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).
Magazine article detailing rigorous component testing and development processes.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 160\3\ scan0231 | |
| Date | 10th February 1939 | |
| 218 The Autocar February 10th, 1939. "Third Degree" the tail of the car tends to swing first, and therefore the helm has to be relieved. The ideal condition lies midway. It would be of little use to extract with great pains the truth out of every part and component unless records were kept for ready reference. Rolls-Royce and Bentley maintain a remarkably efficient records section. Just to give one small instance of its thoroughness, suppose that you wished to know the weight of the rear axle of a certain model. Records will produce for you the total weight, the detail weight, comparisons with weights of similar parts on other cars, accompanied by photographs showing the actual parts which were weighed, laid out so that you could see every detail and obtain a shrewd idea of the construction and proportions. Forty Years' Experience Although these notes have, in fact, only covered the broadest outlines of this immensely impressive organisation for discovering the truth about cars and every single part of them, I hope that I have succeeded in conveying a clear picture of the intensive research which is continually in progress. It is the collation of first-hand evidence and reliable data which places the engineering department in a position to form sound judgments. In every one of these many departments there are literally hundreds of precision instruments in constant use. It must be remembered that the existing equipment has been built up and regularly modernised over a period of 40 years. All this experimental equipment is largely engaged in ensuring that before a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce car is subjected to road test—which must be successfully completed before any part is standardised—every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the test will be entirely successful. Road tests have never been subordinated to laboratory or rig tests, and, in fact, to-day more mileage is being run than ever before. The present requirement is that any alteration to chassis, no matter how minor, shall have successfully completed 15,000 miles before it can be put on to production, the 15,000 miles to have been run on the same parts. Where the alteration is of a major nature, such as a new gear box, steering or axle, the distance which has to be run is increased to 50,000 miles, all of which is carried out under road, and not track, conditions. Continental roads are used almost exclusively for these endurance tests owing to the fact that they have, generally speaking, worse surfaces than English roads and permit of far higher average speeds. Every standardisation run, however, includes one or two thousand miles under London traffic conditions, which throws exceptional loads on the clutch and transmission. Competitors' products are always being subjected to tests in parallel with the products of the R.{Sir Henry Royce}-R.{Sir Henry Royce} factory, and occasionally one is selected to undergo a full road endurance run. This is the only way to determine the relative durability of other makes. In view of the fact that Rolls-Royce have such an extensive research division, one may naturally be tempted to ask what they do with their facilities, seeing they seldom introduce any new model to the public. The answer is that for every new unit of the chassis which is put into production, half a dozen others are likely to be made, tested and rejected as being deficient in one or other of the qualities considered to be desirable. As an example, I saw complete engines built with overhead camshaft and other varieties of valve arrangement which have actually been put in cars and run on the road, quite apart from a multiplicity of valve arrangements which have been tried on single-cylinder units. The Best Compromise The fact that the existing type of engine has remained in production almost unchanged during the past 15 years merely indicates that Rolls-Royce consider it to be the best type of unit they have tried for giving reliable service combined with maximum output in the hands of the customer. The test equipment could not be used to the utmost advantage unless it were backed by extensive facilities for producing experimental parts accurately in the minimum time. One of the ''articles'' of the experimental department is that part of its efficiency lies in its capacity for meeting emergencies in the minimum time. As an example, during the Schneider Trophy Test it was decided that the diameter of the crankshaft would have to be increased in the interests of reliability. The time was short before the race, but drawings were completed, crankshaft forgings obtained, the shafts machined, fitted and tested in the engines all within the space of six weeks. When it is remembered that the dimension of the crank was unlike anything manufactured in the country at the time, the magnitude of the achievement will be appreciated. Another example of the speed with which the work can be carried out was given when a new model set out for a Continental test, and some 50 miles from the works ran a bearing. Some 48 hours after this event the car, insured against further trouble of the same kind, was in the South of France being tried by Sir Henry Royce. [Image 1 Caption] Testing the rating of front shock absorbers. [Text between images] EVERY COMPONENT WELL TESTED [Image 2 Caption] Even oil filters are put to exhaustive tests in the search for efficiency. 432 | ||