[Video] The Differential - How it works

[Unphased]

What is a differential?
A differential is a casing of gears that transfer power to the wheels. Rear-Wheel-Drive (RWD) has a differential at the rear, Front-Wheel-Drive (FWD) has a differential at the front and 4-Wheel-Drive (AWD or 4X4) has one at the front and rear, however they are mainly a different type of differential called Limited Slip (LSD). Now the reason these are necessary to a vehicle is so that when a car turns, for example right, the outer wheel (left wheel in this case) will cover more area than the inner (right) wheel and vice versa. If the differential wasn't there and was replaced with a solid axle, the inner wheel would spin and skip to keep up with the distance the outer wheel has covered. This is how differential gears came about.

Open differentials
The open differential has absolutely 0% lock. This means that one wheel may spin freely while the other doesn't. These are the most common type of differential and are added to almost every vehicle you see on the roads today.

Limited Slip differentials
Limited Slip differentials can be quite confusing when explained in text form but I'll try my best. Unlike the open diff, LSD have an extra gear in the casing so that when a certain percentage of power is put down, the differential locks together so that both wheels spin at a similar rate. These can be found in most sports cars and off-road vehicles such as Land Rover and JEEP and are used to get better traction during acceleration as an open diff would just spin one wheel.

Welded differentials
Now this may not be a 'type' of differential, however they are very common in drift cars so I feel I need to explain what these are for. Basically, a welded diff is an open diff but with certain gears welded together with a metal plate in order for the diff to output 100% lock to both wheels. This means both wheels turn at the exact same rate, pretty much like a solid axle as I explained earlier. So when you turn with a welded diff, the inner wheel will skip to catch up with the outer wheel. These have been proven to be the cheapest and most effective modification for a drift car, not so much for any other type of vehicle.

If you've read up to now then congratulations you nerd. If you didn't then watch this video to fully understand how they work.

Skip to 1:15


It's funny how a video from 1937 is so simply educating than the videos we see today.

Enjoy.

 

[Justice For All]

Wait, so that's how the wheels rotate evenly? I did not know it was due to a differential I thought the driveshaft was just connected to gears that connected to both wheels. You learn something new everyday! Great thread and very interesting read indeed, thank you!

 

[Unphased]

Blew a few diffs and snapped a few driveshafts in my time of skidding. Mainly snapping the welds. But yeah. Rwd for example is output shaft - prop shaft - differential - driveshafts - wheels. Before the time of the differential cars were one wheel drive but struggled on certain ground as the video says.

 

[Justice For All]

Blew a few diffs and snapped a few driveshafts in my time of skidding. Mainly snapping the welds. But yeah. Rwd for example is output shaft - prop shaft - differential - driveshafts - wheels. Before the time of the differential cars were one wheel drive but struggled on certain ground as the video says.

Well lucky you that musta been fun as all get out!

I can't drive, I have seizures ;(

 

[Unphased]

That's really unfortunate man. Cars are a passion to me. Other than urban exploration it's one of my biggest hobbies. However life has been beating me up lately so I currently have no car. I miss the skid days though.

 

[Justice For All]

That's really unfortunate man. Cars are a passion to me. Other than urban exploration it's one of my biggest hobbies. However life has been beating me up lately so I currently have no car. I miss the skid days though.

Cars, fighter jets and aerospace vehicles! My dad was a mechanic so I've been around cars all my life (muscle cars are my favorite; '69 Hemi Cuda would be my dream car!) but I never really learned about them. They're pretty much like computers to an extent though, right - as in they can be reverse engineered?

I'm really sorry to hear that though I can't imagine how that would feel... Having a passion taken away from you like that. You know my inbox is always open if you want to just shoot the poop sometime about whatever.

 

[SKNeoDio]

That's really unfortunate man. Cars are a passion to me. Other than urban exploration it's one of my biggest hobbies. However life has been beating me up lately so I currently have no car. I miss the skid days though.

Hope for better days, I remember being 18 and seeing all my friends getting their driver's license and some kind of vehicle, while I've only got my license at 19 and my first car at 20.

as in they can be reverse engineered?

If you can dismantle it, you can probably learn how it works.


Anyway, I've never gotten myself into mechanics, but I do love 4X4 vehicles, every now and then I do some off-road just for fun, either with a friend's quad-bike/ATV or with my old school last century jeep.

One thing I dislike are these new auto gearboxes, there's nothing like feeling the roar of an engine, taking it redline, shifting into an upper gear and feeling the engine developing while speed increases and adrenaline rushes...Feels like therapy. (lol)