Why do trucks have so many transmission gears?
In: 354
If you look at the technical term for a transmission, it’s device that’s *designed to match engine speed to road speed.*
The gears in the transmission **multiply the output speed of the engine** by a different ratios, so that your speed can increase while the engine speed remains relatively the same.
A lightweight car, with a gas engine, has a **large RPM operating range**. Let’s say you have decent power between 2000 RPM and 6000 RPM, so as your road speed increases, you only need to change a *few* ratios to go between 0mph and 150mph. You can do that with as few as 5 gears.
In a truck, you have a tremendous amount weight AND a very narrow RPM range where the engine makes power. Maybe only between 1500 rpm and 3000 rpm.
In a case like that, you need a lot of very narrow gear ratios even to go between 0-70 MPH.
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