In a manual car, why does going switching down gears make it easier/possible to to uphills?
In: Engineering
Engine speed is measured in RPM.
Engine power is measured in torque, how much turning force the engine produces.
Horse power is some math between Torque and RPM.
So on level ground, your cruising at 65 in 5th gear in a Toyota Camry at 2,000 rpm. Your fine because your current horsepower can maintain your speed.
You go up a light hill, your engines Torque cannot maintain their difficulty in pushing up the hill and you begin to slow down. So, you down shift to 4th; RPMs jump to 3000, your engine is producing more horsepower to counter act the drag of the hill. And, the downshift will give you a mechanical advantage requiring less torque from the engine.
But of course it’s a camery and 4th wasn’t good enough so you drop to 3rd. Now your at 4000 RPM and have plenty horsepower on tap so you put the peddle down till the valves cry at 6500 – and now your passing traffic again … that barely acknowledged the hill you just conquered.
Automatics do the same thing, but depends on the generation.
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