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Behold The Hyundai Uni Wheel. Transportation May Never Be The Same (cleantechnica.com)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Around_the_Corner_%281937%29_24fps_selection.webm

Wiki to the rescue!
It's a great video from 1937.

How the automobile differential allows a vehicle to turn a corner while keeping the wheels from skidding. Reverse telecine & introduction edited out.

And the article has info as well https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_(mechanical_device)

Modern cars have "traction control", which detects when a wheel turns more than the other wheel. If it turns too much more, it will engage a "diff lock" and lock the differential which makes each wheel turn with the same power/speed/energy as if the differential was just a solid axle.

The long & the short of it is that a differential is only "1 wheel drive" when the differential "thinks" (it's not smart) it should put all the power into 1 wheel - which is when the cars computer locks the differential.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

That's only some cars.

Many today still use open diffs. Some use open diffs and braking to produce a result that looks like traction control or a torque biasing diff.

Some cars use electronically-controlled diffs that can vary pressure on clutches using simple electric servos to bias torque - Bendix is a big supplier of such things to companies like Honda.

Others use hydraulics, similar to torque converters, to bias torque (e.g. Audi's original Quattro system).

And others use gearing to bias torque, such as Quaife differentials.

Factory systems (with rare exceptions) don't use locking diffs (GM has one as an option, others may).