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 Aktiebolaget A. Wiklunds discussing experiences with balloon tyres on NASH and PIERCE-ARROW cars.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 53\2\ Scan178 | |
| Date | 5th October 1925 | |
| AKTIEBOLAGET A.{Mr Adams} WIKLUNDS, MASKIN & VELOCIPEDFABRIK, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN. 5th October, 1925. Messrs Rolls-Royce, Ltd., London. Dear Sirs, Re: Balloon Tyres. Replying to your esteemed fabour of the 28th September reference Sg{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}12/BM/28925 - we beg to say that the highest speed Mr. Salmson has driven his NASH Car is 50-55 miles and this has been on roads, which, compared with English roads, are bad. At times there has been some little wobbling. The new NASH models arrived a month ago are fitted with a kind of braking on the connection between the cross steering tubes and the cross steering levers and this avoids wobbling completely. Mr. Salmson has during the last weeks been driving a PIERCE-ARROW car Model 80. This Car was driven yesterday north of Stockholm on roads which absolutely are not first class. The surface is filled with rather much pot-holes and is very much corrugated. The Car was driven up to and about 60 miles and the steering was so absolutely perfect as it is possible to think. Now the Pierce-Arrow is a car of considerably higher class than the NASH. The steering of the Pierce-Arrow simply was wonderful. The Car is fitted with Balloon Tyres 32 x 5-77. It is the smaller Pierce-Arrow - not the biggest. We also call your attention to the fact that the big Indianapolis race this year was won by a Car fitted with balloon tyres and that every car which partook in the race, had such tyres. Mr. Sidgreaves will remember that Mr. Salmson talked to him about Straight-sided tyres more than a year earlier than you started to fit these rims. We feel perfectly sure and we only speak from the vast experience we have on Balloon Tyres, that Messrs Rolls-Royce sooner or later will fit such tyres on their Cars. The sooner it is done, the better it is. Yours truly, (Sd). E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Salmson. | ||