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).
Safety test comparison of Stanwell, Goodyear, and Firestone demountable rims and straight-sided tyres.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 45\1\ Scan263 | |
| Date | 19th May 1920 | |
| COPY. Extract from Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}1/LG19.5.20. RE. DEMOUNTABLE RIMS AND STRAIGHT SIDED TYRES. Extract:- ---------- Safety. We have carried out tests on the road with these three rims by fitting on a cover with a scrap tube and running the car at high speeds with a deflated tyre. We find that the best of the three rims, as regards safety, is the Stanwell. We have run a car at 60 M.P.H. with a deflated tyre and have swerved from side to side but the tyre and the rim still held on. The Goodyear comes the next. We have run with a deflated tyre with a Goodyear rim at 60 M.P.H. - the rim did not come adrift nor did the tyre come off, but after 40 to 45 M.P.H. was reached, the detachable ring of the Goodyear started flapping and one could see by watching the joint of this ring that it was opening out by centrifugal force at the ends. We consider that the Goodyear is a reasonable safe rim. The Firestone rim is by far the worst of the three. When we had only reached 25 to 30 M.P.H. with a deflated tyre, the solid ring and the split ring both came completely off the wheel, ran along the road, and disappeared over the hedge. We do not think the Firestone rims, as we received them from America, are fit to put on to Rolls-Royce cars. The fact that the loose pieces on the rim will come off if the car is run at a low speed with a deflated tyre, makes it dangerous, not only to the occupants of the car, but to other users of the road. The reason the Firestone rim is bad, is the fact that the spring ring which forms the lock is very light and the centrifugal force opens it out so that it can fall off. On the Packard car which is fitted with beaded tyres and Firestone rims, we have had trouble with the rims coming adrift when the tyre is punctured. We have had a Firestone Rim Co. representative at the Works who said that a "spreader" should be fitted to the valve of the inner tube which makes the rim much more safe. We have not yet seen one of these spreaders; they are fitted to the Firestone inner tubes which we have received from America and we do not feel satisfied that it is a good thing to rely on the valve of the inner tube to form the lock. When the car is in the customers hands one would expect to use any make of tyre or rim. We should like to hear from Mr. Olley what experience they have had with the Firestone and Goodyear Cos' rims. We favour the Goodyear rim. We think that it provides an easy demountable rim with safety. From our point of view, the contd:- | ||