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).
Suspension tests investigating the effects of adjusting shock dampers and moving the vehicle's centre of gravity.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\O\2April1926-June1926\ Scan021 | |
| Date | 1st April 1926 guessed | |
| contd :- -3- advantage gained in the back seats from increasing the initial deflection of the front springs 20% can be more than annuled ~~applied~~ by exceeding the standard setting of the rear shock dampers by 20 lbs. (f) Moving the centre of gravity of the car backwards, while likely to be a definite improvement, will not produce any exceptional increase in riding comfort with the present type of suspension. We carried out a test supporting 500 lbs. 5 ft. behind the rear wheel centres as in the attached sketch. This had the effect of moving the centre of gravity of the car rather more than 1 ft. backwards and made the weight distribution between the two axles almost exactly the same as the 20 HP. with which we were comparing it in our tests. [DIAGRAM] .600 wheelbase .400 wheelbase Front axle load. C. of G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} Rear axle load. [/DIAGRAM] The main objection to the test was that the whole extra load had to be taken by the somewhat flexible end of the 40/50 frame, the result being that the rigidity which might have been conducive to greater riding comfort was absent, and the body sustained a certain amount of movement from the flexing of its support. In addition the front springs were not adjusted for the reduced load. We hope to repeat the test on EAC.1. contd:- | ||