1. What is Gear Ratio?

The gear ratio is the ratio of the number of teeth on the driven gear to the number of teeth on the driver gear. It determines the mechanical advantage and speed relationship between two meshing gears in a race car's transmission system.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the gear ratio formula:

Where:

• \( Teeth_{driven} \) — Number of teeth on the driven gear
• \( Teeth_{driver} \) — Number of teeth on the driver gear

Explanation: A higher gear ratio means more torque but less speed, while a lower ratio means more speed but less torque.

3. Importance of Gear Ratio

Details: Proper gear ratio selection is crucial for optimizing a race car's acceleration, top speed, and overall performance on different track types.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the number of teeth for both driven and driver gears. Both values must be positive integers (typically between 10-100 teeth for race car applications).

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's a typical gear ratio for race cars?
A: Race cars typically have ratios between 2:1 and 5:1, depending on the track and engine characteristics.

Q2: How does gear ratio affect acceleration?
A: Higher ratios (numerically larger) provide better acceleration but lower top speed, while lower ratios allow higher top speeds but slower acceleration.

Q3: What's the difference between gear ratio and final drive ratio?
A: Gear ratio refers to individual gear pairs, while final drive ratio is the overall ratio including the differential.

Q4: Can I use this for motorcycle gearing?
A: Yes, the same formula applies to any gear system, though motorcycle sprockets typically have different tooth counts than car gears.

Q5: What if I have multiple gear pairs?
A: For compound gear systems, multiply the individual ratios together to get the overall ratio.