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).
And evaluating different schemes for lubricating engine cylinder walls.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 86\1\ scan0159 | |
| Date | 15th April 1935 | |
| To By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} X219 Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}5/KW.15.4.35. Lubrication of Cylinder Walls. - ret'd to By With reference to By/NW.{N. Walker - Patents}1/VL.{V. Lewis / Mr Valentine}1.4.35. This suggestion has been tried in various forms before. S.U's have a patent whereby when the engine is stopped oil is drawn into a cylinder by means of a piston being pushed to the end of its travel by a spring. This is a very slow action as the orifice for the oil entering is very small and takes about four hours. This means that under shopping conditions it does not operate. When the engine is re-started the oil pressure forces the piston up the cylinder bore and the oil which has been drawn in is discharged either on to the base of the cylinder or into the induction pipe. When the engine has been standing for two hours or more, some quantity of oil is always discharged when starting up, but the full amount is only available after standing overnight. We think this is the neatest fully automatic scheme we have so far seen. With regard to Mr. Walker's scheme, we do not think that nowadays we can tolerate providing the driver with another job of work to do on starting up the car. We are busy developing fully automatic starting carburetters to relieve him of the job of turning the starter carburetter tap on. With regard to injecting oil into the induction pipe, from our experience this is the wrong place to put the oil as it is likely to foul the plugs without doing the pistons the maximum amount of good. With an efficient scraper ring, upper cylinder lubrication assists the valve operation but little of it gets on to the skirt of the piston. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||