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).
Page discussing the stream-lining of a record-breaking Renault and a summary of independent suspension test results.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\P\October1926-November1926\ Scan074 | |
| Date | 25th October 1926 guessed | |
| Contd :- -9- Record-breaking Renault. This car is rather interesting as an example of stream lining. The width of the body being only some 6" greater than that of the steering wheel width. The whole of the bottom of the chassis is streamed lined with a continuous undershield. In consequence a massive oil cooler is employed between the dumb irons, even so the instruments show that an oil temperature of 115°C is considered normal when this car is on the track. SUSPENSION - summary. Summarising results of various tests, the main difficulty with independent suspension of all four wheels would appear to be lack of lateral stability. If the car is arranged so that it will not roll, the independent movement of the wheels is impaired, and the benefits of the suspension are lost. A practical compromise, somewhat better than the present method of springing cars appears to have been obtained by Lancia and Ansaldo, who combine widely spaced semi elliptic springs giving good lateral control, with abnormal front springs. We do not consider that either of the two cars tried with fully independent wheel suspension had made the best of the scheme at their disposal. It appears to us that with suitable modifications the Cottin-Desgouttes could be made into a well-sprung car. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||