Module 2- Drive Line

• It is the general terminology used for the group of mechanisms that connect the transmission to
drive wheels. It has the following Components
1. Propeller shaft
2. Final drive and differential
3. Rear axles
4. Wheels and tyres
• Driveline in a car full fills the flowing functions
[Link] the transmission to road wheels – All components
[Link] the change of height(angle) b/w differential and gear box – Universal joint
[Link] change of length – Slip joint
[Link] torque multiplication – Final drive
[Link] outer wheels to rotate faster in curves – Differential
[Link] 90° torque transmission from prop shaft to axles- Final drive
 Propeller Shaft

• This shaft transmits power from transmission to final drive. Since the
transmission is mounted in the chassis frame and final drive on the rear
axle, there would be a difference of height between the axis of these two
components. Also, this angle changes continuously
•
when wheels encounter with road irregularities. Propeller shaft is designed
to transmit power smoothly without affecting such changes of angle or
length. Also, it must be light in weight and at the same time strong enough
to withstand the driving and braking thrusts. It should be well balanced to
avoid vibrations during drive.
Propeller shaft has the following three components

[Link] shaft with flanges on either ends

2. Universal joints
3. Slip joint
 Functions of propeller shaft
1. Transmit power from gear box top final dive whose axes are not in same line.

2. Accommodate change in length of propeller shaft when vehicle meet with road
irregularities
3. Accommodate change in the angle of power transmission while vehicle meet with road
irregularities
• Two joint and three joint types of propeller shafts are available depending up on the type of
vehicle
• Two joint propeller shaft has larger beam length between the joints. Due to this at higher
speeds shaft could deflect and cause vehicle vibration.
• Three joint type has a centre bearing which reduces effective length of the beam and chance of
vibration is reduced. Modern high speed expensive vehicles use 3 joint types of propeller shaft
Joint type propeller shaft
 Slip Joint
• Slip joint allow the propeller shaft to become shorter and longer when distance
between transmission and final drive changes. The general simple design of a slip
joint is shown in the figure above. It has external splines on one end of the shaft with
matching internal splines on the sleeve . The external splines run in to the sleeve
when length is decreased and slides out when length is increased.
• Universal Joint
• Purpose of universal joint is to allow angular changes due to relative position changes
between transmission and final drive. It allows the transmission of power between
two components are not in same line and angle between them changes continuously.
• Types of universal joints
1. Variable Velocity joint – VV joint
2. Constant Velocity joint – CV joint
 Constant velocity joints
• In constant velocity joints drive shaft and driven shaft rotates at same speed through each
segment of the rotation. No matter the angle and angle variation between drive and driven
shafts, both rotate at same RPM and same angular velocity during each portion of the revolution.
Generally, all FF vehicles use CV joint and most of modern high passenger vehicles also uses CV
type of universal joints
• Types of constant velocity joints
1. Tripod – Open Tulip, Closed Tulip
2. Rzeppa
3. Tracta
4. Bendix weis
 [Link] type CV joint
• Tripod joint is commonly used as inboard joint (The joint near to the transaxle) of Front wheel type car
driveshaft. Tripod joint has a 3 trunion spider just like the lugs of a tripod. That is why this joint is called
tripod joint. A bearing and ball is attached to each lug to slide in the three grooves of the tripod housing
(Tulip).The spider can tilt and slide in the tulip. That is this joint can allow both angular variation and length
• variation. The tulip housing is filled with grease and the whole assembly is covered by rubber
boot to protect from dust and dirt.
• Depending up on the type of tulip there are open and closed tulip type of tripod joints. Closed
tulip is common in use.

Open Tulip Closed Tulip

 [Link] type CV joint
• Rzeppa joint is commonly used as the out-board joint (the near to wheel) of most new front wheel drive
vehicles. It is one of the first type of CV joint and is still used by many car manufacturers. It has spherical
inner and outer races as shown in figure. 6 grooves are cut, parallel to the shaft on both these races. 6 balls
are position in these grooves of spherical races. Torque is transmitted from one race to the other through
balls. The spherical pattern of the whole assembly results in contestant angular velocity of driven shaft,
through the rotation.

Rzeppa joint on the drive shaft exploded and

 Outer and Inner cv joints
• Inner CV joints connect the drive shafts to the
transmission, while the outer CV joints connect the drive
shafts to the drive wheels. The CV joints are needed to
transfer torque from the transmission to the drive wheels at a
constant speed, while still accommodating the up-and-down
motion of the suspension.
 Final drive and differential
• Final drive is the terminology used for the combination of drive pinion and rig gear (crown wheel) in the
differential assembly. It serves the following 2 functions in the car.
1. Transmit the power through a 90° angle from propeller haft to rear axles.
2. Give a permanent gear reduction between transmission and road
wheels for increasing the torque.
• Types of final drives
• Various types of final drives used through car generations are. Generally, cars use gear type final drive
and bikes uses chain type. Common gear type final drives are
1. Worm and wheel type
2. Bevel gear type
• There are 3 types of bevel gear type final drives
1. Spur bevel (Straight bevel)
2. Spiral bevel and
3. Hypoid bevel
 Conventional differential
• Figures above shows the schematic and line diagram of a conventional differential. The crown wheel of the final drive is
attached to a cage which carry a cross pin (spider)with 2 or 4-star (pinion or planet) gears on the pins of the spider. Two
sun gears (side gears) are kept on either side of the cage parallel to each other and parallel to the crown wheel. These 2
sun gears are in constant mesh with the planet gears. Planet gears will revolve round inside the cage with the cross. Also,
can rotate on the pin about their own axes. Any reduction in the speed of a sun gear cause the star gears to rotate on
their axes and give additional rotation to opposite sun gear. Axle half shafts are splined to the sun gears so that when sun
gears rotate axles also rotate. Sun gears with half shafts are free to rotate in the cage on the crown wheel. They get
rotation from cage through cross and star gears. The differential assembly is supported on differential housing by two
taper roller bearings.
• When the vehicle is going straight ahead, the cage rotates with the spider and star gear. Rotation of star takes the
sun gears with them. That is the whole inner gears of differential rotate as a single unit together with the cage
and spider. The two half shafts rotate at the same speed, so also both drive wheels.
•While taking a turn, the inner wheel is subjected to a higher resistance. This slows down the inner wheel and
inner sun gear. Loss of speed of inner sun gear causes the planet gears to rotate on the pin on its own axis. This
results in addition of rotation to the outer sun gear.
• That is the outer sun gear and outer wheel rotates at a speed of the whole differential plus the lost speed of inner
sun wheel.
 Conventional differential
• The conventional differential explained above divides the total torque and supply equally to both axle
shafts. That is even if the speed of sun gears is different, their torques would be same under all
driving conditions. Because of this, if one wheel is in a slippery surface like mud or snow, no tractive
force could be obtained from the other wheel. This will result in 100% revolution to be transmitted to
the wheel in the slippery surface and that wheel will spin at double the speed of the cage and crown
wheel. The wheel on the hard surface will
•
get no traction and the whole vehicle cannot move. This is a disadvantage of conventional
differential is some time referred as differential lock out.
• This issue could be solved either by locking the sun gear to cage or by introducing some frictional
resistance between them thus limiting the full slipping of sun gear in the cage. Such differentials
are known in different names with different car manufacturers. In this chapter, we will discuss one
of them
• Limited slip differential – which limits the spinning of sun gear by friction plates
 Limited slip differential
• A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential that allows its two
output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum
difference between the two shafts.
• Figure above shows the schematic and photographs of typical limited slip
differential. Limited slip differential limits the spinning of sun gear inside carriage
by employing a set of wet multi plate friction clutches. 4-6 numbers of friction
plates are splined on to both sun gears. Alternate steel plates (pressure plates,
thrust plates) are wedged in the cage and positioned in between each friction
plate. A spring is kept between the sun gears to give initial loading to the clutch
plates. Other than this addition of slip limiting clutches, construction of limited
slip differential almost same as conventional differential.
 Limited slip differential
• During cornering non- slip differential works the same way as a conventional differential. That is the
resistance of inner wheel cause that side sun gear to brake and the rotation is conveyed to the other sun
gear through star gears. Thus, outer wheel rotate faster and inner wheel rotate slower. This action is
permitted by slipping clutch plates as there is no too much force for application of clutch other than the
small initial loading of spring between side gears.
• When one wheel is in a slippery surface that wheel has no traction. This is time the axial thrust present in
bevel gears comes in to action. Sun and side gears are bevel gears. When torque is transmitted via bevel
gears axial thrust will be present, tending them to separate. This axial thrust will be more hence torque is
more. That is the axial thrust in the high traction side wheel cause the sun gear to move against the cage
thus applying the clutch pack. So that the side gear on the higher traction side is locked to the cage through
clutch plates and the side gear is forced to rotate with the cage. Thus, the slipping is limited when the wheel
is in mud or snow.
 Wheels and Tyres
• Introduction
• Wheels and tyres are the final link in the driveline of an automobile. Tyre is the only element in a car that
comes in contact with road. Air or gas filled pneumatic tyre is commonly used in majority automobiles. They
are made of rubber with reinforcing materials.
•Functions of tyre assembly
[Link] the vehicle weight
[Link] driving and braking thruste . [Link]
traction and stability during start off, acceleration, braking, cornering etc
4. Supress road shocks

Tyre cross section

 Requirements of a good tyre assembly

1. Strong enough to support vehicle weight

2. Strong enough to withstand driving, braking, accelerating and cornering forces
3. Flexible to absorb road shocks
4. Provide traction under all road and driving conditions (proper grip to avoid skidding).
5. Must be statically and dynamically balanced to avoid vehicle vibrations
6. Must be as light as possible to reduce rough ride due to high unsprung weight.
7. Should be easy to remove and dismantle.
8. Should withstand extreme climatic conditions
9. Should have long life and durability.
10. Should run without noise

Tyre assembly consists of the wheel and tyre (tubeless tyre) or wheel
tyre and tube (tubed tyre)
 Type of wheels
• Depending up on the type, size and class of vehicle, following three types of wheels are in use in automobiles.
1. Disc wheel
2. Wired wheel
3. Alloy wheel
• Disc Wheel:
• Approximately 90% of the vehicle on road is using disc wheels due to
plenty of advantages comparing to others. They are simple, strong, cheap
and easy to clean and maintain.
• Disc wheel has a rim and pressed steel disc. Rim is usually welded to the
steel disc. Rim is shaped to easily receive and mount the tire on it. Tire
when fitted on the rim will make an air tight sealing.
• Holes are provided on the disc mounting face to fix the wheel on hub
bolt. Holes are also provided on the disc near the rim for cooling. Also,
there will one hole in the rim to accommodate the valve tube.
 Disc wheel

•A wheel may be zero set, inset or outset asper the relative position of rim and mounting face.
•If the centre line of the rim is in line with the mounting face of the wheel it is called zero set wheel
•If rim centre line is inboard of mounting face it is called inset and if centre line of rim is out board of
mounting face such wheels are called outset
•A wheel whose disc can be mounted on either face provide inset or outset thus decreasing or
increasing of wheel track is called reversible wheel.
 Wire Wheels ( spoke wheel)
• Wire wheels are used in vintage cars, custom build vehicles, motor cycles and some racing cars. It has a
separated hub which it attached to the rim through several wires hooked at one end of the hub while the
other end is pushed through the hole in the wheel rim. At rim a tapered nut called nipple is screwed down to
keep the spoke tight. The spoke support the vehicle weight, convey driving, braking and cornering thrusts.
• Spokes are mounted a complicated criss cross fashion in all the three planes. The initial tension of the spoke
can be adjusted by means of screw nipple. The hub is provided with internal splines to correspond to the
splines provided on the axle shaft.
Wire Wheels ( spoke wheel)
Figure below shows the deformation of spokes when
subjected to various thrusts.

Wired wheels are light in weight, greater cooling and good

appearance They are very difficult to clean and not suitable for
heavy duty operations
 3. Alloy Wheels
•Latest trend in auto wheels are alloy wheels. They are made of alloy of Aluminium or Magnesium.
Cast vehicles are used for cars while forged wheels are preferred for heavier vehicles.
•Alloy wheels are lighter in weight and can reduce the unsprung weight of the car. Heat dissipation
is better so that they can run cooler. Also, wider rims are possible with alloy wheels. This allows the
use of wider tyres (tyre with low aspect ratio) which improves the cornering performance. Alloy
wheels are also used for better appearance. Dis advantage of alloy wheel is high initial cost.
 Wheel specification
•Width and diameter of the wheel is usually given in mm or inches
•W-Width in inches (or mm)

•D-Diameter in inches (or mm) C-Offset

•Wheels denoted by a code no. which contain following in sequence
•Eg the code 5.50B-13 shows
•width is 5.5 inches; rim type is B and 13 inches diameter.
•Wheel of the same dimension W and D may have different offsets, C, D etc
•The offset measured in mm, it is the distance from the mounting surface to
the wheel rim’s center line. It may be positive or negative. A positive offset
means the wheel is in front of the mounting surface, whereas offset is said
to be negative when the wheel center line is behind the mounting surface.
•Wheels of identical offset must be fitted to a vehicle
 Tyre

• Tyres have a great say in driving performance of a vehicle. Genuine tyres with proper maintenance will add
considerably to performance and safety of vehicle and road users.
•Types of Tyre
•Tyres are classified in many aspects like. The carcass, the construction, usage, type of treads etc
•In this chapter we will discuss two of such classifications
•1. Based on structure of carcass and 2. Based on basic construction

[Link] on the structure of carcass, tyres are classified as bias ply tyre and radial ply tyre

[Link] on basic construction tyres are classified as tubed tyre and tubeless tyre
 Construction of Tyre
• Figure below explains the construction of a typical tyre. First figure shows both tubed and tubeless tyre in
one picture. Left half of the picture is tubed and right half is tubeless tyre.
1. Carcass - Plies
2. Tread
3. Side wall
4. Breaker
5. Belts
6. Beads
7. Tyre Valve
8. Inner tube (for tubed) or inner liner (for tubeless)
 Construction of Tyre
1. Carcass - Carcass The carcass is the basic structure or frame work of the tyre. It must be rigid to hold
the high pressure and flexible to absorb shocks of load and impact. Carcass is usually made of strong
fabric or coats of rayon or polyester or nylon any other suitable material. Each cord in each ply is
covered with rubber and insulated against each other to prevent the tyre from being thrown out of
the rim. The plies are attached to two rings of high tension steel wire called beads, kept on either
side of the tyre.
2. Tread - Tread is an external rubber layer that protects the carcass from wear and external damage by
road surface. It is the part that directly contact with the road. Tread generate friction force for traction
and braking of vehicle.
•Different types of tread patterns are used depending on the use, terrain etc. Tread is very important
while driving in wet roads. Absence of proper tread could affect hydro planning and lead to accidents.
3. Side walls – They are rubber layers which cover the sides of the tyre and protect carcass from external
damage due to side impact. They continuously flex under the loads applied during travel.
•Manufacturers name, specification etc are printed on side wall.
 Construction of Tyre
[Link]- is used in bias ply tyres. They are the fabric layers between the carcass and the tread. They reinforce the carcass to
suppress shocks from road and act to improve the adhesion between the tread and carcass. Breaker is made of nylon
[Link](rigid Breakers) – These are the types of breakers used in radial tyres. They hold the carcass securely in
place. Normally steel belts are used in new radial tyres.
[Link] – They are 2 strong rings of high tension steel on either side of the tire wall. They give the circular shape to
the tyre edge. Their basic responsibility is to keep the tyre without being thrown off from the rim by various forces
acting on. Bead wires are protected from damage by hard strips of rubber called chafer strips. Bead makes air tight
sealing with rim in tubeless tyre.
[Link] Valve – Valve is used to fill the air and retain the air in the tyre or tube. In tubed tyre valve is fitted in a hole
in the rim. In tubed tyre valve is bonded to the tube with an air tight sealing and in tubeless tyre valve is fitted on
the rim with air tight sealing.
[Link] or Inner liner - Inside the tubed tyre of there is a tube which contains the air at pressure. Tube is made
of fine quality rubber sheet.
•A wall of specially formulated thick rubber forms the inner liner of the tubeless tyre to retain the air pressure.
 Bias ply tyre
• Figure below shows the construction of a bias ply tyre. The difference between bias and radial are in the
orientation of the cords in carcass plies.
• Bias ply tyre is made of alternating layers of ply cords bonded together. These ply cords are lying at angle of
30-40°to the circumferential centre line of tyre.
• Bias ply tyre provide better driving comfort due to cord flexibility. However, their manoeuvrability and high-
speed performance are less due to high flexibility. Also, they wear faster
• Bias ply tyre comes with or without stabilizer belts or breakers. If with belt as shown in figure they are called
belted bias and if without belt they are called bias ply tyre
 Radial ply tyre
•Radial ply tyres carcass consists of layers of cords bonded together just
as in in bias ply tyres. But the orientation of cords here is perpendicular
to tyre circumference.
•That is the cords are kept at 90°to the circumferential centre
line
•They have greater flexibility in radial direction. Due
to this radial ply tyres cannot withstand the full load applied along tyre circumference. There for
radial ply tyres always come with rigid breakers called belts. Belts are made of strong fabric or steel
wires bonded with rubber. If steel wires are used they are called steel radial tyres.
•Radial tyres have many advantages compared to bias ply tyres. Better cornering performance,
better driving and braking performance at high speed, better resistance to wear, larger resistance
to puncture, longer tread life, lower rolling resistance etc are few advantages of radial ply tyre.
However, their riding comfort is less compared to bias play, especially at lower speeds
 Tubed tyre and Tubeless tyre
• In tubed tyre a separate inner tube is used to retain the air pressure. Tyre valve to fill the air in the tube is
protruding through the rim and is bonded to the tube.
• Tubeless tyre has no tube inside the tyre wall. A smooth inner liner by specially formulated thick rubber
provides air tight sealing in the tyre.
 Advantages of tubeless tyre and Disadvantages of tubeless tyre

•Advantages of tubeless tyre

1. Improved safety due to slow depletion when punctured. Tubed tyre depletes almost instantaneously
when punctured where as it will take some time to deplete air from tubeless tyre.
2. Better cooling – Rubber tube is not a good conductor of heat. There for while running heat generated
in the compressed air could not be easily dissipated. In tubeless tyre heat can directly dissipate to air
through side walls and rim. So, they run cooler.
3. Tyre assembling is simpler in tubeless tyre
4. Puncture repair could be done without tyre removing by self-sealing inserts
5. Live balancing and sealing is possible in tubeless tyres by tyre balancing solution.
6. Weight is less when compared to tubed tyre. That is less unsprung weight and better riding comfort

7. Less rolling resistance

• Disadvantages of tubeless tyre

1. High initial cost
2. Lower riding comfort especially at slower speed
3. Heavy steering at slow cornering
 Tread Pattern
• Many different types of
Tread patterns are in use depending the destination, usage, vehicle being used, driving conditions etc
•In this session we will discuss the following types of patterns
•[Link] pattern 2. Lug pattern 3. Block pattern 4. Rib lug combination
1. Rib pattern
•In this, parallel zig zag grooves are cut along the circumference of tyre. This is
one of the most common pattern used for paved roads.
•Advantages of this pattern are
1. Less noise
2. Good directional stability due to better resistance to side slip
3. Less rolling resistance
• Disadvantages

[Link] traction
 Tread Pattern
[Link] pattern:
•In this groove run almost at right angles to tyre circumference.
•This pattern is generally used in off road vehicles, construction machinery,
tractors, mountain bikes etc.
•Advantages:
1. Good traction

2. Better off road performance

Dis advantages:
1. Greater tyre noise
2. Less resistance to side slip
3. High rolling resistance
4. Lugs tend to cut and wear non- uniformly
 Tread Pattern
•Block pattern
•In this tread is divided in to independent blocks. This is most often used as snow tyre
in cold countries.
•Sometimes they are used in radial ply tyres for passenger cars also.
•Advantages
1. Better driving and braking performance

2. Less slippage in mud and snow

• Disadvantages
1. Less life due to faster tread wear
 Tread Pattern
•Rib Lug pattern
•This is a combination of Lug and rib patterns. This provide stable driving
performance in both paved and unpaved roads.
•Generally used trucks, buses and on and off-road SUVs
 Tyre Specification (Tyre designation)

• W‐ width in inches or mm ( generally inches for cross ply and mm for radial ply)

• D – diameter in inches or mm
 Aspect ratio
• Aspect ratio; the ratio of tyre section height to tyre section width.

• it is expressed in percentage
A radial tyre is represented by a code

125 SR‐13

125‐width in mm S‐ Speed

rating R‐ radial type 13‐

diameter
A cross ply tyre has a code has no alphabetic letter to
say it is cross ply
9.00‐20‐12
9.00‐ width in inches
The internationally recognized tyre designation
FRONT WHEEL GEOMETRY
KEY TERMS
▪ Camber
▪ Caster
▪ Directional Stability
▪ Geometric Centerline
▪ Steering Axis
▪ Thrust Angle
▪ Toe
CAMBER:
▪ Camber is the inward or outward tilt of the wheel when
compared with a true vertical line.
▪ Camber is positive when the top of the wheel is tilted
out.
▪ Camber is negative when the top of the wheel is tilted
in.
▪ It is at zero when the wheel is vertical (straight up
and down). Front wheels usually have small positive
camber.
ANGLE B/W VERTICLE LINE AND KINGPIN
CENTRELINE (FROM F.V.)

FUNCTIONS

◾ HELPS IN STEERING RETURNABILITY AFTER A TURN IS

COMPLETED
◾ REDUCES STEERING EFFORT
◾ REDUCES TIRE WEAR
CASTER:-
▪ Caster is the forward or backward tilt of the steering
axis when compared with a true vertical line.
▪ Caster is positive if the axis is leaning rearward.
▪ Caster is negative if the axis is leaning forward.
▪ It is zero when the steering axis is straight up or down.
▪ Caster is measured in degrees. Most vehicles
▪ have a small amount of positive caster.
1)Caster angle
2)Kingpin inclination
Caster gives the front wheels the ability to return to the straight
ahead position after a turn. Caster also provides directional
stability.

When a wheel is turned out, the spindle lowers and raises the vehicle.
When a wheel is turned in, the spindle raises and lowers the vehicle.

When the wheels are released from a turn, the weight of the vehicle
 TOE:-
▪ Toe is the difference between the front and rear edges
of a set of tires. When the wheels are parallel to each
other, toe is zero.
▪ When the front edges of the tires are closer
together, the tires are toed-in, and toe is positive.
▪ When the rear edges are closer, the tires are toed-
out, and toe is negative.
▪ Toe is specified in degrees or inches.
 Turning radius
• The turning radius (alternatively, turning diameter or turning circle) of a
vehicle defines the minimum dimension (typically the radius or diameter,
respectively) of available space required for that vehicle to make a semi-circular
U-turn without skidding.
• The vehicle's turning diameter measures the minimum space needed to turn the
vehicle around while the steering is set to its maximum displacement from the
central 'straight ahead' position - i.e. either extreme left or right.