How a Differential Works (Why Your Wheels Can Spin at Different Speeds)

In a corner, the outside wheel travels further than the inside one. A differential lets two driven wheels turn at different speeds while both receive torque. The video opens the housing and shows the spider gears doing nothing in a straight line and walking in a turn.

It also shows the classic failure: one wheel on ice spins, the other gets nothing, and why limited-slip differentials exist.

In this video

• Ring gear, pinion and spider gears
• Why the spider gears only turn in a corner
• The one-wheel-in-mud problem
• What a limited-slip differential adds