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).
Report discussing steering irreversibility due to potholes, the use of thrust washers, and the need for leather gaiters on steering and shock damper connections.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 46\2\ Scan112 | |
| Date | 4th April 1922 guessed | |
| contd:- -2- checked together. It would be easy to adjust the length of one or both buffers so as to take up the slack in the ball joint without filling or liner washers. There has been much discussion about more or less friction in the front pivots, but when one comes to the dreadful potholes one finds in France, Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} and I think that we must render the steering more irreversible i.e. much less force needed to hold the steering wheel against the unavoidable road shock which occurs with even centre point steering; apparently to me the shock is caused by the road wheel falling into the pothole at one side of the hole i.e. not running through the centre of the pothole. In falling into the hole the wheels are thrown one way and in coming out catch the side of the hole and are driven the opposite way, and it is possible that if the road wheels remained straight the shock would be less. Now a few years ago we suggested that our steering could be made markedly less reversible by the use of plain thrust washers to the worm shaft (steering wheel tube) To my mind this is exactly what is wanted, and possibly less or no friction in the axle pivots. I have asked that 6-Goshawk-ll shall be so fitted and sent here at once. LEATHER GAITERS. I was most surprised that the 10,000 mile cars were being sent out without leather gaiters for the steering, and shock damper connections. Surely some harness maker or bootmaker could make something that would keep the road water from washing every drop of grease from these joints, as occurred to Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} with 4-Goshawk-ll. SPRING SHACKLES. In a previous report it was pointed out that contd:- | ||