Benefits
By its nature, a freewheel mechanism acts as an automatic clutch, making it possible to change gears in a manual gearbox, either up- or downshifting, without depressing the clutch pedal, limiting the use of the manual clutch to starting from standstill or stopping. The Saab freewheel can be engaged or disengaged by the driver by pulling or pushing a lever. This will lock or unlock the main shaft with the freewheel hub.
A freewheel also produces slightly better fuel economy on carbureted engines (without fuel turn-off on engine brake) and less wear on the manual clutch, but leads to more wear on the brakes as there is no longer any ability to perform engine braking. This may make freewheel transmissions dangerous for use on trucks and automobiles driven in mountainous regions, as prolonged and continuous application of brakes to limit vehicle speed soon leads to brake-system overheating followed shortly by total failure.
Read more about this topic: Freewheel
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