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).
Unacceptable noise from Dunlop tyres on the Phantom III car and plans to test alternatives.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 30\5\ Scan137 | |
| Date | 4th October 1935 | |
| K1336 S/W To Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} from Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Copy to W.G.C. (strikethrough) E.W. Hy.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} Tyres for SpectreCodename for Phantom III. Referring to Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}17/KW.1.10.35 the Dunlop tyres on the P.III car sent down to us are quite impossible from the point of view of noise. They absolutely ruin the car, especially at the lower speeds. I had the wheels and tyres changed to India and an improvement of 80 or 90% was effected. There is still an objectionable noise particularly noticeable on the pickup at about 30 miles an hour, which Mx.{John H Maddocks - Chief Proving Officer} says will improve when the first newness of the tyres has worn off. We propose to run the car over the week-end and I will let you know the result. If we are still of the opinion that the tyres are spoiling the silence of the car, then I think we shall have to test every other tyre of foreign or British manufacture, with a view to finding one with a quiet tread and, if it is a foreign one which we cannot standardise, we shall have to try to get India or Dunlop to copy the tread. It is of course disappointing to find that the Dunlop tyre, which is reasonably quiet on our other models, is so impossible on the P.III and I understand that the true cause of this is not yet really known but is being investigated. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} | ||