Rolls Royce Silver Wraith Tyres
1948 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith
Rolls Royce Silver Wraith 1946–1958
- From 1946 to 1953 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith fitted 6.50x17 tyres.
- We’d suggest the 6.50/7.00 x 17 Michelin D.R as it gives excellent comfort and Grip.
- Our suggested 6.50x17 alternative is 6.00/6.50 x 17 Ensign F4 as it looks like a period Dunlop.
- The Silver Wraith fitted tube-type wheels that require innertubes. The correct tube for a tyre of this size is the Michelin 17/18H innertube.
- From 1954 onwards Rolls Royce fitted 7.50x16 tyres to the Silver Wraith.
- We’d suggest the best tyre currently available in this size is the 7.50 x 16 Firestone.
- The ideal tube for the Silver Wraith 16” tyres is the Michelin 16F innertube.
- This 1940’s and 1950s Silver wraith should not be confused with the later Rolls Royce Silver Wraith 2 of the late 1970s which was effectively a long-wheelbase Silver Shadow.
History of the Rolls Royce Silver Wraith
The Silver Wraith was the first Rolls-Royce vehicle made following the war, produced at the Crewe plant from 1946 through 1959. The earliest cars used a 127-inch wheelbase chassis based on the pre-war Wraith, with coil-sprung independent front suspension and a semi-elliptic rear suspension with a live axle. The engine was likewise based on the Wraith, but it featured an updated cylinder head with overhead inlet and side exhaust valves with a size of 4257 cc at the time. On extended-wheelbase versions, this was raised to 4566 cc in 1951 and to 4887 cc in 1954. The braking system was a dual hydromechanical system with hydraulic front brakes and mechanical rears that used the mechanical servo from pre-war cars, which was developed by Hispano-Suiza and constructed under licence by Rolls-Royce.
The 133-inch wheelbase chassis was unveiled in 1951, and 639 were produced until 1959. The final short-wheelbase automobiles were produced in 1953. Initially, just a four-speed manual transmission was available, but in 1952, a General Motors automatic transmission was added. This was the final Rolls-Royce model to be outfitted with a wide range of bespoke coachwork developed and built by a rapidly dwindling number of professional coachbuilders.