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 How a differential works

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91foxbody
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PostSubject: How a differential works   How a differential works I_icon_minitimeWed Sep 21, 2011 12:27 pm

I thought a differential did it's job by using magic until I built one my sophomore year of engineering. here is a model of a differential using legos pretty much

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D-Rod
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PostSubject: Re: How a differential works   How a differential works I_icon_minitimeWed Sep 21, 2011 5:24 pm

Your not getting off that easy!!! More detail. How does a limited slip actally work? What allows it to transfer the power from one side to the other from a mechanical standpoint?
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91foxbody
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PostSubject: Re: How a differential works   How a differential works I_icon_minitimeWed Sep 21, 2011 6:30 pm

To answer that last question. the whole reason the differential works is the "spider gears". You have power coming into the case via the drive shaft which is connected to the pinion gear.
How a differential works Piniongear

as this turns, it rotates the ring gear (the one on the left that looks like a ring)
How a differential works Ringgear

And this is where you get your Gear Ratio in the differential. take a 3:73 for example. as the pinion gear turns 3 times (so thats 3 turns of the driveshaft) your wheels will turn 3/4th of a rotation. .73~75%=3/4 of 100th of a rotation.

They mesh like this
How a differential works Meshgear

Now. The Ring Gear is connected to the center unit. For now lets talk about an "Open Differential" An Open Diff is a differential that does not have (Limited slip, Posi track, locker etc) This means if the car is up on jacks and the engine is running with the drive wheels off the ground and the car is in Drive. You will be able to hold one wheel to keep it from turning, and as a consequence, the other wheel will turn at twice the linear speed that it would if both wheels were turning freely, this feature allows one wheel to spin "faster" than the other when the car is going around a turn.

The magic piece that makes it all work, THE SPIDER GEARS!
These little guys are incredible pretty much. there are a total of 4 spider gears in the normal open differential. The center unit of the Differential is where it all takes place
In this pic you can see where the spider gears are in the center of the picture, within where the ring gear is mounted.
How a differential works Spidergear
The spider gears on the left and right sides are connected to the car's axles and stay parallel to the road. the top and bottom spider gears are pretty much stationary gears on the unit. if you see the bar that connects the top and bottom spider gears, it rotates at the same velocity as the ring gear, so the top and bottom gears are spinning or tumbling over and over with the ring gear.

When the wheels are spinning at the same rate, then the two top and bottom spider gears do not turn on their bearings they apply pressure to both of the left and right spider gears to put power to both wheels. when one wheel begins moving faster than the other, like when driving around a turn, the top and bottom spider gears with rotate on their bearings and the power supplied to slower wheel is cut down by a percentage, depending on how much faster the other wheel is turning or basically how sharp the turn is.

I hope this is enough for now, I will dig up more information and pictures for Limited slip, Locker etc differentials soon.
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D-Rod
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PostSubject: Re: How a differential works   How a differential works I_icon_minitimeWed Sep 21, 2011 6:38 pm

Great info!! Cant wait to hear more. Thanks.
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Blacked Out
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PostSubject: Re: How a differential works   How a differential works I_icon_minitimeWed Sep 21, 2011 6:51 pm

Great information.
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PostSubject: Re: How a differential works   How a differential works I_icon_minitime

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