: What are Gears and what is their role in the engines of cars?
In: Engineering
If you’re asking what a gear itself is, it’s a mechanical device used to change torque/output speed, as well as in some cases it can change the direction of motion, making heavier mechanical systems more manageable to manipulate.
Gears in a car change the output speed from engine speed at a power versus speed exchange.
Your engine is just an engine and responds to your input by pumping more fuel and air to rev it up. The gearbox is separate but links the engine to your wheels, called a transmission.
When you are starting to move from zero, you need a lot of power to get up to a faster speed. This is the nature of gears – you may be going slowly, but the gears give you more power due a positive gear ratio and vice versa.
If you did not have a gearbox your engine would be massive or it would be made to go only a specific speed or output a specific power. Having a gearbox allows you freedom for many different ranges of needs.
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