Understanding the Basics of a Car Gearbox: A Beginners Guide

How Does a Car Gearbox Work — Everything You Need to Know Want to know more about manual and auto engines gearboxes? Well, if you then reach the right place. In order to do that, we will look at the basics of a car gearbox and provide you all the essential information to learn for a novice driver. Halta by Starshine: Your Car & Driving Partner from your trusted driver partner.

Taking A Look At Car Gearbox Components

To learn how a gearbox works, you must first familiarize yourself with its most critical components. Three main components of automotive motors gearbox are the gears, shafts and synchronizers.

Gears are the multiple toothed wheels that transfer power from the engine to the wheels. They are crucial for the car to move smoothly.

On the other hand, shafts are long units connecting the gears to work in team coordinate. Without shafts, the gears wouldn't talk to each other, and the car wouldn't function.

In general, synchronizers are special components in the gearbox which assist the gearing establishment of a smooth or sloppy differential between your gearset. They facilitate changing gears without being jarring or bumpy. It results in a seamless driving experience for the driver.

Manual vs Automatic Gearboxes

So, the two types of gearboxes, manual and automatic.

Manual transmission: A manual gearbox that must be manually shifted by the driver. You change gears with a stick-shift,  a lever you move. Manual auto engine gearboxes can be fun as they give more control to the driver over the car, but they need a little bit of practice to be used properly.

Conversely, an automatic gearbox changes gears automatically by itself. 

This allows the driver not to manually change gears. Increasingly, these days, drivers are opting for automatic gearboxes, particularly in the United States, where stop/start driving in heavy commuter traffic offers less of a fun time in changing gear each time.

While automatic gearboxes are now the norm, many cars, especially in Europe and other parts of the world, still employ a manual gearbox. Drivers tend to prefer manual gearboxes when they want to be able to feel more connected to the car and enjoy the experience of driving. But automatic gearboxes are way more convenient and easier to drive.