Explained
Car mechanics, explained
The questions behind the systems: what camber is, how a strut differs from a shock, why a differential lets the wheels turn at different speeds. One question a page, answered first, with the app's own numbers.
- Struts vs shocks: what's the difference? A shock absorber only damps movement: it stops the car bouncing after a bump.
- What is camber? Camber is the lean of a wheel seen from the front of the car.
- Disc vs drum brakes: what's the difference? A disc brake squeezes pads against a disc that turns with the wheel; a drum brake pushes curved shoes outwards against the inside of a drum.
- Toe in vs toe out: what's the difference? Toe is the angle of a pair of wheels seen from above. With toe in, their fronts point slightly towards each other; with toe out, slightly apart.
- Open vs limited-slip differential: what's the difference? An open differential always sends the same torque to both driven wheels, so if one wheel loses grip, the drive to both falls to what that wheel can take.
- Timing chain vs cambelt: what's the difference? Both a cambelt and a timing chain keep the camshafts in step with the crankshaft.
See it working in 3D
Run the live tests in the app and watch every part move the way it does on a real car.
Founder pricing until 30 October
