differential ratio questions
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 37,305
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It's the ratio of the number of teeth on the ring gear to the number of teeth on the pinion gear. Another way to look at it is ................... For every full turn of the ring gear, the pinion gear turns 4.1 times (for 4.10 gear), 4.44 times (for 4.44 gears), etc.
It's all to do with mechanical advantage (remember your physics?). The more the driving wheel (pinion gear) can be turned compared to the driven wheel (ring gear) the easier it is to turn it. You can use the power and torque you have to greater advantage, but the down side is that the driving power source must turn much faster to get the same amount of turns in the driven component.
A higher FD gear number usually means the car can accelerate quicker, but the downside is that eventually, you have to shift sooner. If you have to shift too often in a given distance, you lose the time you gained from the gears due to the time you lost from shifting.
It's all to do with mechanical advantage (remember your physics?). The more the driving wheel (pinion gear) can be turned compared to the driven wheel (ring gear) the easier it is to turn it. You can use the power and torque you have to greater advantage, but the down side is that the driving power source must turn much faster to get the same amount of turns in the driven component.
A higher FD gear number usually means the car can accelerate quicker, but the downside is that eventually, you have to shift sooner. If you have to shift too often in a given distance, you lose the time you gained from the gears due to the time you lost from shifting.