ADUK Archive

So showing my ignorance (not unusual)...do cars suffer from the gyroscopic effects of the crankshaft?

In aerobatic aircraft it's common to make use of the gyro effects from the engine and propeller to assist in some manoeurvers (and it's a pain in some others) and it dawned on me cars might have the same problem perhaps when under power and turning for instance.

I expect the answer is yes, but there are also effects in the wheel and tyre assemblies to factor in too, and these may be greater than that of the crankshaft and flywheel/clutch combination.

I'm not sure, but car manufacturers may also factor in the effect to some degree by offsetting the centreline of the crankshaft from the centreline of the car in longitudinally-mounted engines. For transverse engines the effect is likely to be much less noticeable.

Overall though, I expect the weight of the car and its adhesion to the road surface make the effects pretty much unnoticeable.

regards
P.