It turns out that grinding gears in your Lego transmission sound exactly like the real thing.
Ever wondered what a manual transmission does? Are you a fan of legos? If you answered yes to either one or both of these questions, then this video is for you. Brick Technology, a Youtuber and Lego builder master, recently made a video showing the creation of a 5-speed manual transmission with reverse. This Lego engineering feat shows how a manual transmission works, and also highlights the importance of gear ratios. Brick Technology begins the build with a simple two-speed transmission powered by an electric motor. The transmission build kicks into high gear when two additional gear sets are added. The result is 5 speeds, which follow the same manual transmission layout. After the transmission was fully assembled, it was time for the shifter.
Brick Technology had to make a shifter for the Lego transmission. This took some trial and error. The transmission was made with a lot more slop than it needed. This would have made it difficult to shift smoothly and would likely draw criticism from lego automotive journalists. Reinforcing parts were added to combat the slop. This eventually led to a precise and tight transmission.
Brick Technology then tested the shifter by adding it to the transmission. The length of the throw caused the shifter to get stuck during testing. Brick Technology provided a Lego short shift kit to fix this problem. It was now time to move on to reverse. This was an opportunity to see how reverse gears work using a combination input and output gears to propel a car backward.
Once the transmission was completed, it was connected to a Lego Dyno to provide power. This dynamometer is an amazing example of the engineering that goes into making YouTube cars. The final test of the Lego Lego build is to shift between all five years as well as in reverse, while running at maximum speed. This last test demonstrates the solid build quality of the fully functional Lego 5-speed transmission. This is the most complex lego engineering build that we have seen since Lego made a functioning Bugatti Chiron.