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 performance issues during mountain climbs of Col de Lauteret and Col de Galibier.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 56\2\ Scan037 | |
| Date | 1st August 1932 | |
| File 84700 19-EX. 1.8.32. During the climb of the Col de Lauteret, the 2nd gear came out once and on the climb of the Col de Galibier it came out on two occasions. The engine temp. during the climb of the C.d.Lauteret remained at 95°. Air temp. at start 24° and finish 20°. There was a following wind. The engine temp. on the C.d.Galibier at the start was 85° and soon rose to 98° for the whole of the climb. At this altitude (9,000 ft), the water was boiling at this temp. Air temp at start 20° and finish 16°C. Two thirds of the way up the Galibier the car was slowed down to allow the passage of another car and shortly after getting away again, the petrol boiled in the pipe line. The gradient was about 1 in 4, and the pump would not deliver petrol even when assisted by sucking on the pipe, so I filled the float chamber and we got going. Just short of the summit the car slowed down while on the severe gradient, and at low r.p.m. of the engine it would not deliver fuel, and it was again necessary to prime the float chamber. It is suggested that the combination of low atmospheric pressure and severe gradient is more than the pump can contend with. A.B.Roberts. | ||