The 300SL had the same area, self cooled, turbo drum brakes as on the 300S Mercedes. A brake booster was used to reduce the pedal force. The brake booster works by using the negative pressure in the intake manifold. Brake shoes were wide. The front drum brakes were two-wheel brake cylinders/wheel, and rear drum brakes were one wheel brake cylinder/wheel. The handbrake was a mechanical parking brake that acts on the rear wheels. The Roadster had the same drum brakes until March 1961 when Ø disc brakes were introduced front and rear.