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 complaints about overheating and recommending changes to radiator tube design.
| Identifier | Morton\M19\ img077 | |
| Date | 28th May 1931 | |
| COPY. To R.{Sir Henry Royce} From Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} PN.{Mr Northey} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}8/MJ.28.5.31. RADIATORS. E.7250. X.766. X.5250. X.4607. We are most anxious to overcome entirely overheating complaints from customers. This complaint has always been with us and in the past has proved to be very expensive to deal with, and very unsatisfactory to the customer. For this reason, we recommend we adopt the small tube. We shall still then have a radiator which has less tubes and is considerably lighter than the present standard. One of the places I fear we are going to get complaints from is U.S.A. Any complaints we have to deal with from there will prove very expensive. Our opinion is that we should put in the most efficient matrix we know of which would allow us then on standard cars to have plain bonnets without shutters. From the appearance point of view this is an advantage. With the large hexagonal tube and the proposed bonnet ventilation (shutters) the customer will be 3°C. worse off at high speeds than he would be if he had a louvred bonnet and the present existing standard tubes. We would sooner adopt the smaller tubes and then if we found we had any cooling to spare, change to the larger tubes, rather than have complaints from customers. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||