It's always neat to me how much more informative these older informationals are. They do such a good job at starting from absolute scratch and making sure you 100% grasp every concept.
So true, nowadays most companies are trying to hide their methods to make a forced market. The old days always gave you the information straight up instead of modern DLC info
It's weird that nowadays we have the technology to make great CGI tutorials easily, but this video from 1936 is still the best one to explain transmission on the entire platform of RU-vid.
I won't say that I am an expert now on transmissions, but, boy, I sure do feel empowered by the simplicity and effectiveness of this video. I've been thoroughly amazed.
Steak it doesnt have a transmission. It only has a hydraulic torgue converter, which isnt anything new. But that they use it with no gearbox strapped to it is something new
These kinds of older videos tend to teach you something new in a very easy to grasp way using illustrations and good analogies. I wish today's tutorials and documentaries were like this.
Why bother putting in effort when you can just draw lazy and shitty illustrations on a whiteboard all while using buzzwords to try to show your own intelligence.
I love how videos like this start with the most basic mechanical principle and show each and every step up in complexity until you get to the final component.
+calculon000 I second your comment. Despite driving cars for more than 15 years now this is the very first time I have understood how gears work. Well explained video.
+calculon000 Amazing what happens when the end goal is to teach students how things work. So, what do you think the end goal of common core is? Kinda funny huh?
I'm 28 and just getting into cars and mechanics because of videos like this. I love this stuff, it's so cool how simple the principles are that make something so complex.
I've looked at several videos on transmissions. This is by far the best. Starts with basic simple principles then builds on those ideas in an orderly fashion. Thanks for posting this.
I am a mechanic in this is a great learning tool for any young and new coming mechanics and either for those who don't know how to drive standard transmissions it makes it easy for someone to learn to drive on by knowing how it works thumbs up to those who made this video
The examples they used to use. The relatable stories they used to tell. The physicality is all gone. Now it is all computer generated, the animations etc are all ideal. They used to get into the field, cut the casing of a gearbox if they have to take a shot to show us the power losses, wear and tear etc. They were the Legendary Engineers.
Not long ago i watched a similar video, on how differentials work and its crazy how easy its to understand. In an up to date video, you just cant distinguish what is what. Till we see a simplified version built from start too finish. These old vids are awsome!
I'm going to sound like an old crank here (get it?), but old videos like this really highlight how or education system is going to hell. Nobody showed me an easy-to-understand video like this when I was growing up.
+trompowsky chess Nah, old teachers are different than teachers from old times Old teachers are best 'cuz they have a lifetime teaching, so they know how to do it. Teachers from old times just torture our brain till we learn everything, but need lifetime terapy
The synchronizer was perhaps the most fundamental addition to the manual transmission system. Nowadays it's fairly easy to shift between gears almost without having to worry about timing. You'll still have to try to match the engine's RPM with the car's speed and enviromental conditions (e.g. driving uphill or driving down a steep descent). In fact I'd never drive downhill at 60 MPH, as shown at the end of the video, and then go into 2nd gear, as at that speed, the engine's RPM will be too much high to be contained into a 2nd gear, a 3rd - 4th gear would be better suitable.
Agree syncros were a revolutionary change to the manual transmission. As far as gear selection those old cars only had 3 speed transmissions. 2nd on that car would be 3rd on a modern car. 3rd on that car would be like 5th on a modern car.
I drive a stick shift, and I've always wondered how it worked. This is both fascinating and informative, and the old-timeyness just adds to the entertainment value.
+Rob van Kemenade Not weird at all. It's unfortunate that we do not teach a history of technical development in our schools. There are amazing technologies that should not be dismissed so easily. Even steam engine technology was at the basis for the scientific developments of thermodynamics and heat transfer. There is a lot of amazing knowledge in old technology.
+CHAS1422 We should have more history of science in our history classes. These are principles that still apply in the world around us. Byzantium is cool, but gear ratios are forever.
I learned a ton from this! I knew the concept of how it worked but this explained every last detail and made everything super easy to understand. Wish we had videos like this in schools today.
+Mustaine_24 Actually these old engineers were probably more intelligent than modern engineers. I say that because first of all the engineering we see is just built upon previous engineering AND modern engineers whether it be something like a transmission or a cell phone, are compartmentalized to just engineer one aspect of the design and work with dozens of other engineers collectively who work on other aspects. There aren't too many engineers who design and build something entirely from the ground up anymore.
Jeez Nicki - Glad you weren't my teacher. As a fully professionally qualified engineer - I can honestly say the GREAT thing about this sort of video is that it fires the imagination. MY imagination was fired in electronics when I was 6 years old. Also in music. within a few years by the age of 10 I was building complex radio sets, playing guitar and piano ... reading many books, working confortably with fairly advanced arithmetic and mathematics ...all because I saw the equivalent of this video in a radio magazine . OF COURSE its skilled work ... but everyone has to acquire those skills ... and firing the imagination at a young age is the start of it.
Besides the excellent step by step explanation I enjoyed the vintage cars, the respectful community and dress code that we left behind, the black and white display and above all the non electronic old fashioned tone of the presenter. Simply marvelous.
I know everyone is saying this in the comments but it can't be said enough: what an amazing build up in this video. Whoever wrote it and edited it really knew what they were doing.
This video makes me miss my pops. Got cancer and had to sell his 1927 Dodge Brothers to pay for treatment... One day I'll buy it back and take my mom for another ride in It. It will be first time driving it and I can't promise I won't cry but damnit.. I will buy it back... By the way.. Thanks for making this video.
This is fantastic. These old documentaries are very well put together. Things are explained from bottom up in an orderly fashion which makes it so anyone, with or without beforehand knowledge of the topic can easily grasp the fundamental mechanics involved.
How sad is it that we learn way more from the internet at home then we do at school. The only thing more pathetic then that is we're learning this stuff that came from the 50's. This should be a standard middle school curriculum subject and then advancing to actually working on basic engines once graduating to high school.
Even more pathetic is the fact that we pay for school, more now than we ever have, even when it's free. Most people pay to be told what and how. I was tearing apart and piecing together lawnmower motors when I was eleven. Imagine what I know now, at 37. Eight year olds could understand videos at this level, so what would they know at 40. If pushed right, I'm sure 20 yr olds could make Hawkings look fairly simple. Use caution down this road, it gets rough when you start realizing things.
So you think automotive engineering shoulder be a compulsory subject in school? This is skilled work, if you want to pursue a career in this industry, you can do it after school. Primary and secondary education is designed to develop critical thinking and provide a platform for people to realise their talents and interests, not force you into a particular industry.
NickLiang At the same time, though, A solid learning of the fundamentals of how stuff works is essential for the future of all things. I believe engineering, coding and cpu logic systems, generalized cause and effect, organization planning and forethought, DIY and substitution method, should be up there with Biology and Mathematics. Consumer logic needs to go the way of the dinosaurs. Things won't always be there when you nee them. Survival classes based on Bear Grills and Les Stroud wouldn't be a bad idea either.
WhtStr213 That level of learning is not suitable for under 16 year olds, it is far too complex. It is also skills you can learn and develop if you want to want to pursue it. However compulsory subjects provide the basic skills for you to pursue those specific subjects which include some basic engineering, computer systems and even DIY. Organising, planning, forethought, generalised cause and effect are not subjects, they are qualities and skills which are already introduced in many subjects especially science. Further education will then substantiate this as you choose more specific subjects which suits your interest.
NickLiang And yet, I see kids 2-3 yrs old figuring out phones better and much faster than any other, and learning complex solutions that stump adults. Aren't qualities and skills for better understanding kind of the point of education, and wouldn't concentrated effort on those form a more solid foundation for education on all subjects. On a side note, thank you for bringing good conversation and valid p.o.v.. I appreciate your demeanor and approach to our conversation. ( not just stupid one-liners and insults)
I cannot believe how much I learned from this video. Sometimes a simple (although maybe not simple when it was mad) and clear direct concept video is really all that you need.
+hal900x Syncros do go out like any part that deals with friction and rubbing. Good news about manual transmissions its much more cheaper to repair. The difference can be big. Two cars of the same model but one is auto and one standard can be a different up to 5 grand.
+hal900x Unless you forget to use the clutch, or you use 2 hands to shift, or you like to go from 5th to 1st a lot, modern transmissions are pretty fucking tough to kill. I'd expect the clutch to die a lot sooner. now the wrong lube oil can fuck things up, but that's really rare. I know Subaru's are a bitch to shift cold, but once the oil thins down some they behave better.
I love these videos, they start from the very very basics and fundamentals, nowadays most profesors etc. assume that basics are common knowledge and be like: "Eh you already know this and this and this so lets start from something more complicated", well no, I don't understand and cant make an image in my head and don't know everything leading up to this and then people get lost and so on and so forth. Its like watching a movie but instead of starting from the beginning, you start it from like the half way point, well of course you'll get confused with everything that's gonna be shown since you didn't watch everything leading up to that point.
This is a makes a very logical representation of how a manual transmission works very simple, I love it, from simple levers to a system of gears making a vehicle move
I remember drawing arrows to show what gears would turn in a transmission during my finals test of my Diesel Powered Equipment class. Standard transmissions were my 2nd favorite subject behind electrical systems. Thanks for posting!
Everyone is amazed by the simplicity yet how informative it is (which it is), but I'm even more impressed at how they discovered how to do all this back in these times. Without any instant information, internet, google, etc they were able to come up with these genius solutions and inventions and problem solving abilities on their own. Even with the internet I couldn't come up with 1/1000th of what these engineers could
I think books held way more power with the general population than they do now. I'm guilty of never reading books anymore, but I'll read all day on my phone about nonsense.
+LuMiZeAbLe “GIVE ME A LEVER long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world. ” - Archimedes. Congratulations! You win a cookie.
"DOS MI PA STO KAI TAN GAN KINASO" Exact translation from ancient greek; " Give me somewhere to stand (meaning firmly, solidly) and I shall move the Earth" - Archimedes DOS = Give MI = Me PA = Somewhere STO = To stand KAI = And TAN = The GAN = Earth KINASO = (I Shall) Move
For me it is almost like finding a treasure. Explanations of the free spinning gear around the drive shaft, the constant but linear moving gear on the drive shaft, the reverse gear and the synchronizer is so clear that in modern transmission videos they are almost impossible to understand. Not to mention that in the beginning of the video the logic of going from levers to gears are a true treasure, almost philosophical. Can't thank enough.
that demonstration with the gear shift and the sparks flying wear-and-tear on the gears made so much sense!!! I always wondered about that, but it turns out, the car had a synchronizer all along so it didn't have to worry about gears being at diff speeds before shifting!
so i have watched a hundred other videos all developed by modern scientists and teachers, they all feature fancy computerized animations and state standardized questions. I learned nothing from that. Then along comes this video from 1930 (im guessing) And it is straightforward easy to understand and BOOM i get the manual transmission, if only the modern teachers take a look at this
I have a learning disability, yet I'm in the same boat (or car if you'd rather). Given the rather black and white attitude (to match the black and white footage) that people had in those days, I was worried that I wouldn't understand any of this or be able to keep up with it, yet surprisingly it was a hell of a lot more easier than the modern CGI stuff. And the real tragedy of it all is that the CGI stuff would've been a lot easier to put together (no need to have a dummy transmission put together, no need to hire a team of animators, just one person and their computer will do the trick! plus the CGI doesn't need be overly detailed which means the frames can be easily rendered and put together on a basic laptop).
this is the shit i strive to learn, why the gears are the way they are. the basic concept of power transfer and why first gear is powerful. truly amazing video
Wow! whoever wrote this video did a amazing job of simplifying the physics & mechanical aspects of how the transmission works. Really enjoyed how they started with the basics & history( fulcrum & levers) & progressed .
It feels like so many documentaries these days just give you a glimpse of something without getting into the cool nitty-gritty of it, like we don't have the required attention span for it. "Here we have this awesome thing! Isn't it pretty? Moving on..." This film, however, completely breaks it down in an easy to understand way, weirdo Archimedes notwithstanding haha.
6 years after this video is posted, I learned how to fix my transmission because of this videos simplistic explanation. Definitely made it easy to understand how my car works.
Whilst not a mechanic by trade, I've worked on many cars and even though car gear boxes are more complex and clutches are way different now, this old film packed so much info in such logical fashion. Well done them folk from yesteryear.
In this video, they show there was a time when one had to shift gears without a clutch. A newer driver that didn't know the proper rpm to hit would cause an excessive amount of wear and tear and knew it because of the awful sounds he'd make every time he shifted to another gear. They then developed a clutch so you could synchronize the gears before connecting them to the engine's power. This temporarily disconnects the engine from the entire system but you can do it fast enough for it not to be a huge difference. This was a major improvement because you didn't have to get your timing perfect to shift correctly. This helped newer drivers immensely. Now we have automatic transmissions that allow for even smoother and faster shifts which of course is done automatically. This makes driving as easy as "this pedal gives you speed and this pedal takes away speed". Why is it that people complain about automatic transmissions? Maybe in a country where most cars are manuals it would make sense to ensure everyone can drive a manual but in a country where most cars are automatics, there is no need to know how to operate a manual.
Because if you're on operator of cars, and are licensed to do so, wouldn't it be proper to make sure you can drive a car? Manual or Automatic. Even if you may not run into it everyday, knowing how to drive every type of vehicle should be important, and is what you are licensed to do. There's a whole list of reasons I could get into, but this alone should be enough to learn. I don't have all day to go through the rest.
auto is for bitches who cant drive, or have no interest in driving as an activity in and of itself. people who see driving as just a connection from one activity to another, rather than an activity to get to another activity. its the unappreciation of driving and the longing for an easier time doing what they dont care to do that gets automatic so much hate. if u appreciate driving and you want a true connection and love with your car, manual is the way to go, if u dont like driving and you like more of just getting place to place, easiest and mose efficient way, auto is for u
Lol no, completely wrong, automatic transmissions are not a new invention and are absolutely not a progession of any technology. Automatics are as old as manuals
@@AverageAlien uhh.. automatics are most definitely a progression in tech, and while the very first one was in the early 20s, the fiest successful commercial one wasnt set to be normalized until the mid 60s, so i disagree, they arent as old as the stick shift, and yes while they may not be a current new invention, they most definitely were a "progression of technology"
Everything makes sense when its explained in this way. I've always thought of gearboxes as over complicated and didn't think i would ever understand how they work. Turns out all it took was 10 minutes and an old fashioned video!
the number design on the speedometer is so old style it takes you back in time. Awesome video. i like seeing what life was like in different time periods.
that was bloody brilliant, no wonder the older generation knows so much. now a days they either put no effort to teaching, so its too technical and just jargon, or they dumb it down so much you dont learn anything at all. this video was the perfect explanation. utterly perfect.
The 'older generation' - ie those born before 1980 - were and are interested to learn, ask questions and do research for themselves. Generally speaking, those born since 1980 still rely on 'mommy' to wipe their arse for them. When I was 14, in 1966, I acquired a broken gearbox and took it apart just to see how it works. I still pick up broken things and take them apart to learn how they work. If something in my life fails to work I find out how to fix it myself - because I WANT to learn and to know about my world. FYI - I didn't attend any form of 'trade school', ergo other than basic science / physics, NOTHING about 'engineering' was taught at my schools. Sitting on your arse playing computer games won't help you in 'real life'. Stop blaming others - eg teachers - and take some initiative in your own life. School is where you SHOULD learn HOW to learn. And it's the responsibility of PARENTS to encourage their children to WANT to learn. It's not possible for ANY school to teach you everything - ie hand you the world on a silver platter.
This w a s a very useful 15 minutes of watching..working in a junkyard as a young adult..I've seen plenty of these transmissions laying around..took some home..just to disect...this entertaining as well.