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 Dunlop Rubber Co. Ltd. discussing their findings on tyre noise, concluding that most noise comes from the rear tyres contrary to a previous opinion.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 45\2\ Scan274 | |
| Date | 2nd July 1930 | |
| X4050. DUNLOP RUBBER CO.,LTD. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS: "DUNLOPS, PHONE, BIRMINGHAM" TELEPHONE: BIRMINGHAM CENTRAL 4108 (PBE) EXTENSION No. YOUR REF. OUR REF. WB{Mr Brazier/Mr Bell}/W.4.27 FORT DUNLOP ERDINGTON BIRMINGHAM 2nd July 1930. W.A. Robotham, Esq., Rolls-Royce Ltd., DERBY. Dear Mr. Robotham, When we had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. Olley, the matter of noise from tyres was discussed and Mr. Olley mentioned that he thought that the main noise came from front tyres - I believe the statement was that about 75% of the tyre noise heard in a car comes from the front tyres. We had not at the time made any tests definitely directed towards this point, but since then we have made some trials and gone into the matter quite closely. We have tried various arrangements of tyres - e.g., triple stud tyres on the front and silent on the rear; silent on the front and triple stud on the rear; silent and triple stud arranged diagonally. As a result, we are not only unable to verify Mr. Olley's statement, but our experience supports the view that most of the tyre noise in a car comes from the rear tyres. We are not troubling you with any details of the various tests in this connection, but if you consider that the matter is of sufficient interest they can be provided, and also if you like, we are quite willing to undertake some joint tests on one of your future visits. Yours faithfully, W Bond. Development Manager. | ||