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).
Clutch faults, performance testing, and a proposal to demonstrate its superiority over a competitor's design.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\U\August1930-November1930\ Scan069 | |
| Date | 15th February 1930 | |
| -2- Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/SL.1/15.2.30.Contd. to change gear at high speeds. Another fault we have had is with the cast iron back plate. Even with a moderate amount of slipping this plate is dished so that the initial spring engagement was ineffective. There is also the fault that if the slipping takes place to excess, the springs lose their temper. With the present Std. clutch we have got it into a state where we can race the engine to 2,000 revs and pick up the load 500 times without causing any serious damage. Fabric stands this perfectly satisfactorily. The centre plate shews signs of the metal having fused but the clutch still works satisfactorily. There are no signs of scoring on the centre plate. It is Springfield who have been pushing us to change the clutch round. On the car which is going to America we propose fitting the Std. clutch, as I feel certain we can demonstrate to them that we can destroy the clutch they are using before we can damage our own. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||