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).
Steering control improvements, wheel wobble issues with balloon tyres, and comparing different ball pin travel settings.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\S\March1928-May1928\ Scan185 | |
| Date | 18th May 1928 guessed | |
| contd :- -2- for the same springs in an emergency than .600 travel. We have proved by tests that when the driver locks over as hard as he can in a crisis, the whole available .600 movement in N.sch. 2258 is taken up. Therefore when the lost movement is reduced to .400, the control is improved. This was quite evident on 14-EX where in spite of the low ratio and 1400 lbs/1" springs, the steering was not unpleasant even at high speeds as long as the road surface was fair. With our steady increase in wheel turns we are faced with the desirability of some side steering tube end alteration. We do not want to raise the rating of the spring as we immediately have much greater difficulty in suppressing high speed wobbles, we have proved this again and again, it is our chief objection to the damped pendulum lever. We therefore propose to make a definite comparison between the .400 and .600 ball pin travels on 12-EX the next time it goes to France. We rather think that owing to the vast improvement that has taken place in the Continental roads in the last two years, we may be justified in reverting to .400 travel which incidentally helps us tremendously with our short pendulum levers with inside ball ends. We do not think that it is generally realised how close to high speed wobbles we are with balloon tyres, and how large a part the side steering plays in the prevention of this phenomenon. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rn.{Mr Robinson} | ||