Mercedes-Benz 300SLR, #19, 24h Le Mans 1955

Mercedes-Benz 300SLR, #19 Juan Manuel Fangio, 24h Le Mans 1955

Minichamps 432553000

 

Air brake 300 SLR

In 1952 the tests in Le Mans Mercedes experimented with an air brake, which rose from the rear of the roof. However in the race he would not use. The idea was embodied only in 1955 a Mercedes 300 SLR for Le Mans in the form of flap the full width behind the open cockpit. Harry Mundy, an experienced technical editor of the Autocar, subsequently, worked with Lotus and later with Coventry Climax over the design of the engines, has developed the air brake, which was used only a few races on the 300SLR. At that time Mercedes did not use disc brakes and had problems from sudden overheating at high speeds, drum brakes were stuck and broke. The air brake was designed to put out maximum speed and reduce the load conventional brakes. The principle of operation consisted in raising the upper lid together with the headrest in the back. It was fixed on hinges at two points and is operated by two hydraulic cylinders driven oil pump of the engine. The rate of rise that occurred two to three seconds, varied in proportion to the increase in workspace. The system was controlled by a lever on the instrument panel, which powered the two-position distributor. When cars first appeared on the technical inspection, the shift lever was provided with a mechanism for automatically closing flap on the second gear. The pilots did not have time to try it and decided to dismantle, preferring to manage manually. With an area of approximately 0.6 m2 air brake at maximum speed was supposed to give a deceleration of 0.3 and 0.2 g, and increased stability in cornering. Very sorry, but it is not known did it have an impact on braking performance. The novelty soon banned because of problems with the review.


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