This Is Why Your Car Makes That Weird Whining Sound In Reverse

[EC]

Have you ever wondered why when you drive in reverse, your car makes that strange, high-pitched whine? Of course you have; you’re a human, or at least something close enough to a human to go on the internet, drive a car, and wonder. There’s actually a simple, satisfying reason why this happens, so let’s kick some ignorance to the curb.

Just in case you’re not familiar with the reverse whine, I found some samples of it online, in these videos of people driving in reverse:

So, we all heard that sound. Why does the car only make that sound in reverse, and not in any of the forward gears? The answer has to do with the gears themselves.

You see, in most transmissions, the forward gears are what’s known as helical gears, which have angled teeth and are in constant mesh with one another. The angles of the teeth keep the teeth in constant contact with one another, which makes the gears quiet.

For reverse gear, most transmissions use spur gears, also known as straight-cut gears. These are used because they’re much cheaper to produce than helical gears, and since a reverse gear actually uses three gears to reverse the direction of the input shaft, that adds up.

More: http://jalopnik.com/this-is-why-your-car-makes-that-weird-whining-sound-in-1793174286

[Doug Loss]

I must say, most of the Gawker websites are so thick with leftist mindset that they're nearly unreadable, but Jason Torchinsky's writings for Jalopnik are always worth reading.  He's a bit crazy, but always interesting.

[EC]

I like him. He's interested in a bit of everything without being over pretentious about it, which makes his writing interesting.

[roamer_1]

Huh. Usually when that happens to me, its a Prius wrapped around the axle...  Well, no... actually the whining is coming from the liberal granola-head driving the Prius... If it's more of a screeching sound, then the driver of the Prius is a liberal feminist.

[Frank Cannon]

Reverse is for losers. Never use it.

[Wingnut]

Reverse is for losers. Never use it.

Yep.  And brakes are for quitters!   You need to keep spacing....downshift to a lower gear.

[Elderberry]

Driving my 56 Chevy 3/4 ton with its SM420 Granny 4speed, reverse sounds just like first. Come to think of it, reverse and first also sound the same in my 53 Willys.

[Elderberry]

Yep.  And brakes are for quitters!   You need to keep spacing....downshift to a lower gear.

I drove my Son and Lab to the Westheimer Art festival in my 53 Willys jeep. About halfway back I lost my brakes. No problem. Don't use them much anyway. Once driving home from work in my 56 I lost my clutch linkage. And Once I drove my 68 Chevy pickup home from work clear across Houston with no fan belt. There's not a whole lot that keep these old cars/trucks from going.

I was once at a party at a beach house at Freeport. I sweet young thang walked up and said her car died just down the road. I took a look and she had spark, no gas. I pulled the gas line off and no gas when she turned it over. I sucked on it and got a mouth full of gas. I spit it in the carb, she turned it over and she was able to go aways. I then became the human fuel pump and she was able to get her car to the party.

[musiclady]

Reverse is for losers. Never use it.

Jason Bourne used it effectively..........

[GtHawk]

Reverse is for losers. Never use it.

I bet you also belong to the Green Light Go, Yellow Light Go LIke Hell, Red Light Stop Me If You Can Club. I myself am a charter member.

[Wingnut]

Driving my 56 Chevy 3/4 ton with its SM420 Granny 4speed, reverse sounds just like first.

Had a C-20 PU... a 1980 I think...and it had that same granny 1st gear.   Never had the occasion to use it but once out in the woods pulling stumps and fence posts.  The people helping push after we got stuck had a faster top end!

[Major Confusion]

Too many red light cameras where I live to be in your club.

[Wingnut]

Too many red light cameras where I live to be in your club.

Communism... pure and simple.  Best move to a free state or city.

[Doug Loss]

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[Oceander]

Yep.  And brakes are for quitters!   You need to keep spacing....downshift to a lower gear.

Bingo!  Many years ago, when I had a stick shift, I used to play a game with myself to see if I could get from home to work, through about 5 or 6 lights, without using the brakes, just pacing, spacing, and downshifting; I got quite good at it.