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).
Vehicle performance issues regarding oil, suspension, brakes, spring drive, and gearbox.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 5a\3\ 03-page130 | |
| Date | 27th November 1931 guessed | |
| (2) Please note that in the garage at Derby, they will not use engine oil for the bijur tank. Every time I have made enquiries, they will persist in using Amber Gear oil, which is too thick for winter work. SHOCK DAMPERS. FOULING CROSS STEERING TUBE. This must be entirely the fault of the weak front springs for you have not remarked that the design has been altered. It is not, as you suggest, due to more efficient front braking as the bumping and fouling has taken place during the ordinary running when the brake were not in operation, it could not, therefore, be due to the winding up of the axle. It is still a mystery to me why this car should suffer from it and not 19.G.IV. as we had during the first part of the test with 19.G.IV. severe bumping on the front. With 18.G.IV. it is impossible not to hit the filter case as it is definitely lower and has less clearance than the buffers, as I showed you in my sketch. Either the shock dampers are fitted lower down in the frame or the lay-out of the steering arm is different. BRAKE LEVERAGE. We have not up to the present, altered the brake leverage to the front brakes, because during the first part of the mileage we considered we had ample braking on the front, more than we ever got with 19.G.IV. but of late the efficiency of the front brakes has gone down, the O.S. getting saturated in oil through the failure of the bijur system. This has, of course, upset the relation of the front and rear braking, and whereas the rear brakes, when we left Derby, were not efficient, they are now over-efficient; this is one of the chief troubles we do not seem to be able to maintain consistent results. We are, of course, still only using the ball bearing cams on the servo, and once we obtain the consistency of the front braking we shall try the brake lever I brought out. SPRING DRIVE. We are pleased to hear that you are having some success with the spring drive rattle. We should very much like some stronger springs sent out. We should then prove out whether the gear rattle would be passable or not. GEARBOX. We have definitely not had any trouble with any of the gears coming out of mesh. all the gears have had ample tests as each day I have been trying the gears for the jogging, on the drive and on the overran. This is what we are most concerned about as the clanking effect will be immediately be turned down by Mx.{John H Maddocks - Chief Proving Officer} and EP.{G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} therefore, had any of the gears, | ||