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 test report detailing a car's handling, suspension, brakes, and fuel consumption.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 19\1\ Scan153 | |
| Date | 8th December 1931 guessed | |
| I had the impression at my departure that the car did not hold the road perfectly and had a slight tendency to slither on the bends of the roads. This impression was brought about firstly by my not being used to the car, and secondly due to the fact that as the tone of the engine is constant with the engine speed, one has the tendency to take the bends too quickly. In reality, the car holds the road perfectly. Proof of this was given by a run at an average speed of 50 miles per hour made after dark during the last two hours of the run on Saturday afternoon from CHAUMONT to BESANCON on a narrow hilly and winding road. The suspension is perfect, no matter the speed of the car and the state of the roads encountered - it is supple at slow speeds, on average roads the suspension is well damped at high speed on bad roads. To enlarge on the question of good suspension, it must be pointed out that Mrs Pierre DELAGE and Mme BELLOT were on board the car during a run of 970 Kms. effected in two afternoons, and these were not at all tired. The brakes are not perhaps as effective as one would wish, however, they are very efficient and reliable - One becomes rapidly accustomed to the travel of the brake pedal, and can easily calculate the pressure to be applied. During wet weather, there is one precaution advisable that is: from time to time the brake liners should be brought into contact with the brake drums in order to keep them dry and ensure their immediate action, otherwise if the brake liners are wet, the brake action is slightly retarded until the liners grip in a rough manner. This is not necessarily applicable only to ROLLS ROYCE's brakes, and the remedy is known to most motor-car manufacturers. The petrol consumption is quite normal for a 7.6 lit. engine at the speed run during this test, and the oil consumption is most remarkable . At the end of the test I should have liked to have been able to have emptied the engine sump and analysed the oil to see if there were any traces of petrol. The most agreeable features of the car is the accessibility and softness of the controls: clutch, brakes, accelerator, levers, thermostat control, change speed lever, tuning up of the engine, and the finish of the car which is remarkable and not to be compared with any other make of car. Regarding coach-work, the body on this chassis is most comfortable, allowing 3 persons to sit at ease in the front, and 3 persons in the rear of the car. | ||