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).
The trial and comparison of the Farnsworth suspension system.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 14\5\ Scan140 | |
| Date | 4th November 1929 | |
| To Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} from Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} c. By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} X7005. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/RmL/ADL4.11.29. FARNSWORTH SUSPENSION. We have tried the car fitted with this suspension. While it rides well when driven fast over large pot holes, it is uncomfortable at low speeds on a good road. It must be borne in mind that our main difficulty as builders of luxury cars is to get perfect comfort on an ordinary main road surface. We do not in any way attribute the discomfort of the Farnsworth Suspension at low speeds to independent wheel suspension. Attached is a report on the Harris Leon Laisne car that we tried at the Paris Show two years ago. Fundamentally it is much the same as the Farnsworth scheme except that it employs coil instead of leaf springs. This, we are sure is an advantage. It was one of the best sprung cars that we have tried. In practice no disadvantage seems to accrue in either braking or steering when the wheels are supported in this manner. On the other hand we have tried cars with wheels independently sprung that were acutely uncomfortable and had violent steering wobbles. Therefore there is no magic in the comfort | ||