Good stuff.

I get a kick out of the part where they mention how a drive shaft above the floor would be uncomfortable, when cars today all have that little bump in the floor for it.

Viral marketing for Chevrolet.

>> ^Zyrxil:
I get a kick out of the part where they mention how a drive shaft above the floor would be uncomfortable, when cars today all have that little bump in the floor for it.


Actually the bump on the floor would be much higher without the off-center driveshaft connection. But in any case, very good explanation of the subject. How come a lot of these old footage manage to explain things better than all the 3d-animation you see today? Is it because these old ones explain them through simplifications as the modern equivalents have gorgeus animations that are simply too complex to grasp..

GREAT video! I loved the end... I started singing in my head "Ghost ride the whip while you're dancin on the..." wheels?

*findthumb

A different thumbnail image for this video could not be found for findthumb request by lucky760.

I feel sad I immediately recognize both the video and the voice from a Jam Handy production.

Wow that's great. It took a while for me to get my head around this concept just reading about it and looking at diagrams, but even that was actually better than the 3D animations I tried to follow. This sort of thing seems to happen a lot in scientific academics. They say the difference between a genius and a charlatan is that a genius takes something complicated and makes it seem simple and a charlatan takes something simple and makes it seem complicated.

Now, I'd like to see one that's similarly explained but for a limited slip differential, because that I still understand very well.

Tinkertoys!

Hehe. He said shaft.

Excellent explanation. Makes it clear why the old Eighty-Eight we had left one tread mark when it peeled out. (And highlighting the need for a limited-slip differential. I'm with Aero up there, I'm curious how those work.)

Not to mention a high speed spinning shaft in the passenger compartment being insanely dangerous !

That's fantastic, great stuff.

>> ^deathcow:
Not to mention a high speed spinning shaft in the passenger compartment being insanely dangerous !


Or USEFUL.

It all depends on how devious you are.

>> ^deathcow:
Not to mention a high speed spinning shaft in the passenger compartment being insanely dangerous !


You say that like it's a bad thing...

Only way this could be better would be having Troy McClure narrating.

>> ^AeroMechanical:
Now, I'd like to see one that's similarly explained but for a limited slip differential, because that I still understand very well.


That would be a great video, but the principle is simple, if you understand the basic differential. The main idea is that the two half shafts (the left and right half of the rear axle) are connected to each other with, for example, a clutch pack. This clutch allows some differences in speed between the two shafts, but begins grabbing when the difference in speed is too large. Hence the inside wheel doesn't skid while turning but the power is never going to just one wheel.

Hmm, I wonder if you could get a working system by taking a solid rear axle, taking a bit out of the middle, replacing that missing bit with a clutch pack and then just powering one of the wheels... It should work like a one-wheel-drive car until the slip is too big and the clutch grabs. Sure, it wouldn't be great, but easy and cheap to build.

great video!

I learned how differential gears worked when I was a kid and took apart an RC truck. I learned a lot when I was a kid by taking things apart.

I like how they tout the absent spinning driveshaft as an advantage. It's kind of like "Plus your gasoline will no longer be in an open topped basin in the back seat!"

THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST

Wonderful explanation and use of models. I'm not really into cars at all so I didn't know what a differential was.

I think we know how tv would explain this today. You'd have an idiot presenter shove in your face with a clumsy script involving some sort of narrative that is entirely superfluous.

I love how he speaks.


"HERE WE SEE THE HWEEEL! IT CARRIES THE POWAAH FROM THE ENGINES!

Love it. ^ Also love the way he speaks. I swear if I were back in ninth grade I would take as much auto shop as possible.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'mechanics, tutorial, 1930s, torque, rotation, wheels, car, gear' to 'mechanics, tutorial, 1930s, torque, rotation, wheels, car, gear, old timey' - edited by calvados

This is fantastic, I now am really able to grock the workings of a standard differential. Now, will someone please tackle the locking differential for me!

nerdy magic!

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

*promote this gem - we were thinking about how differentials work today - and I came straight to this video. So nicely explained.

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 11:58pm PDT - promote requested by dag.

SPOKES ! SPOKES ! MY KINGDOM FOR MORE SPOKES !

*promote

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 2:08pm PDT - promote requested by KnivesOut.

*length=9:31

The duration of this video has been updated from unknown to 9:31 - length declared by bareboards2.

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How the gears in a car transmission work has been added as a related post - related requested by NicoleBee on that post.

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