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).
Vehicle's oil consumption, shock absorber load adjustments, and handling issues.
Identifier | ExFiles\Box 146\2\ scan0246 | |
Date | 23th June 1937 | |
SrI/ET.23.6.37 - 2 - I therefore turned the car over to PB., instructing him to top the level before starting the following morning, so that, when the car arrived in Paris, we could get some information. This he did, and although he did not drive the car to capacity, 2 litres of oil were necessary to top it again on arrival, the mileage covered being 215 Kms. You will see from this that there is something amiss somewhere and, unless the car suddenly takes a turn for the better, it seems to me that a tremendous amount of money is being spent without giving proper results, especially if we are to take it that the work detailed in GWH{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux}'s report is more or less a practice where heavy oil consumptions are registered. So much for oil consumption. The owner who I know very well is going to continue checking his consumption and will keep us informed. In the meantime, he naturally cannot understand why his car should have been immobilised for a certain period, without any apparent results. This is the customer's point of view and I find it my duty to tell it you. That there will ultimately be results is certain if CWH.'s theory that piston rings take some time to bed in is water tight. With regard to shock damper loads, you will be interested to hear that we never touched the front shock absorbers, and the load registered of 130 to 140 lbs. must have developed in some mysterious manner. If the loading (i.e. 120 lbs. for France) was standard when the car left the Works, the rear shock damper loading should have been 100 lbs. when the car left the Works, but owing to the customer's complaint of harsh riding, we had to reduce the load by approximately 25 lbs in position. It would therefore seem that either the shock dampers were loaded at 145 lbs when they left the Works, or else instead of reducing the loading we added poundage to it. However, the interesting point is that Mr. Embiricos now says that his car is disagreeable to handle, pitches, bounces and leans over in the bends and he has asked us to put up the poundage of his shock absorbers. We are going to do this very carefully, to make sure that he gets our standard continental setting of 120 lbs. at the front and 100 lbs. at the rear, when the car is returned to him. If he then complains of harshness, we will reduce the shock damper loads, leaving 120 lbs. at the front and 80 lbs. at the rear. With regard to the trip recorder, these as you know have given frequent trouble, but we have been advised by Works that the Makers have now improved the job. | ||