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).
Experiments investigating axle and body noise in Maythorne and green limousines.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 41\3\ Scan249 | |
| Date | 18th December 1922 | |
| To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from BJ. Copies to WCR. CJ PN{Mr Northey} Sg{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} IHS. for Sp{Mr Spinney} X3780 BJ1/H18.12.22. NOISY BODIES. X3780 Thank you for arranging so promptly to send the Maythorne limousine. Very interesting experiments have been made over the week-end, with the following results:- 1. The Maythorne with its original axle (in future called the old axle) seemed to be more reasonably quiet, but not as quiet as a 40/50. We do not consider that our standard of silence in the "twenty" should be worse than our standard of silence in the 40/50 h.p., and consider that every endeavour should be made at the Works to obtain not only an axle as quiet as the old axle, but one still quieter which will compare equally with the 40/50. The body is rather a boomer and one can hear the axle. We should not be satisfied to call this our finally standardised body as far as silence is concerned. 2. The old axle was then placed on the new green limousine car, with the result that it was as passably quiet as the Maythorne, but still as a car unsatisfactory from an axle silence point of view. 3. The green limousine axle was fitted to the Maythorne body, and that car immediately became an impossible car as regards axle noise. It was especially bad at from 28 to 30 m.p.h., in the same way as the green limousine had been bad at that speed, which presumably conclusively proves that the axle which was sent to us as the best possible that the Works can now turn out is impossible for us to sell on a limousine. Please refer to EP{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer}/Thn5/H231122 from which you will see that unfortunately the opinion of Sales in regard to what we should sell differs rather widely from the opinion of the Works officials who sent this axle to us as passable. When Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} and Rg.{Mr Rowledge} tried this car (green limousine + new axle) in London they seemed both to have been firmly convinced that the car was very noisy, and I feel sure agreed that it would be unwise for us to attempt to sell such cars. I am sure that all those at the Works will agree that it would be very dangerous for us to endeavour to set up a lower standard of perfection in silence for the "twenty" than the standard of silence on which the whole of our business has been built. The Rolls-Royce has built up its | ||