Power vs. Handling
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Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Queen City, NC
Did the Corvette driver even know there was a Lotus buzzing around behind him? It seems that after the Lotus tried to pass, the Vette stepped it up and was gone.
Imagine how a race-prepped Corvette would have done.
Imagine how a race-prepped Corvette would have done.
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Joined: Apr 2011
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What I gathered from this is that the Corvette is awesome, the Elise is a fun little car that needs the full racecar treatment to get around a course. But if I had to listen to the aweful racket coming from that Elise for another few seconds I was going to shove a pair of screwdrivers in my ears.
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So why are straight cut gears used in race transmissions? Well, there are a few reasons why, but the main reason is because straight gears don’t produce any thrust loads. Its very easy to build strong gears that are either straight cut or helical, so that’s not the problem. The problem is when you start putting a lot of torque through helical gears, the thrust loads become so high that you need a very strong transmission case (heavy) to contain the loads. Straight cut gears simplifies the transmission case design and also the types of bearings used. All of the other benefits and negatives to straight cut gears take a back seat to this.
In many instances, the thrust loads that helical gears make can be limiting factor for the torque capacity of a transmission. That is, the case fails before the teeth on the gears do. By installing an aftermarket straight cut gear set into a case that came from the factory with helical gears, it is possible to drastically increase the load capacity of the transmission. Depending on the application, straight cut gears may not be necessary because it would increase the transmission capacity well beyond the power the engine outputs. Simply reducing the helix angle of helical gears can increase transmission capacity and keep the noise at a more acceptable level. This was the case with the famous Muncie M22 4 speed that was prolific in many GM muscle cars. Even though that transmission used helical gears, the helix was at a shallow 20 degrees compared to 45 for the M21 (the low performance version of the same trans). The M22′s gears did make some noise which earned it the nickname “Rockcrusher”.
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Registered User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 5,749
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From: Santa Monica-SoCal
watching this and other racing events like the olympics really make me scratch my head. why do we as a race place so much emphasis on just being slightly faster than the next guy? the diff between the worlds fastest man/swimming/car and many others is like the blink of an eye. does that really mean anything?
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 2,687
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From: No VA
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 2,687
Likes: 16
From: No VA
watching this and other racing events like the olympics really make me scratch my head. why do we as a race place so much emphasis on just being slightly faster than the next guy? the diff between the worlds fastest man/swimming/car and many others is like the blink of an eye. does that really mean anything?
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 281,962
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From: Charleston, SC. \>
watching this and other racing events like the olympics really make me scratch my head. why do we as a race place so much emphasis on just being slightly faster than the next guy? the diff between the worlds fastest man/swimming/car and many others is like the blink of an eye. does that really mean anything?