them today, though it has not yet definitely solved their brake drum problems. De Ram says this is sheer pig-headedness on Bugatti's part not thickening up still more their brake drums, as if he did so, this would get him over his remaining troubles. I mentioned | ||