
A certain amount of tension would build up when cornering because the outside wheel tries to rotate quicker that the inside wheel. If your car didn’t have differentials, the wheels would have to be locked together, forced to spin at the same speed. This basic setup is referred to as an open differential. The differential sends power to the outer wheel with less resistance allowing it to rotate faster, so that it can complete the turn in the same time as the inner wheel, allowing the car to perform sharper turns and improve handling. The resistance for the outside wheel will also be lower. Because of the different length of the paths, the wheels have to have the ability to travel at different speeds, as the speed of the outside wheel needs to be greater than that of the inside wheel (it has to travel a greater distance in the same time). The outside wheel has to go further than the inside wheel.

When a vehicle corners, the distance each wheel has to travel is different. But when the car makes a turn, the spider gear rotates on its axis and the side gears can move at different speeds, allowing the wheels in turn to rotate at different speeds. When the car is going straight, the drive gear turns the ring gear and the spider and side gears move as one solid unit, without turning themselves. These two side gears are joined to the axle shafts connected to the wheels.
Wrc 8 differential open loked free#
The spider gear is free to rotate on its own axis, but all three of these gears rotate with the ring gear. This ring gear contains within it a spider gear and two side gears. What we call a differential is an assembly made up of a drive shaft with a pinion gear on the end of it which interlocks with a ring gear. Wheels on drive axles, however, need to be joined, so differentials are what allow wheels that are joined together on one axis to turn at different speeds. For a vehicle that is rear wheel drive, this wouldn’t be a problem for the front axle these wheels can already turn independent from one another.

This is vital for handling and taking corners on high-traction surfaces (such as normal tarmac roads). Differentials: The basicsīefore we go into what a locking differential is and answer the question of when would you use a diff lock, it is important that we understand what differentials are in the first place.Ī differential is a gear train that allows the engine torque to be split two ways, allowing each wheel on an axle to spin at a different speed.
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A diff lock can get your car moving again when caught in tricky, off-road situations and knowing how to use differential locking and what it does is going to enable you to traverse difficult terrains with ease and get more from your off-road vehicle.

It is precisely this situation that differential locks are designed to deal with. Losing traction on a slippery surface can be a nightmare and a really tricky situation to deal with. Whether it is on a gravel trail or icy road, muddy path or rocky terrain, as motorists we all dread the moment where we stop moving, when one wheel seems to be spinning like mad, but we still aren’t going anywhere.
