Can a Car Go Fast in Reverse?

Have you witnessed cars driven in reverse in the movies at speeds almost touching 80mph? Well, that is an unreal situation. In real life, you’ll find different driving experiences. However, is it possible to drive your car in reverse? Can a car go fast in reverse?

Cars can move in reverse. When your car is at 6,000 revolutions, your car wheel rotates at 240 rounds per minute. So this means that a car can go in the reverse direction at 13 miles per hour (20 kilometers per hour).

However, you should know that reverse has only a single gear equivalent to the first gear under forward driving. Other vehicles can reach a top speed of 50 kilometers per hour, equivalent to30 miles per hour.

Do you want to explore the world of cars in the reverse drive? Well, this article is here to help.

Features of Reverse Driving

Features	Description
Gearbox	A 5-speed gearbox is not considering the reverse gear a speed
Maximum speed	Under normal reverse drive, vehicles can move to reverse speed of about 13 miles per hour or 20 kilometers per hour
Reverse gear numbers	Most of the vehicles have only one reverse gear while others can offer up to 2
Reverse inhibition system	The inhibition system prevents the engagement of reverse gear when vehicle is under forward driving
Engine operation	Within the engine, the reverse gear acts as the first gear during forward driving

Does Reverse Drive Count as a Speed?

Most people do not consider the reverse gear a speed that the gearbox of an automobile can offer. The 5-speed gearbox can offer up to 5 forward speeds more than the reverse gear. The only reason is that the reverse gear gets used under any complimentary situation during your car drive.

However, there exist other cars that can offer two reverse gears. This situation is not common in many vehicle transmission systems. When talking about gearbox speed, it won’t be considered speed for the 2-reverse gears.

How Fast Can Your Car Go In Reverse?

Knowing how fast your car can go in reverse is knowing more about the gears. Most cars have at least five forward gears and only a single reverse gear to drive them backward. With this said, we can now understand how fast your car can go in reverse. Modern vehicles have gears ranging from 4 to 7. However , speed depends on the following factors:

The Suspension

Every car has front suspensions, which help move your vehicle forward and not backward. It helps prevent car drivers from getting into fast speeds during the vehicle’s reverse.

However, the top speed during reverse driving terminates with spectacular turnouts. It is challenging to drive straight and backward. So, under reverse driving, you cannot go faster. In addition, the front suspension helps the car move forward but not backward.

The Transmission

Whenever your car has automatic transmission, the gears will automatically shift to higher gears whenever you increase the speed. Unfortunately, you have only one gear that maintains your backward drive at a particular speed limit for the reverse drive.

In addition, car experts recommend the need to drive your vehicle under a specific speed limit whenever you want your vehicle not to have any issues under reverse gear running.

The Reverse Gear Driving Issues

Car manufacturers do not produce cars knowing that there exist drivers who want to reverse the cars at high speed. The cars only have a single gear with ample driving energy to move the vehicle from its standstill. However, the vehicle engine and the other components must always be compatible when driving in reverse gear for a long time.

Besides, the resistance of reverse gears is lesser than the forward gears. Whenever you want to maintain your car and reverse for a longer time, it’ll cause more strain on the reverse gear components. Therefore, it’s not the best decision to make.

How Long Can Your Car Move In Reverse Gear?

It is possible to move your car for an indefinite period. The backward drive gear is much similar to the first forward gear. Whenever your car runs under the automatic transmission, it’ll help the automatic shift to higher gears when you increase the speed. Because the reverse has only one gear, you have to maintain your car at a specific speed to make your vehicle run in the reverse mode. Whenever your car stays in the reverse mode for as long as you want, you only have to maintain it at the particular speed limit of the gear.

Is There a Problem During Reverse Gear Driving?

For every car, the single gear provides torque under low speed to move your car from a standstill. Cars engines and other components have compatibility, which helps when reverse driving for a longer time.

The resilience and durability of reverse gears are lesser than the forward gears and bearings can endure. Usually, you spend a fraction of time when reverse driving; driving for a very long time causes much stress to the gear components.

Besides, your car will generate more heat and sound in reverse conditions. The heat may lead to some inner components of your car overheating. Another area of concern is the engine. You’ll find one reverse gear, which means you’ll consistently drive in the reverse mode under the single gear.

Driving long distances under reverse mode means the RPM will shoot up, causing your engine components to overheat. The heating causes damage and failure to the valve train, camshafts, piston rings, and more parts; this results in engine failure. 

How Should You Reverse Drive Without Any Problem?

Whether you want to drive for adventure or fun, you’ll have only two options. You should change the transmission mechanism to cause more reverse gears than only one. However, the modification is costly.

Buying an electric vehicle is the other option. Ev’s compatibility mechanism can run the same motor to move backward and forward with no extra wear. You can also speed up without making any modifications to your car.

Conclusion

Whenever your car revolution is around 6000, the car wheel rotates at 240 rounds per minute; your car can reverse at 13 miles per hour, approximately 20 kilometers per hour. However, the reverse has only one gear, like the first gear under the forwarding drive. Besides, some vehicles can reach a reverse speed of 50 kilometers per hour.

Instead, you should not try whenever you want to speed up your car in reverse; you should instead not try. The process will not only harm your reverse gear components but also can be risky. When in reverse mode over a longer distance, the car components may heat, resulting in engine breakdown, causing your car to not run.