Do you know what CVD stands for? You might think “Constant Velocity Drive”, but if that’s the case, it’s a misnomer. It’s no more “constant velocity” of a joint than a regular U-joint, or a dogbone flopping around in an outdrive. A real “constant velocity” joint is much more complex.
Constant velocity implies that, regardless of the angle, angular velocity at one end is always equal to the other. A regular Cardan joint, two pivots perpendicular to each other, will produce oscillations at an angle. Two cardans at 90 degrees of eachother will cancel this oscillation out, thus why dogbones are “flat”. But this only works if the angle at both sides are equal. For the rear wheels, toe and camber will mess that up slightly, but the front wheels have it worse, since they’ll be turning at much sharper angles.
Functionally, “CVD” axles perform identically to U-joint axles, dogbones, and slider shafts. So if not for “constant velocity”, what does “CVD” stand for? Costs Volumes of Dollars? Captured Vampires Dangle? Craving Violet Drapes? Nothing. It’s just a name now.
RCBS is a column where I rant about things in R/C that don’t make sense, but everyone accepts them anyway.
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