What is a differential simply put a differential is a system that transmits an engine's torque to the wheels the differential takes the power from the engine and splits it allowing the wheels to spin at different speeds during cornering but at the same time it gives equal torque to each wheel when both wheels have the same traction a system of gears in the differential arrange in such a way that it connects the propeller shaft to the rear axle at the point you might be asking why would each will spin at different speeds from each other so that's what we can discuss in today's video the differential is found on all modern cars and trucks and also on many all-wheel drive full-time vehicles in 1827 the first conventional automobile differential was invented by a french watchmaker onesephor pecker and it was used in steam-powered vehicles in 1932 porsche used the first limited slip differential but why differential is needed in a vehicle when the vehicle is turning the differential allows the outer wheel to rotate faster than the inner wheel this is essential when the vehicle turns causing the wheel to move outside the turning curve to roll further and faster than the other the differential allows the wheels to rotate at different speeds so the car can corner without putting excessive wear on the tires if the axle does not allow the wheels to turn independently of each other the tire of one veal will be pulled across the ground now let's find out what are the different parts are used in a differential differential side gears or sun gears planted gears or spider gears ring gear or crown wheel drive shaft bevel pinion an axle or half shafts let me give you the overview of these parts in detail ring gear will transmit the power to the planet pinions sun gears and finally to the half shafts so that power will be used to drive the wheels two planet pinions or sometimes four planet pinions are placed opposite to each other and are meshed with the sun gears to transmit the power to the rear wheels by half shafts the power from the gearbox is transmitted to the propeller shaft or drive shaft and thereby it will send to bevel pinion the function of bevel pinion is to transmit the power from the propeller shaft to drive the ring gear there is not a single shaft which is connecting two rear wheels but two half shafts are used to connect two rear wheels in the automobile and the crown veal is free to rotate on the half shaft these half shafts are splined to each of the sun gears two sun gears are employed for the working of differential which are opposite to each other and these sun gears are connected to the half shafts to drive the power how differential works the power from the engine is transferred to the ring gear through a pinion gear the ring gear is connected to a spider gear which is at the heart of the differential system the spider gear is free to rotate in two different ways one along with the ring gear and two on its own axis the spider gear meshes with two side gears so power from the engine flows from the pinion to the left and right wheels let's consider some cases when the vehicle is moving in straight direction then the speed of rear wheels is same in the sense both will rotate at the same speed in this case the sun gears spider gears and the ring gear will act as a single unit and the two half shafts will revolve at the same speed in this situation when all the parts of the differential act as a single unit there is no relative motion among them and that's the reason all the rear wheels move with the same speed the vehicle is taking a turn spider gear plays an important role here along with the rotation of the ring gear it rotates on its own axis so the spider gear is having a combined rotation when the vehicle is taking the right turn then the distance traveled by the left wheel is greater than the distance traveled by the right wheel and the speed of left wheel is greater than the speed of right wheel the turning of one sun gear will cause the other sun gear to rotate in the opposite direction which means if left sun gear rotates in a particular period of time then the right sun gear will also rotate in the same period but of course in the opposite direction the torque from the final drive is divided between two half shafts and the spider gears are connected by means of cross pin which are free to rotate about it and does not change the torque among the wheels therefore the spider gear act as a balance and divide the torque equally between the two wheels on the axle even when their speeds are different in this way the torque is transmitted when the vehicle is taking the turns now let's take a look at the different types of differentials and how they work the different types of differentials are open differential limited slip differential locking differential torque vectoring differential torsion differential and welded differential now let's take a look at how these differentials works starting with open differential these types of differentials are the most essential and only allow individual veal speed or slip to be changed in good road conditions this allows the outer wheel to spin at a faster speed than the inner wheel the problem occurs when road conditions are not good such as on wet snow ice or sand using an open differential in your car engine torque is transferred even though the wheel has zero traction so that the sliding tire can spin freely this type of differential is often found in family sedans and economy cars if one tire loses traction the other will lose power to maintain traction open differential allows for different deal speeds on the same axle which means there will be no veal slip when going around a corner as the outer tire will travel further from an efficiency point of view there will be less energy loss through open differential compared to other types when traction is reduced in one wheel it substantially limits the amount of power produced by the vehicle if one veal cannot dissipate as much power the other veal receive an equally small amount of torque a limited slip differential works similarly to an open differential they transfer torque to each veal independently under good road conditions an open differential can cause the tire to slip under hard cornering or heavy acceleration but a limited slip differential prevents the amount of torque from passing into the sliding tire the one with the least resistance this is done by the use of clutches and plates within the differential this allows the vehicle to power through corners whereas a vehicle with an open differential cannot race cars off-road vehicles and other performance vehicles use a limited slip differential limited slip differential allows for different wheel speeds on one axle thus reducing tire wear compared to a locked differential it also allows the veal to send torque with more traction it offers a very smooth operation doesn't have the low speed clunkiness typically associated with other limited slip differential types that navigate a tight area it cannot lock completely because the system requires a speed difference between the two sides to transfer torque when it is being used too often the effective limited slip differential will be reduced these types of differential use a clutch and springs to actuate the lock which sends the same amount of power to each veal no matter the traction condition it essentially forms a solid axle locking differential has the ability to achieve a greater amount of traction because the full amount of torque is always available to one veal and is not limited by the lower traction of a single wheel at higher speeds this is a drawback but when off-roading or rock climbing it is a huge advantage these type of differentials are found on many off-road vehicles and some performance cars this can provide torque to move up to the wheel with more traction in various designs this will allow most of the torque to reach the ground at any given surface condition it is simple and very effective and it also provides a solution for drifting situations where it is desirable to keep the wheel speed constant on the axle one drawback of the locking differential is that it would not allow for a difference in wheel speed between the right and left wheels that means additional tire wear as well as tying up within the drivetrain as a result this type of differential uses a set of sensors and electronics to receive data from various matters road surface throttle position steering system etc to activate an electronically actuated clutch and a controller it is also known as an active differential they operate in the most efficient manner resulting in a truly dynamic high performance driving experience a tort vectoring difference is found in high performance rear wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles full-time four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive have three differentials one in front axle second in rear axle and third differential is in the middle of drivetrain which allows the wheels to turn at the different speeds this differential allows the outer wheel to send more torque as it gets closer to the turn it enables complete control by the designer the system can choose under what conditions the vehicle will send more torque to any one veal rather than being reactive it can send up to one hundred percent of the potential torque to a wheel though it does not have any drawbacks it hits two things which are cost and complexity the torsion means torque sensing these are types of limited slip differential that use some accelerated gearing to produce an impact without using a clutch or fluid resistance this can be achieved by adding a collection of worm gears to a conventional gear setup of the open differential these worm gears working on each axle provide the necessary resistance to enable torque transfer this is achieved by having the worm gears in a continuous mesh with each other through connected spur gears the continuous mesh between the two sides of the differential has the advantage of delivering quick torque making it sensitive to changing road and driving conditions as soon as there is a speed difference between them it starts sending more torque to the slower wheel also it reacts far more quickly than limited slip differential these systems do not require regular maintenance because differential action is dependent on friction throughout the gear when a wheel is in the air a torso differential works similar to an open differential and very little torque is transferred to the drive axle this is perfectly acceptable for road use but it can be an issue for more purpose-built vehicles on the track this is a type of locked differential and is known as a spool differential it is welded permanently to a fixed axis by an open gap this is usually done in specific situations where the features of lock differential make it easier for both wheels to spin simultaneously this is generally not recommended because the heat from welding can hazard the component strength and increase the risk of part failure so what do you think about these different types of differentials which one is the best what are your thoughts