Replacement of M.A. type Dunlop tyres with the '90' type, and concerns about road holding perception.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 157\1\ scan0144 | |
| Date | 7th November 1934 | |
| Roy. {Mr H. Royce - Buyer} Hs. {Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} D {John DeLooze - Company Secretary} /Br. EP. {G. Eric Platford - Chief Quality Engineer} 4050 BY.5/N.7.11.34. Re: Dunlop Tyres. We are at the moment considering replacing the present M.A. type Dunlop tyre by the "90", but as our experience is very small, even in the Experimental Dept. with this type of tyre, it is most important that the Dunlop Co. should be prevented from making wholesale changes in the moulds. The only position we can agree to being: that if an M.A. mould is worn out, it can be replaced by a "90" type. In the meantime, the Experimental Dept. are running with the new tyres on a car in France, and on all their chassis here, and are therefore piling up experience quickly, and will be able in the near future, either to confirm their recommendation, or withdraw it, but they are certainly not in such a position at the moment as regards experience, to give their unqualified recommendation for the wholesale changeover to the "90" type of tyre. We are well aware that Sales have agreed, but Sales agreement does not cut any ice, if there is a doubt in the tyre from the point of view of road holding. My own view is, of course, that when a customer sees the tyre, he will have a reaction against it, as the number of slots in a transverse direction is less, and the length of each is also reduced, and although the slots are square and the M.A. type are inclined, the effect is to create the idea of reduced road holding. BY. {R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} | ||
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).