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).
Brake system tests, detailing performance issues like springiness and comparing braking effectiveness against a Delage car.
| Identifier | Morton\M2.4\ img005 | |
| Date | 1st July 1920 | |
| Contd. -5- pedal. There is a compensating arrangement on the rear brakes - there is another compensating arrangement for the front brakes but there is no compensation for all four brakes. It is possible to disconnect the rear brakes and to operate the front only. On the other hand, it is necessary for the adjustment of the brakes to be correct or else either only the front or the rear might be doing the braking. The brakes on the car we have tested appear to be all doing an equal amount of work. We proved this by feeling the temperature of the brake drums after the brakes had been in use slightly for a short time. The operating gear for the brakes is very springy and even though the brake pedal is adjusted to 1st top position, if the brakes are applied hard the pedal goes down on to the floor-boards. We found that this springiness is chiefly in the brake drums themselves. The brake drums which are 16" in diameter sprung out-of-truth when the brake was applied .025". We tried the braking on the car on a wet tarmac road. We found that we could pull the car up in a remarkably short space with no signs of the wheels skidding. We could pull the car up under the same conditions with the hand brake which worked on the countershaft but the car would immediately skid and the back wheels were locked. Below are some comparative tests we made comparing the brakes on the Delage with the brakes on the R.R. BRAKING TESTS WITH FOOT BRAKES. Weight of R.R. 36 cwt. " " Delage 36 cwt. Delage fitted with Michelin rubber non-skid tyres all-round. R.R. " " Dunlop Magnum tyres all-round. (Contd). | ||