How Does A Full-Floating Rear Axle Work?

01/19/2023

How Does A Full-Floating Rear Axle Work?

01/19/2023

Unless you work on them often or are involved in racing full-time, the phrase "full-floating rear axle" is likely to inspire an expression of confusion. What is full-floating in a rear axle? The term actually refers to the method in which the axle shaft...the item that transfers the rotational force from the ring gear to the tire...is mounted to the outer hub. In a standard rear axle design, the axle bearing carries not only the load of the vehicle's weight, but they have to take the torsional force of the engine's power and cope with any side loading resulting from cornering. For a standard automobile or in drag-racing applications, this works out fine. But what if heavy, high-speed cornering is what you want? The standard axle bearing isn't designed to handle those increased lateral loads and the strength of the axle and other attached components, like brakes, are compromised. But a full-floating rear axle can handle such a situation, by moving the axle bearings from the axle housing to a hub mounted to the axle housing. This allows the axles to do nothing more than to transmit power to the wheels, while the hub and bearings take the punishment.


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