![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:27 • Filed to: memes, CVT | ![]() | ![]() |
edit: re-post for the Monday crowd
![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:15 |
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INFINITE GEARS*
*within insultingly narrow range
![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:16 |
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![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:17 |
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Divide any amount of torque by infinity, and you get zero.
Q. E. D. C. V. T.
![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:21 |
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T hey are weird - and I own one. They are kind of like a toaster to drive - very appliance-esque. But I do love I can cruise at 70 and only be pulling 1700 rpm in an underpowered 4 cyl vehicle and get great gas mileage. And my wife loves it.
![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:21 |
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Constantly Vexing Transmission
![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:25 |
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It’s great for daily driving. The Honda CVT has a very nice “manual shifting mode” where it simulates a 7-speed automatic with paddle shifters.
Performance driving is fun too. It responds faster than most conventional automatics for upshifts & downshifts, but it auto-upshifts at redline and smelled like it overheated after 60 seconds of enthusiastic driving at autocross.
![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:26 |
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Curbing Velocity Terminally
![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:43 |
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My wife’s minivan has one. I love how theres no jerking between gears li ke a regular auto. It does a fine job of getting that thing moving. i can;t speak for situations like a CVT in a WRX but in the minvan it seems better than an auto. I would trade the auto- DCT in my Focus for a CVT any day.
![]() 12/09/2018 at 21:46 |
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It’s my opinion that, despite their performance flaws, CVTs are far better than conventional automatics. Smoother, more predictable, it does “automatic” better than an actual automatic.
I’ve driven a Forester XT with the CVT, and honestly it’s not bad at all.
![]() 12/09/2018 at 22:36 |
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The CVT in my 08 Outback was very jerky. It had 4 super well-defined “shift points” and it was an all around miserable transmission if left in auto mode. Manual mode was... Decent?
![]() 12/09/2018 at 22:42 |
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I drove a rented Versa with a CVT. Only CVT I’ve driven. On a zero-to-freeway full-effort acceleration, it felt like a ratchet, like shifting between a dozen or more gears. Me no likey. And my understanding is that they require service more often with very expensive transmission fluid.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 08:18 |
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Whenever the CVT discussion comes up, Subaru’s always seems to be used as the example of those that suck. They need to knock that crap off with shift points. Not having shift points is the best part of the CVT so WTF are they doing putting them back in???
![]() 12/10/2018 at 08:39 |
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I honestly don’t hate the CVT in my Accord. Highway-merging drag races are uneventful and I get up to speed quite smoothly.
I still row my own in the Tacoma...but sometimes its nice to not have to.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:38 |
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How does it do in an emergency acceleration at highway speeds? My 03 Odyssey drops a couple of gears and f**king moves out. I drove out of an almost certain wreck on the interstate south of Fort Worth a few years ago.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:43 |
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It’s kinda funny. People have used CVTs in sleds for 40 years and it’s totally normal. It makes it much easier to keep a two-stroke engine in the self-supercharging power band, which is what I imagine the original intent was. Compared to dirtbikes , a sled has more mass and it’s more advantageous for acceleration to hold that power band. And people are happy about that, because that’s the way a sled works.
But as soon as you stick one in a car, people start complaining that it doesn’t jerk between ranges like a “normal” trans. Because acceleration is somehow now more boring than your automatic... “
Wait, you mean you actually would prefer to drive a manual..?
”
“no!
I didn’t say that!
”
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:45 |
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That’s more of a Versa problem than a CVT problem. And while they were more expensive ten or so years ago, other transmission designs have caught up. My 2016 smart’s DCT is actually more expensive to repair than Madame DeLorean’s Honda Civic’s CVT.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:48 |
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My mother in law just bought a Nissan Rouge which obviously has a CVT, and “gear changes”
I spent a fair amount of time ranting about how stupid that is. I’ve driven a CTV Cube, and that was kinda cool, how it just stayed at like 5300rpm when you mashed the gas, while the gear ratio changes seamlessly .
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:49 |
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I used to hate CVTs (my first experience with them was in a 2008 Dodge Caliber) but they’ve gotten so much better over the past decade. Madame DeLorean’s Civic has one and while it’s not what you’d call “engaging”, it’s actually better than any regular automatic I’ve driven recently.
And the CF Moto is hilariously fun. Crank the throttle to max and hold on!
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:51 |
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Your Outback had 4 shift points because it had a traditional 5 speed automatic. Subaru didn't start using their modern CVT until 2010 with the 5th generation Legacy platform.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:55 |
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Huh. Would you look at that. 4 speed auto in an 08 that's not a penalty box
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:55 |
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My family owns 2 CVT Subarus and both are great transmissions. My sister's 2012 Impreza is awesome and does none of the fake gear BS. My Mom's 2017 Outback is a bit worse because it does a bit of the shift point schenanigans when accelerating but the "shifts" are smooth and for the most part they are so subtle you don't notice them. They even drop to lower ratios and engine brake for you when needed.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:58 |
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Crushingly Vapid Transportation
![]() 12/10/2018 at 14:59 |
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I’m having trouble following you...
![]() 12/10/2018 at 15:00 |
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Having had both the 4 speed and 5 speed in my family I can say the 4 speed is a vastly superior transmission to the 5. The 5 is probably the clumsiest and most clueless transmission I have ever driven.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 15:08 |
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That’s because you’re following me in a Versa. :D
Jokes aside, I may be a bit incoherent due to a lack of sleep last night. I think what I’m trying to say is that CVTs are hit and miss. Some are stupid, some are pretty great.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 15:20 |
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Vacuum operated CVTs tend to be much more smoother, as they don’t have any of that simulated gear nonsense. Therefore, all CVTs should be DAF’s Variomatic ;p
![]() 12/10/2018 at 15:26 |
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it has a V6 and get get moving pretty well. I dont think i’ve even been in that bad of a situation, but i have put the foot down in anger merging on the highway and my wife gave me that look of ‘your not a dragster driver.’ so i guess it does ok. Its no WRX though
![]() 12/10/2018 at 15:31 |
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But Mercedes-Renault... So yeah.
Any updates on the 453 front? Fingers crossed it works out for you.
![]() 12/10/2018 at 15:47 |
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I may be following you in a Versa, but it’s paid for.
I’d want nothing to do with a CVT. As it is, automatics have so many gears now that it’s getting ridiculous and 1st is just a granny gear. Five or six is plenty.
I haven’t talked with you in a long while. How are things going?
![]() 12/10/2018 at 15:58 |
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No updates as of yet. I basically told MB not to talk to me and instead talk to my lawyer. I am hopeful as well. :)
![]() 12/10/2018 at 16:05 |
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Fair enough! I share that sentiment with autos as well. I remember when economy cars had four gears and performance cars had five, maaaaaybe 6. Now even the most pedestrian things can have 8 gears.
Things are pretty hit and miss. MBFS is still looking to repossess my 453 (lawyer is working on that), my mum is trying to suck me dry even though I don’t live with her anymore, and I’m having a sort of quarter life crisis where I can’t decide where to take my career.
On the other hand, Madame DeLorean remains my favourite partner ever and I keep acquiring motorcycles at an alarming rate. I’m actually thinking of making collecting these vehicles into a tax deductible business with the help of my monetized YouTube channel, but I’m still working on that.