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).
The dangers of fitting front brakes to cars with steel artillery wheels due to excessive wheel overhang.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 73\2\ scan0308 | |
| Date | 1st April 1924 | |
| To C.J. from Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} x9940 HsL/LG1.4.24. STEERING OF ALL CARS. x9940(crossed out) x963 +4586 With reference to the attached ref. R1/M29.3.24. The reason steel artillery wheels or any other type of wheel which increases the over-hang from the pivot, has been condemned by R.{Sir Henry Royce} on account of front wheel braking. The effect of such wheels would be that if at any time the braking on the front was unequal, the car would be immediately steered by the action of the brakes. Our tests have proved that it would be a source of danger to fit front brakes on to cars in which the wheels overhang the pivots more than .5" - with steel wheels it is 1.650" approx. We have already discussed this position at the Works because it means that there are a certain number of customers who have been promised front wheel brakes which have steel artillery wheels fitted to their cars. It would appear that we must either persuade the customer to adopt wire wheels or try and get the makers of the steel artillery wheels to produce a wheel with exactly the same proportions as the wire wheel. This latter proposal may be difficult to obtain and my impression is that R.{Sir Henry Royce} does not want it. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||