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 feedback on a new model's performance and overheating issue during a European tour, with suggestions for improvement.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 24\4\ Scan071 | |
| Date | 27th July 1923 guessed | |
| COPY. "Moreton", Holly Place, HAMPSTEAD, N.W. Dear Mr. Northey, You asked me to give to you my opinion of my latest Rolls after I had been an extended tour upon the Continent. As I have now been down to Venice and up numerous Swiss Passes including the St.{Capt. P. R. Strong} Gothard - Furka Ober Alp etc. I feel that I am in a position to give to you a mature judgment as to your latest model. First I should like to say that I thought my old 1914 Model absolutely perfect but this present car is a vast improvement, its smoothness, acceleration, speed and hill-climbing are simply marvellous. Another thing I notice is its extreme lightness upon tyres. All through this tour it has never given a moment's trouble - in fact it is simply extraordinary. There is but one word of criticism which I feel sure you will not mind my stating as you asked for my candid opinion. It is upon the subject of overheating upon severe and long gradients such as one meets upon Swiss Passes. I have a thermometer fitted to my car and have had long experience of Swiss Pass work and as the cooling arrangements are at present that is to say with no blocking plates upon the radiator and driving with the ignition advanced as much as possible and with as little throttle as one can it is quite impossible to prevent the car from over heating and boiling long before one reaches the summit of any of these Passes - the temperature of the water quickly rises to 100 degrees. The only way to reach the top is to climb upon 2nd speed or in some cases even 1st slowly, the water then reaches the temperature of 95 and with careful driving and using every artifice to cool the engine such as driving with the side of the bonnet open it is possible to climb without excessive over heating. I suggest that this trouble can be got over in two ways and that it should receive the attention of your technical experts as it is a serious defect - if the car is driven much upon the Continent as most of your cars are. The remedy seems to me to be either (1) to provide a larger raidator. How much larger would be needed I cannot say but it could be easily ascertained by an actual road test. (2) To provide a larger radiator and shutters as on the 20 H.P. This seems to me the best solution for it gives the driver greater cooling efficiency and also greater control over it. As provided the cooling surface is sufficiently large to meet all conditions of road and P.T.O. | ||