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 from America to Derby discussing road trials and measurements of different front spring shackle configurations.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 43\2\ Scan171 | |
| Date | 1st June 1926 | |
| ROLLS-ROYCE OF AMERICA, INC. SPRINGFIELD, MASS. Oy10-E-6126 June 1st, 1926 Mr. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} W. Hives, Rolls-Royce, Ltd., Derby, England. Re Front Springs Dear Mr. Hives: We should be interested to know whether you have made any road trial or measurement of springs shackled at the front with a vertical shackle, or shackled at the rear in the pre-front-brake manner. I have written you that we are unable to account for the second improvement except by the greater rotational freedom of our slack shackle bushes. The first change can be tested very easily by going out on the road with a spare pair of front shackles, and after riding in the car as is, fitting two shackles to the front of each spring. The upper shackle will lock in a forward position inclined about 30º to the vertical and the lower one will be roughly vertical or inclined slightly backwards. It was the immediate improvement in riding from this test which made us measure the effect of the inclined shackle on the spring-testing machine, and led us to the conclusions re stiffening effect which I reported. Yours very truly, Maurice Olley MO/E X3900 | ||