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).
Letter detailing the decision to cease increasing engine compression due to a list of resulting faults.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 19\7\ Scan010 | |
| Date | 1st October 1910 | |
| 1st October1910. R9/D11010 See over Claude Johnson, Esq. Pitlochry. Dear C.J., We have definitely and for all time given up all idea of ever raising the compression. 60 lbs. gauge reading seems to be best. - the following faults appear with any increase - 1. Vibrations excessive owing to anti-torque. 2. Great stresses on bearings andcrankshaft. 3. Carboning up of the cylinders due to oil on the cylinder walls partially burning. 4. Piston knock due to failure of oil. 5. Piston seizures due to 4. 6. Increase of heat in cooling water and hence hotter floorboards. and many other small things. Therefore, we are quite off any increase of compress-ion at any time, always in future we propose to get the H.P. with lower compression We must have a high speed engine. This was generally understood to go with high compression, but the engine must, in future, have increased facility for getting in and out gases. We spoiled our little piston valve engine by keeping increasing the compression to get more and more power, but we did y X 790 | ||