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 discussing vehicle performance improvements through weight and wind resistance analysis for future racing.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 90a\4\ Scan289 | |
| Date | 10th June 1936 | |
| -2- Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}3/KW.10.6.36. I am so positive that this is going to be effective that I am willing to bet it will produce twice as much increase in speed as anything we have previously done to the car. I am so anxious to get the figure that I would be agreeable to Ratcliffe standing by during the tests and while the work is done, if you will agree to going on with the job. You will appreciate that we told Sidgreaves it was absolutely imperative to spend a considerable sum of money on getting special axle gears from America, and now we have to admit we are so far out with our wind resistance figures that the money has been more or less wasted. The situation at present is that we have an accurate record of all the work we have done at Derby; i.e., we know the exact brake horse power of the engine and the weight of every part of the chassis. With regard to the work which has not been done at Derby, however, we have no weight analysis of the body; all that we can say is that there is a considerable amount of weight we cannot account for. We have no accurate figures of the wind resistance of the new body, but from your Brooklands tests it seems fairly certain that there is not more than 3 M.P.H. gain, even if as much. As we see it there is now a splendid opportunity of bringing the weight and windage into line with the engine and chassis, so that we have accurate figures for the whole car. The information will be invaluable for the T.T. and any racing which may be done next year, because the chassis will almost certainly be identical for next season. I do not think there is anybody in England who is comparable with Vanvooren's for either carrying out light construction coachwork or taking pains over weights. A further advantage is that Montlhery is not nearly so hard on the chassis as Brooklands. Yours sincerely, | ||