on video Understanding the Limited Slip Differential

WHAT IS A LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL AND OPEN DIFFERENTIAL FOR?

On a 2×2 car, the two drive wheels never achieve quite the same effort when driving. The trajectory followed, the position of the wheels and the characteristics of each of them, such as tire wear or their pressure, influence the behavior of each wheel.

When cornering, for example, the wheel on the outside travels a longer distance than the one on the inside and its grip is reduced.

It is to compensate for these disparities that production cars such as sports vehicles are equipped with differentials. These make it possible to redistribute the driving power according to the situation of the car and to ensure better road holding. Vehicles without a differential have poor handling and a tendency to pull straight through corners.

Today, there are several types of differentials, each with its own particularities that meet specific needs, for the road or for sport.

THE ROLE OF THE “OPEN” DIFFERENTIAL: FREE DISTRIBUTION OF TORQUE

Rarely put in extreme situations, production cars rely on so-called “open” differentials which manage to easily distribute the torque between the two driving wheels. When cornering, this allows your outer wheel to turn more quickly and therefore to cover a distance that is nevertheless greater in the same time as that of the inner wheel.

This type of differential is called "open" because it has no limit and can transmit 100% of the torque to the wheel with the least grip, the one that is the easiest to turn. This is its main limitation. If you take a car with one of the two driving wheels in a vacuum, 100% of the torque will be transmitted to the wheel located in a vacuum, although it is useless.

It is therefore recommended to turn to another type of differential if your vehicle is faced with situations where the grip is very different between the two drive wheels or if you often resort to aggressive acceleration phases.

THE ROLE OF THE LIMITED-SLIP DIFFERENTIAL: INTELLIGENT TORQUE DISTRIBUTION

Unlike so-called “open” differentials, limited-slip differentials manage to differentiate the rotational speed of the drive wheels while limiting their gap. This has the effect of avoiding the undesirable effects of so-called “open” differentials where all the torque can be redirected to one wheel without gripping.

By redistributing drive power to the wheel with the best grip on the ground, the limited-slip differential improves vehicle grip and limits the effects of understeer (for front-drive vehicles) or oversteer (for rear-drive vehicles). ).

In competition, limited-slip differentials allow you to approach corners with more speed and therefore save almost a second per kilometer travelled.

 

WHAT IS A LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL AND OPEN DIFFERENTIAL FOR?

On a 2×2 car, the two drive wheels never achieve quite the same effort when driving. The trajectory followed, the position of the wheels and the characteristics of each of them, such as tire wear or their pressure, influence the behavior of each wheel.

When cornering, for example, the wheel on the outside travels a longer distance than the one on the inside and its grip is reduced.

It is to compensate for these disparities that production cars such as sports vehicles are equipped with differentials. These make it possible to redistribute the driving power according to the situation of the car and to ensure better road holding. Vehicles without a differential have poor handling and a tendency to pull straight through corners.

Today, there are several types of differentials, each with its own particularities that meet specific needs, for the road or for sport.

THE ROLE OF THE “OPEN” DIFFERENTIAL: FREE DISTRIBUTION OF TORQUE

Rarely put in extreme situations, production cars rely on so-called “open” differentials which manage to easily distribute the torque between the two driving wheels. When cornering, this allows your outer wheel to turn more quickly and therefore to cover a distance that is nevertheless greater in the same time as that of the inner wheel.

This type of differential is called "open" because it has no limit and can transmit 100% of the torque to the wheel with the least grip, the one that is the easiest to turn. This is its main limitation. If you take a car with one of the two driving wheels in a vacuum, 100% of the torque will be transmitted to the wheel located in a vacuum, although it is useless.

It is therefore recommended to turn to another type of differential if your vehicle is faced with situations where the grip is very different between the two drive wheels or if you often resort to aggressive acceleration phases.

THE ROLE OF THE LIMITED-SLIP DIFFERENTIAL: INTELLIGENT TORQUE DISTRIBUTION

Unlike so-called “open” differentials, limited-slip differentials manage to differentiate the rotational speed of the drive wheels while limiting their gap. This has the effect of avoiding the undesirable effects of so-called “open” differentials where all the torque can be redirected to one wheel without gripping.

By redistributing drive power to the wheel with the best grip on the ground, the limited-slip differential improves vehicle grip and limits the effects of understeer (for front-drive vehicles) or oversteer (for rear-drive vehicles). ).

In competition, limited-slip differentials allow you to approach corners with more speed and therefore save almost a second per kilometer travelled.