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).
Customer criticisms of the ride quality of the overdrive Bentley, focusing on issues with larger tyres and tyre pressure variation.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 83\3\ scan0090 | |
| Date | 25th November 1938 | |
| S/W. BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} c. to Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. " Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Cx{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager}2/KW25.11.38. We are sorry to find that in a great many cases we are not convincing prospective customers who try the overdrive Bentley that the riding of the car generally is as good as their present Bentley with the 5½" tyres. We have had far more criticisms of the riding of the car since the introduction of the big tyres than we had previously in connection with demonstration runs. It is true to say that a certain number of people - but only a few - have considered the riding to be better but the majority think otherwise. Personally I have nothing to complain of in the riding of the current type Bentley with big tyres, and I find it difficult to understand what it is that people complain of. Nevertheless they do complain, and we feel that we ought to try and do something to remedy this. The chief point of criticism as far as we can ascertain is that there is more rebound of the car at certain speeds on certain kinds of roads,which contributes to it being considered less stable than the car with smaller tyres. We here can only conclude, in view of the fact that the springing itself is unchanged in the two chassis, that the larger tyres must be looked to for the cause and possible remedy, and all we can say ourselves is that there is a bigger variation in the tyres pressures with the big tyres than there was with the smaller ones. We believe the pressures can vary anything from 3 - 5 lbs between pressures at the start of a journey and the pressures at the end of a journey. In view of the pressures being low this amounts to nearly 20% difference. Is it possible that this can give rise to the criticisms which we are encountering so frequently, and would you therefore advise any different policy in the recommended pressures of tyres which are contained for instance in the Instruction Book ? In that we are told to have the front at 25 lbs and the rear at 28 cold, and although it is recommended in the Instruction Book that the tyre pressures will increase (cont) | ||