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).
Comparing the ride quality and handling of an experimental 30 HP car against a demonstration model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 146\3\ scan0193 | |
| Date | 30th November 1936 | |
| LES.{Ivan A. Leslie} 1245 To Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Derby. C to G.W.H. (I want to send a covering note) Levallois SrI/ET.30.II.36 I have just come back from trying out the Experimental 30 H.P., as compared with our own Demonstration car. There is no doubt that, from the direction and stability point of view and the possibility of putting the car where you wish and keeping it there, the Experimental is as good as a car of this description will ever be. In fact, no one could complain of the road holding of this particular car. On the other hand the springing, especially in the back seat naturally, is not what a customer would expect, it being too harsh and jerky. This, however, must be due to some extent to the very bad rear cushion which is decidedly on the hard side and of course to the fact that the actual seating position is almost rear of the back axle. This state of affairs naturally does not help and I am afraid that, until we produce a longer chassis such as Hispano did some years back, we will never get a very good ride on the rear seat of our six facing forward jobs on the 30 H.P. Incidentally, I sent "E" a blue print of this particular chassis many months ago, hoping that when an improved 30 H.P. came along it might also exist in two lengths, one for close coupled saloons and one for six facing forward jobs. With regard to our car, the ride in the back seat is considerably better than the Experimental car, and this is probably due to the fact that the rear cushion is very good and also that the seating position, being a close coupled saloon, is partly over and partly forward of the rear axle. The directional stability of our car, however, is still bad, and with a good side wind on a wet cambered road I can assure you that no customer would ever have any trouble with his bearings, although he might have quite a lot of trouble in finding his bearings at times! I do not know what we can do to alter this state of affairs. The steering is now O.K. I understand nothing more known can be done to it. It is also quite passable from a road shock point of view. WSA The damper setting on my car is 70 lbs. initial load. The springs are of the intermediate-rating-type we call the S.G. type. There is also, since we have put up the shock absorber poundage to 70 lbs., a lot of radiator movement, and I am going to try fitting a Breedon bumper and will let you know what happens. | ||