The Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) was first patented in Europe in 1886 and a US patent was taken out in 1935. Automotive Engineering Online is quoted as saying that Leonardo Da Vinci drew a sketch of a CVT in 1490 and a rudimentary version appeared on the Clyno (a British car) of 1923. The concept of CVT is to make an infinite number of gear speeds by using a … [Read more...]
Torqueflite Gearbox
I first heard about the Torqueflite gearbox being used in the Jensen FF and other European cars that used large Chrysler Hemis for power. The gearbox was suitably mated to the Hemi because both came from Chrysler. The first Torqueflite was released in 1956 as a 3-speed auto replacing the Powerflite which was a 2-speed box. Variants of the torqueflite can be found on Jeep and … [Read more...]
Australians buy clutchless cars!
Wow, I thought, a world first and then I realised what I was reading was another example of the art of journalism dying a slow death. Yesterday the Australian Financial Review (AFR) published an article in print entitled "Manual cars to become a rarity as frayed commuters drop the clutch" and online it was called "Manual cars face extinction as congestion triggers a clutch … [Read more...]
Traction Control – The Basics
Traction Control is as it says – to control traction, as best as it can in the conditions it encounters! It must be said that traction control won’t save you if you run out of talent at higher speeds and it will probably scare some drivers when it kicks in at low speeds that makes them react suddenly that causes an accident anyway! For this article, I'm going to concentrate … [Read more...]
Ferguson 4 Wheel Drive System
The Ferguson 4WD system known as the Ferguson Formula was developed by Harry Ferguson Research Ltd that was formed by Harry Ferguson, an Irish engineer. Ferguson originally developed tractors with David Brown as the Ferguson-Brown company. The uniqueness was the hitch at the back to connect multiple types of equipment. David Brown went on to be the owner of Aston Martin when … [Read more...]