Wallwork Drives Cintura

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Johnny Wallwork runs a large garage in Manchester where he specialises in preparing cars for racing at OuIton Park, Silverstone and Aintree. And he has himself had eight years’ successful experience in international rallies. We asked him to test the Cintura and he did so in typically tough and thorough fashion. Here are some key passages from a long tape-recorded interview with him after the test.

THE TEST “I drove on Cinturas in the recent Dutch International Tulip Rally — 2,500 miles that included racing at Nurburgring and Francorchamps Spa as well as mountain work in the Hautes Maritimes, Haute Savoie and the Massif Central. We had some appalling weather conditions including torrential rain at Spa.”

“Incidentally, I also drove on Cinturas in the 1961 R.A.C. International Rally which included racing at Charterhall, Oulton Park and Brands Hatch. And I noticed that whereas the other competitors had to change their tyres to cater for the varying conditions, my Cinturas allowed me to do all types of driving under all weather conditions.”

HIGH SPEED “At high speed you notice the absolute stability and quietness of the tyre. Then the fact that its belt construction and its remarkable tread give you the kind of adhesion which is essential for high performance motoring. After all, there is no point in having another 20 b.h.p. out of your engine or reducing the weight by 3 cwt. if you can’t transmit that improved power-to-weight ratio to the road. With Cinturas, you can!”

TYRE HEATING “Yes, tyre heating is a serious problem. It is certainly one of the reasons for wheel-wobble and a lot of other steering defects. And it can result in the tread leaving the casing. Now you just don’t experience these troubles with the Cintura. You see, the Cintura in action is rather like the caterpillar track of a tank: virtually the casing is laid down and the wheel runs over it, instead of the wheel spinning the rubber round on the road and creating friction and heat. And for the same reason, incidentally, you get at least 25% more wear from Cinturas — or so I’ve found.”

ROAD-HOLDING “It’s just unbelievable the difference Cinturas make to roadholding and steering. It’s interesting to know that Volvo called in Pirelli as tyre and wheel consultants for their P.1800 coupe, and it has proved to be the finest road-holding car I’ve ever driven. I attribute a lot of it to the Cinturas. My general experience, too, is that Cinturas give you safe cornering at speeds quite 20% higher than on any other tyre I’ve used in the past.”

SUMMARY “I use Cinturas on my Alfa-Romeo 1900 Super which is my personal family car, as well as on the Volvo P.1800. And I’d use them on whatever car I had. They cater for all kinds of weather, all kinds of conditions: fast motoring, slow motoring, country, M1, town driving, wet or dry. They never vary. Cinturas give you a wonderful feeling of stability and confidence. And in competition work you can drive on the limit without hesitating, knowing that Cinturas will never break away suddenly or let you down.”

THE TYRE The basic fact about the Cintura is that it has an inextensible textile belt which runs right round the circumference of the tyre under the tread. This ‘safety belt ‘ holds the tyre profile virtually unchanged under all conditions. As Johnny Wallwork put it: “The very structure of the tyre reduces friction to a minimum and gives you tremendous advantages over the ordinary tyre. Rolling resistance is less, heat build-up is less, tyre wear is less. Apart from that, the tread construction is marvellous — perfect for every kind of road. The tread and the belt, it’s those two features which make the Cintura, in my opinion, the best tyre in the world today.”

On another page you will find a list of the cars for which Cinturas are available. Is your car on the list? Then send now for your copy of the Cintura book.