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).
Modifications to silent tread tyres by cutting grooves, and considering standardising this new tread.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 45\2\ Scan258 | |
| Date | 1st June 1938 | |
| -2- He/Bn.{W.O. Bentley / Mr Barrington}1/A.L.S.6.38.Contd. be preferred every time. The only modification which has been made to the improved silent tread tyres we are sending to London is a series of grooves which have been cut in the central rib 1.5" apart. We agree that the look of this modification is unlikely to give anybody who objects to the silent tread tyres, increased confidence, but the fact remains that for British roads there is less than 5% difference between this modified tyre and the Triple Stud tyres. We think that they are quite good for silence. We should have preferred some modification which was more impressive to look at, since the whole question of the dangerous silent tread tyre has been more or less proved to be largely one of appearance, but little more can be done to break up the tyre tread pattern without destroying the main purpose for which the tyre was evolved, i.e. silence. We should like the views of Sales on these tyres. Briefly, we think that we might with advantage standardise this tread instead of our present silent tread tyre. He/Su. | ||