A RICARDO OCCASION

Several times in his IMechE/BP 1987 Tribology Paper — pages 4–11 of this issue — the author, Michael Monaghan, Technical Director of Ricardo Consultants plc, refers to early automotive engine developments and to the prevailing dilemma as to whether it was better — usually meaning less difficult or less costly — to seek increased performance by attending to the combustion system, or by reducing mechanical friction which dissipated a goodly portion of engine output long before it reached the road wheels.