How do car brakes work? Won’t braking both wheels destroy the drive shaft and the differential?

Question

I believe differentials distribute power to the other wheel right? Where would the power go to if both wheels are braking?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

On essentially every car out there, the brakes are large enough that the at full application, the engine does not produce enough power/torque to move the wheels.

The reason drive train components don’t break is that they are properly sized for the maximum possible engine performance. If my car’s engine can put out 200 lb-ft of torque max, it doesn’t matter if the wheels are being held by brakes or free too move. The drive shaft and transmission will still never see more than 200 lb-ft of torque because the engine can’t make more than that.