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).
Letter from a tyre supplier regarding skidding complaints on a new Bentley and arranging further tests.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 29\4\ Scan146 | |
| Date | 20th November 1933 | |
| rwb/br INDIA TYRE & RUBBER COMPANY, LTD. TELEPHONES: PAISLEY 4141/5. INCHINNAN SCOTLAND TELEGRAMS: INDIAOWL, RENFREW. OUR REF. YOUR REF. 20th November, 1933. W.A. Robotham Esq., Experimental Department, Messrs. Rolls-Royce Limited, DERBY. Dear Robotham, With reference to my telephone conversation with you today when I told you that I was up at Glasgow for the Scottish Motor Show and had come across one or two complaints of skidding on the new Bentley. We are extremely sorry that this should have occurred but, of course, I remember your saying to me, when I had the pleasure of calling on you at Derby last week, that you yourself did not consider that INDIA Speed Special was a particularly good nonskid. At the same time you appreciated the fact that it was, of course, a compromise of the result of a number of conditions which were laid down as to wear, silence, etc. I also remember that you mentioned to me that Mr. W.O. Bentley had criticised the nonskid properties of the tyre on a greasy London road. I happened to meet Mr. Bentley myself last week and had a word with him about this and he repeated to me what you had said and added that he had not, up to that time, tried any other make of tyre in comparison. Since I spoke to you on the telephone this morning, I have had a long conversation with Mr. P. Worth, who is our chief technical expert and who has been responsible for the design of INDIA Speed Special. He was extremely pleased to hear that experiments were to be carried out in France by Mr. Hancock at Chateauroux and he is, today, sending to France a set of INDIA Super Nonskids 5.50/18, as you requested. He only expressed his regret that I had not asked you on the telephone whether you could possibly see your way to allow him to personally witness the tests carried out by Mr. Hancock, because, as he pointed out to me and as I told you on the telephone, we have carried out a number of tests on these INDIA Speed Special Tyres on chassis of various makes but up to the present it has not been possible for us to carry out/ | ||