How a Differential Works

Here’s how a differential works on a car! The differential allows for a difference of rotation between two wheels on the same axle. This will allow a vehicle to turn corners without binding the axle or scrubbing tires. On front wheel drive vehicles, the differential is often integrated into the transmission assembly. On rear wheel drive vehicles, power is sent through a rotating drive shaft to the rear differential assembly, before being sent out to the wheels through the CV Axle. The differential consists of a large ring gear (or drive gear) a small pinion gear and small planet gears (spider gears) in the differential housing. When both wheels are moving at the same speed and direction (i.e. vehicle moving straight ahead) the pinion gear rotates the ring gear, which rotates the differential housing and thus each CV axle. When there’s a difference in wheel speed, the spider gears start to mesh with each other, allowing one wheel to turn at a different speed than the other. In this video, an open differen