Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Tyres
1920 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Hooper Tourer
Rolls Royce Silver Ghost 1906–1926
- For early Rolls Royce Silver Ghosts we recommend the 895X135 Ensign Chevron Cord for cars with Beaded Edge wheels.
- These tyres should be fitted with the Michelin 880X120 innertube, Silver Ghost wheels are require innertubes to function.
- For Silver Ghosts with Straight Sided wheels the 33X5 Lucas, fitted with the Michelin 880X120 and Flap for 23" wheel will allow for the best driving experience.
- For the later Rolls Royce Silver Ghost with 21" Well Based wheels the 7.00 x 21 Michelin D.R gives the best ride and looks possible. These tyres should also be combined with our 880X120 heavy-duty innertube.
Silver Ghost Tyre Pressures
895x135 Beaded Edge Tyres - 80-90 psi
33x5 Straight Sided Tyres - 65-70 psi
700x21 Well Based Wheels - 40-45 psi
Silver Ghost Tyres
For early Silver Ghosts we recommend 895X135 Ensign Chevron beaded edge tyres inflated to between 80 - 90 psi. For Ghosts on 23" straight-sided rims, the new Lucas 33X5 is extremely good value and 33X5 tyres should be inflated to a minimum of 65 psi. Also with the 33X5 Lucas; we are increasingly getting reports of how much better the car handles and rides on the period ribbed tread pattern of the Lucas, compared to the more blocky tread patterns of the alternatives, which are also of course dramatically noisier. For later cars on 21" wheels, we recommend the 700X21 Michelin DR, as the grip is exceptional for a cross-ply tyre and they give the most comfortable ride.
Silver ghosts were originally fitted with 895X135 beaded-edge tyres. Unfortunately, beaded-edge tyre technology is very outdated. When these cars were built the majority of road surfaces were loose; tyres didn't suffer the side-forces to the extent they are having to today on modern, tarmac road surfaces. Nevertheless, beaded edge tyre failure was very much an issue in period as it is today, as beaded-edge tyres regularly just went 'bang' and came off the rim damaging what was an expensive tyre but hopefully nothing more!
In the early '20s Rolls-Royce started to look to the new wired-on tyre technology, fitting 23" straight-sided wheels with 33X5 tyres. This is the more sensible tyre fitment for these cars. (Though we appreciate that in having pre-war cars being sensible is clearly not the most important thing to us!)
Rolls Royce Silver Ghost owners appreciate the smoother more quite ride of the Lucas 33X5 tyre when fitted with straight sided wheels.
It is fair to say that the majority of silver Ghosts were fitted with beaded edge tyres and it is a shame to change them from the original specification. Longstone would suggest that the ideal would be to have two sets of wheels; a set of beaded edge wheels to make the car look just the way it should with tall spindly wheels and a set of straight-sided wheels for driving on. Although they look a little heavier they are much more reliable. This may seem like an expensive solution, but at Longstone Tyres, we recommend what we know to be the best tyre options for your vintage car, while leaving the customers, to look after their own wallets.