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).
Vehicle suspension and ride comfort, comparing different body types and weight distributions for driving on continental roads.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 16\7\ Scan176 | |
| Date | 14th May 1929 guessed | |
| contd :- -2- the main criticism I have of Chryslers in this country is regarding suspension. Therefore although we may seem to lay undue stress on the firmness that we require in our suspension it is because we have to spring all our cars so that they can be driven fast over Continental roads to the south of France, where, as you know quite well, speeds as high as 75 m.p.h. are held for long stretches and the roads are bad. Most of our energies have been concentrated on the S.S. riding; the complaints we have of the 20 HP. riding are few and far between. In the first place we find that on our SS.{S. Smith} cars where we have 2 spare wheels at the back, then a luggage trunk and then a 4-seater sporting type of saloon body (18-EX) we get excellent riding comfort without very much effort. This is owing to the rear passengers sitting well forward of the rear axle, a good mass being carried behind, thus lowering the pitching speed. The next best body is the full-sized body with 2 spare wheels at the back and no luggage trunk but as with this a luggage grid cannot be fitted at the rear since it makes the body too long, the car cannot be considered a very practical proposition. When we come to the maximum type body with side spare wheel carriers, we find that we have still got to use a great deal of care in order to get a real fine ride. Thus we have proved out practically what we have been thinking for a long time that a fixed mass of weight over-hanging the rear axle is an contd :- | ||