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).
Customer's letter detailing vehicle performance issues, including oil consumption and steering, after a European trip.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 47\2\ Scan003 | |
| Date | 15th July 1927 | |
| C O P Y. HAILOW WOOD, WILLASTON, BIRKENHEAD. 15th. July, 1927. Messrs.Rolls-Royce Ltd., DERBY. Dear Sirs, Hm{Capt. W. Hallam - Head Repairs}/WWS/W2.7.27. I am obliged for your letter of 2nd. July, which you wrote to me at Cortina. I have now returned home from my trip, and should like to bring the car to Derby next week, either Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning, and I think this would enable you to complete the repairs before you commence your Summer Holidays. I will just run through the items which require attention :- 1. Oil consumption. My total trip on the Continent has been 2,865 miles, and the oil consumed is exactly five gallons. I found the consumption worst when running over level French roads, in hot weather, at high speeds, and on one day's run of 225 miles I consumed exactly one gallon. When I got into the Alps, and was only able to average 15 to 20 miles an hour on a day's run, the oil consumption improved to about 800 miles to the gallon, as near as I could calculate. In fact the improvement was so marked that I thought the engine had cured itself, until I started home again across France and found things were no better. Although in the first three days of the trip I had to change nine sparking plugs, I had no further trouble from oily plugs, in spite of the heavy oil consumption. I attribute this to the Bosch plug which I fitted in place of the Lodge. It would seem to work very well under adverse conditions. If you think these are a suitable plug for your engine, I would like you to leave six of them in, say on the magneto ignition, and supply six new Lodge Plugs for the battery ignition, but I leave this matter to your discretion. I am rather puzzled at this excessive oil consumption, and would have expected it to manifest itself while running down the long Alpine passes with third gear engaged, and I would also have expected the plugs to have oiled up badly under these circumstances, but this was not the case. 2. Steering. Although the steering is very greatly improved over what it was when I took delivery of the car, I still feel that you could do something more to contd. | ||