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 the Chief Engineer of Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company regarding the weakness of wheel rims and the use of Firestone rims.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 42\4\ Scan144 | |
| Date | 9th June 1920 | |
| Rolls-Royce of America, Inc. ---- 2 June 9, 1920 I am taking this feature of design up with the Society of Automotive Engineers. I certainly think that it cannot make any difference to the Rim Association or to the Tire Companies as to whether they have a large or small radius at this point. I consider that rims are a very weak part of a car - scarcely any of the rims on the market have a factor of safety of over three times the working pressure to which the tire should be inflated, and in addition to the air pressure that these rims have to stand there is the pressure on the sides of these rims due to the swaying of the car from side to side on rough rutty roads. I believe that pressure should be brought to bear on the best tire manufacturers and rim manufacturers to eliminate these sources of weakness, and I believe if all the automobile manufacturers who believe in high grade workmanship would insist upon a higher factor of safety of these commercial parts that a change for the better would be quickly effective. We ourselves have been using the Firestone rim for about two years and I have not heard of any complaints of the tire or locking ring coming off when the car is run with a deflated tire. Yours truly, THE PIERCE-ARROW MOTOR CAR COMPANY. (Signed) D.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} Fergusson, Chief Engineer. DF'S Enc. | ||