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).
Comparative acceleration tests at Brooklands between vehicles 58-GN and 85-JS, with feedback on steering friction.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 18\3\ Scan358 | |
| Date | 9th September 1932 | |
| x7960. To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Copy to Wos.Hx BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} re 58-GN Sg{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}15/E9.9.32 Thanks for Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}10/AD.8.9.32. I have not yet driven this sufficiently to express any opinion. Cx.{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager} and I went down to Brooklands yesterday evening to make some comparative tests with 85-JS{Mr Johnson's Secretary} because Cx.{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager} was anxious to know whether 58-GN was good enough for the American who criticised 85-JS.{Mr Johnson's Secretary} We made some comparative side by side acceleration tests from 10 m.p.h., 20 m.p.h. and 30 m.p.h. on top, and in each case found that 58-GN was slightly better than the Continental but not sufficient to warrant our asking the customer to try it. 58-GN has of course a very much heavier body, but to compensate for this a bit there were two people in the Continental and one in 58-GN. The weather conditions, wind and rain, were too bad for me to take the opportunity of making any test of a maximum speed or lap speed but I will arrange to do this as soon as possible. In regard to the steering I find the friction is too great because as set it has robbed the steering of its castor action on cornering. I have asked Crawford to slack it off slightly on this account. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} | ||