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).
Explaining the causes of skidding with a flowchart, and detailing the construction and operation of the 'Stabifix' gear for its prevention.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 15\6\ Scan155 | |
| Date | 1st January 1931 guessed | |
| -3- [Flowchart Start] Taking Bends Swerving ↓ Centrifugal Forces ↓ Displacement of load (Body overhang, and tendency to overturn) ↓ Unequal wheel pressure ↓ Unequal road grip. ↓ Rotational difference. ↓ S K I D.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} Braking &c. (2, 3, & 4) ↓ Initial Skid [The 'Initial Skid' points to the arrow between 'Centrifugal Forces' and 'Displacement of load'] [Flowchart End] The Prevention of Skidding. Skidding can be minimised to be practically negligible by the distribution of load equally on the rear wheels under all conditions. In other words it can be practically eliminated by avoiding the rolling of the body under the influence of centrifugal force. The elimination of body roll can only be achieved by constructional means, which the Stabifix supplies. Construction and Method of Operation of the Stabifix. The Stabifix gear is a parallel guide between the chassis frame and the axle. It is also a decided improvement on any existing form of shock absorber. It has the effect of keeping the body always, and of necessity, parallel to the axle and, therefore, makes the rolling of the body, by reason of centrifugal force, or uneven loading, impossible. The Stabifix gear cannot, of course, eliminate the centrifugal forces but it prevents those forces causing any displacement of the load. It interrupts the genealogical line of skid causes, shown in the chart above, at the point indicated by an arrow. In other words, it gets to the root of the trouble. A vehicle fitted with Stabifix maintains even pressure on both wheels, even on corners or sudden swerves, and by consequence, even road grip too. The secondary causes of skidding, such as difference in tyre grip, or in smoothness of the road surface, or uneven brake application are reduced to infinitesimal proportions in their effect and have no chance whatever of inducing a dangerous secondary skid. Hitherto, car bodies have been constructed so that they are free to move in two ways, firstly, a springing movement up and down, and, secondly, a light swaying movement to the right or left about the longitudinal axis (called rolling). The Stabifix device reduces these movements to one only, the body can only move vertically The parallel transference is effected by means of movable shears. The four ends of these shears are provided with | ||