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).
Test drive report discussing steering characteristics, suspension performance, and wobble experienced with balloon tyres.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 125\1\ scan0029 | |
| Date | 1st February 1926 guessed | |
| contd :- -2- in the suspension resulting in balloon tyres run at this inflation pressure. We examined the front of the car to see if there was any obvious device for eliminating wobbles. The front springs are not particularly heavy and have a marked positive camber under load. Watsons Stabilators were fitted. The front brake drums are of very generous dimensions being about 17" dia. and 2" wide. Neither the pivots or the axle appear to be of particularly light section. There is no obvious anti-wobbling fitment. Under the plea that the car was new, we were requested not to exceed a speed of 50 m.p.h. On taking the wheel it was at once apparent that there was a considerable amount of friction in the steering. The steering was definitely very heavy for the first few degrees of the lock either way from the central position. A steering such as this would not be tolerated for one moment on a R-R car. The result of the internal friction was to make the steering highly un-selective for ordinary driving. When shunting on large locks, however, the steering appeared to get somewhat lighter instead of heavier, giving one the impression that the internal friction was relieved for large angular movements of the wheel. Self-centering was practically negligible, an impression from our driving the car is that the pivots were almost vertical. The whole time we were driving the car the steering felt in a state of incipient wobble. By driving on the rough portion at the side of the road and gripping the wheel tightly, we were able to set up a genuine high speed balloon tyre wobble which commenced at 40 m.p.h. and was sustained up to 50 m.p.h. which was the maximum contd :- | ||