Do you know ...?
In the master cylinder, the pressure you apply to the brake pedal is converted into very high pressures — higher, in some instances, than the working pressure of the Queen Mary’s mighty boilers! Piston seals must be made of a special rubber compound for flexibility and strength.
Though braking energy can raise the temperature of brake fluid to nearly twice the boiling-point of water, the fluid must remain stable and not boil. Only a special formula can withstand such heat — and not ‘break down’ chemically under constant extreme heating and cooling.
Flexible hose must be used to link main hydraulic line with twisting, bouncing wheels. While being twisted and shaken, hose has to withstand great internal pressures and heat. In addition, hose must undergo constant peppering of sharp stones and grit travelling at speed of rifle bullets.
As shoes make contact with speeding drums, tremendous heat is generated. Under certain conditions, particularly in testing, the linings and drums will glow red-hot. Few materials could long survive this treatment but Lockheed brakes ‘take it for granted’ — up to hundreds of times in a normal day’s driving.
So much care is taken..
To make today’s brakes the safest in history
Modern brakes are tough. They have to be. Even under the incredible punishment they take, they wear so slowly and gradually that you scarcely notice it. Tremendous care is taken to make your brakes safe and sound. Testing never stops, to make absolutely sure that every part of the Lockheed brake system has a margin of safety on its exacting job.
On road tests cars are pushed to the limit on the most hair-raising roads in Europe. One test run is the Grossglocknerstrasse in the Austrian Alps with eight miles of steep gradients where brakes are needed on 20 hairpin turns and 79 bends.
Lab tests are devised to see how much punishment each individual component can take. Here, brake shoes are tested on an Inertia Dynamometer, which can produce braking conditions even tougher than those encountered on road tests.
Because brakes today need so little attention, many owners forget they need any at all. It’s easy to keep your brakes at peak performance .. . and in today’s driving conditions, it’s vitally necessary. Your garage-man can quickly tell you if brakes need attention. And, with new servicing developments, brake maintenance is now easy, cheap and quick.
So little care is needed…
To keep your brakes save but only you can do it