As the How It Works series progresses, we edge closer and closer to a car's ultimate goal—which is, of course, to put power to the pavement. Lost month you learned about how a transmis-sion directs ...

How does a car's differential work? You probably have a vague understanding. Some stuff spins, some stuff doesn't, and somehow, the result allows your car to drive around a curve without shredding its ...

A few weeks ago, I went to the amazing Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Indiana, where I learned about an axle that has not just one gear ratio like in pretty much all modern cars, but two.

Horsepower is useless if you can't get it to the pavement. As a result, traction control and differentials are fitted to your car to control how an engine's output is transferred to the road, helping ...

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A Limited slip differential helps you drive effectively and safely. At times, one of the leading wheels might get stuck when driving on gravel or sand. But if you have the differential, you can keep ...

Your engine rotates so your tires can rotate, but after your engine rotation goes through the transmission, transfer case, and driveshafts it has to make a 90-degree turn to continue out your ...

It's often said that it's never too late to learn, and that's great-but then youthful curiosity is a wonderful thing too. As an example, how many budding street rodders discovered early on that it was ...

Next to a flexible suspension, positive traction is one of the most important off-road extras you need. Locking differentials add that extra advantage when wheeling by positively powering both tires ...

LSD allows the two wheels on the drive axle to rotate at different speeds while providing a certain degree of "locking ratio" between them. The earliest mass-produced LSDs used a multi-plate clutch ...

If you’ve ever shopped for a sports car, you’ll often hear the term “limited-slip differential” (or LSD); you’re probably aware that it’s better than not having one, but it can be unclear exactly what ...

Your rear differential is one of the most unappreciated parts in your car or truck. It does what might be the hardest job of all of those components, multiplying torque from your transmission and ...