We explain in detail the brake system used by tuned Mercedes-Benz vehicles
Having the right amount of braking power is important with all vehicles. Your vehicle brake system can and will save you life on the road. For high performance sports cars, the braking system must be designed to take the immense power delivery to stop in the shortest distance possible. The shorter the stopping distance the better and this is why many car owners upgrade their brake system if they are fast drivers.
For car manufacturers, they want their customers to be safe and this is why they invest in very good brake systems. Here below is what Mercedes-Benz provides for its supercars.
AMG® is short for Aufecht, Melcher, and Großaspach, the division of Mercedes-Benz that produces performance vehicles. Named after some of the most important engineers in the company’s history, this division creates vehicles with advanced engines, aerodynamic bodies, and high-speed capabilities. Most of the vehicles it produces are similar to standard Mercedes-Benz models, but have higher capabilities.
Based on the ADAPTIVE BRAKE system, the AMG high-performance braking system continues to set the benchmark for stopping power, sensitivity and fade resistance. The front axle features a double floating brake calliper; this technology combines the advantages of a sliding-calliper disc brake, to reduced heat transfer to the brake fluid and clear advantages in terms of comfort thanks to the brake lining guide mechanism with the efficiency of an extra large fixed calliper brake. At the rear, braking is handled by a large sliding frame-type calliper. Internally ventilated, perforated composite brake discs at the front and rear with a diameter of 390 and 365 millimetres respectively ensure the shortest stopping distances, remarkable resistance to fading and outstanding sensitivity.
The hydraulic dual-circuit braking system is controlled electronically, permitting the inclusion of numerous driver assistance functions that improve safety and comfort such as “priming” the braking system in critical situations: if the driver suddenly switches from the accelerator to the brake pedal before emergency braking, ADAPTIVE BRAKE increases the pressure in the brake lines and applies the pads to the brake discs, so that they can grip instantly with full force when the brake pedal is pressed. In wet weather, the system injects regular, short brake impulses to ensure that the film of water on the brake discs is wiped off and the brakes can work as effectively as possible.
This automatic brake-drying function is always activated when the windscreen wipers on the S-Class have been in operation for a certain time; the driver does not notice the finely metered braking impulses.
After the S-Class has been braked to a standstill, briefly pressing the brake pedal a little further is all that is required to activate the HOLD function. The car is then held by the brakes, even if the driver’s foot comes off the brake pedal. In this way ADAPTIVE BRAKE prevents the car from rolling forward inadvertently when stopped at traffic lights or stuck in stop-and-go traffic, and from rolling back when facing a slope. The HOLD function is deactivated automatically when the car moves off.
The AMG high-performance braking system rises to the exacting requirements associated with consummate driving dynamics. The front wheels are equipped with internally ventilated, perforated 360 x 36-millimetre composite disc brakes with six-piston aluminium fixed callipers, while deceleration at the rear comes courtesy of internally ventilated, perforated 330 x 26-millimetre brake discs with four-piston fixed callipers. The result is very short stopping distances, outstanding sensitivity and remarkable resistance to fading. The brake callipers are silver-painted and bear AMG lettering.
