I don't really understand the idea behind gear ratios. Does this just mean essentially that the gears (cogs) are all different sizes?
What specifically does the term "gear ratios" mean?
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Sign up to join this communityI don't really understand the idea behind gear ratios. Does this just mean essentially that the gears (cogs) are all different sizes?
What specifically does the term "gear ratios" mean?
The generic term "gear ratios" refers to the ratio of the number of teeth on two meshed gears. Two gears that are meshed (teeth engaged with each other) must have the same sized teeth or they would not mesh. So, given the same sized teeth on both gears the term refers to the ratio of the number of teeth on each gear. For example, if the first gear has 50 teeth, and the second 100 teeth, the gear ratio is 1:2 (pronounced one to two).
This is important for things like the differential in your car because changing it will change the speed of your car for a given output shaft speed from the transmission. The transmission, your differential, and the diameter of the drive wheels combined determine vehicle speed for a given engine RPM.
you can change the gears in your rear end
? – Max Goodridge Jan 15 '16 at 20:04