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).
Response to a daily report discussing experimental tests on suspension, shock absorbers, brakes, and cooling systems.
Identifier | ExFiles\Box 11\3\ 03-page403 | |
Date | 7th July 1931 | |
G.W. Hancock Esq., Hotel de France, Chateauroux, Indre, FRANCE. 87941. From Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}4/MJ.7.7.31. We thank you for your daily report of 4.7.31. We note your remarks about the suspension and the only comment we have to make is that if it is as unsafe as you say, we think it is very unnecessary to average 47 1/2 mls/hour for 500 miles, which is faster than we recollect ever having seen on a previous Daily Report. Experimentally we are working on shock absorber loads controlled from the driver's seat, but in the meantime we think that there is a possibility of London spoiling our low rating type of springing by insisting on more damping. This will be deplorable because we have tried a number of American cars and on the whole they are quite as unstable as 25-EX. at high speeds, but they satisfy the elderly people who ride in the rear seats and these are the people who have always complained about R.R. springing previously. We consider that 25-EX. is the first car we have had in France which has been sprung to suit the old lady in the back seat instead of the driver in the front seat, and we have satisfied the Managing Director with such suspension. We are pleased to note that the shock dampers so far seem to be behaving satisfactorily. We are also glad that the brakes are behaving satisfactorily. It will be very satisfactory if the ball bearing cam proves to be a feature which improves the consistency of the brakes. We note the behaviour of the cantilever battery support. We have, of course, turned this down previously by experimental tests and will go into the question of how it came to be fitted to this car. We note your cooling results. Our tests on the track show that when hill climbing we shall be approximately 10°C. worse off than when running at high speeds on the level, and therefore we may ask you to do some hill climbing tests later on when you have complete the tests on the small hexagon tube radiator on your ordinary runs around Chateauroux. We are writing to Leslie to ask him to return so that he can reproduce some of the results of radiator suspension on cars here. We think that he should not return until you have done some tests on the small hexagon tube radiator. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||