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).
Comparing the silence and vibration of competitor's cars against Rolls-Royce models, noting the need for improvement.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 5\1\ 01-page160 | |
| Date | 16th June 1933 | |
| To Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} From Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Wcr. c. to L. c. to Py. c. to Ld. c. to Bdy. A.F. CARS. We think we have every reason to be disturbed by the fact that there are many cars now which have engines that are more silent and have less vibration than any of our models. We recently tried an 8 cyl. Buick. The engine idling was very definitely quieter than anything we are making and also there was a complete absence of noise, boom, or vibration on the road. We took advantage the other day of trying J.111 car against the Essex Terraplane. J.111 car represents the 25 HP. car we expect still to be selling in three or four years time. The engine in the Essex was definitely more silent. It had less vibration. The capacity of the engine was 4.010 cc's. compared with 4,500 cc's. for the J.111. The Essex had a far better acceleration and was slightly faster at top speed. The acceleration of J.111 is very definitely better than the present 20 HP. The lap speed on Brooklands is 77 and acceleration is equal to the latest Continental Phantom. The weight of the Essex Terraplane is 30 cwt. compared with 36 cwt. of J.111. The price of the Terraplane is £585. The fact that R.R. cars are not as quiet and smooth as the cheap mass production cars is a fact which can be easily proved and it means that we have got a full programme in front of us to improve silence and reduce vibration. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||