Purpose of transmissions

In order to make a car move, it has to overcome several resistances. The three main
resistances against vehicle movement are the: Rolling resistance, it is low at good tarmac and
high at heavy off-road condition. Air resistance: it is low at low speed and high at high speed. It
does not increase linear with the speed, but by the power of 2times in relation with the speed: at
double speed the air resistance is four times higher etc. The air resistance of a vehicle depends
also on its shape, expressed by the Cw value. This value is measured in a wind channel. The
vehicle is positioned on a force measuring device, while it is subject to a defined wind speed.
Gradient resistance on inclined roads; the steeper road the higher is the resistance. The
maximum climbing ability may be restricted in the case of trailer towing. The sum of all
resistances requires a power train performance according to the dynamic condition of the
vehicle. As the engine has a limited range of sufficient power and torque, as well as a maximum
engine speed allowance, a system to adopt to adjust the torque and speed to the actual
requirements. This device is called transmission. The transmission changes the engine speed
and torque to the value required to drive the car. To overcome the inertia force of the vehicle
from standstill to motion, high torque at low wheel speed is needed. The transmission changes
the relatively high speed /low torque of the engine to low speed / high torque. Once the car is in
motion and is accelerating less torque but higher speed is required, therefore a transmission
has several gears with different gear ratios to cope with this requirements.
Drive train layouts

The descriptions given so far apply for all layouts of power train. But depending on the actual
layout of the power train some slight differences may occur in the construction and appearance.
For example the location of the differential and therefore its design differs depending on front
wheel drive layout or rear wheel drive layout. The first sample shows the standard layout for a
rear wheel drive vehicle: front engine and rear wheel drive. Usually in this type of vehicle the
transmission is located also at the front of the vehicle, but the differential is located at the rear
axle. The connection between transmission and differential is made via a propeller shaft. For
front wheel drive there are two possibilities, the transversal and the longitudinal arrangement,
but in both case the differential is located inside of the transmission. The last sample shows a
rear wheel drive vehicle with rear engine, also in this case the differential is located inside of the
transmission. These are the most common layouts, there are also others available, such as
transaxle layout etc. In KIA vehicles the two upper systems are applied.
M: engine, D: differential, G: gearbox
Rear wheel drive

These are the power train components of a vehicle with a standard rear wheel drive: the
transmission, the propeller shaft to transmit the power to the differential and the driveshaft to
drive the wheels. The transmission in the sample has a typical layout, where the in put and the
out put are on the same axle. The shift lever is directly mounted on the transmission, but this is
not mandatory. Depending on the actual vehicle the same base transmission may exist with
direct or cable control. The propeller shaft in the sample has a single center bearing and is
connected to the output shaft of the transmission on one side and to the input flange of the
differential on the other side. The cardan joints are required to equalize differences in the
position of the differential (mainly height) caused by movement of the rear axle due to road
conditions. Depending on the axle type the driveshaft may be rigid or equipped with a flexible
joint. As the mass and the speed of the propeller shaft are relatively high a proper balancing of
the shaft is required. If the balance is not good or the joints and bearings are not good problems
such as vibration and booming occur. If the booming / vibration is only slight it may help to
mount the propeller shaft in a different position. Also it may help to check the needle bearings
for proper installation and lubrication. As the differential is independent from the transmission it
has a own housing as shown in the picture. The fact that the output of the differential requires a
change of the direction of 90 degree from the input direction the differential uses a bevel and a
crown wheel.
Front wheel drive

The explanations given so far mostly apply for front and rear wheel driven vehicles. But of
course there are some differences for example in a front wheel driven car the differential is build
into the transmission housing. Therefore it usually uses conventional gears for the differential
instead of crown wheel and bevel gear. But the differential operation is the same as with a rear
wheel drive. As the front axle does not only act as part of the suspension, but is also in charge
of the steering special drive shafts are required which allow a up and down movement of the
axle as well as the turning of the wheels to the left and right. The up and down changes the
required drive shaft length, therefore the inner shaft allows a variation in length, as can be seen
in the lower left picture. The outer part of the drive shaft enables the steering; therefore, its
design is different from the inner one. There are different layouts of it available. A key point
during inspection is to check the rubber boots, as the joints get worn quickly if the grease is
washed out by water (rain water from the road) and dirt enters. Worn out joints may cause
heavy vibration, especially during acceleration, but at least noises are generated.