rear wheel rotation

[caz-nsx]

Are the rear wheels tied together through the differential? If I install the rear wheels with the valve stems in the same orientation are they suppose to stay with each other? I notice when I put the car on jack stands and spin one wheel the other side spins also. After a few days of driving the valve stems are not lined up anymore, off by 180 deg.

Thanks

John

 

[MvM]

I'm not sure I understand the question.
The differential is of course connecting both wheels. Otherwise you would not be able to turn into corners without getting traction problems (since the inside wheels has to turn more slowly than the outside wheel or, put in another way, the inside wheels has to travel less far than the outside wheel).
If you would only travel in a straight line all the time the orientation would stay the same. In other ways the answer is simply no.

 

[NCC-1701D]

no...when you turn in any direction..one wheel must spin faster and travel a further distance than the other wheel...

if both wheels were locked together then the wheels would "skipped" on turns....

 

[caz-nsx]

Thank you both.

It makes sense that they would have to spin at different RPMs around corners. I guess if this wasn't the case we would have a lot of broken axles.

John

 

[sjs]

Thank you both.

It makes sense that they would have to spin at different RPMs around corners. I guess if this wasn't the case we would have a lot of broken axles.

John

Not broken axels, but a lot of chatter/hop and it would be much harder to make sharp turns at low speeds. It is very common for budget-minded racers to weld the differential, (effectively tying the axels together) which allows for better traction out of corners because the unloaded (inside) wheel doesn't just spin, robbing the outside tire of the ability to accelerate the car. It makes getting around in the paddock a pain, and pushing the car with the wheels turned nearly impossible, but there is little if any drawback on a fast road course compared to a limited slip differential. (which reduces spinning of the unloaded wheel by sending a greater percent of the power to the loaded side.)