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What is a CVT transmission? Are they as good as an 8 spd. automatic trans?
Any problems with the turbo charged engines in the Honda Civic SI models brand new?
What is a CVT transmission? Are they as good as an 8 spd. automatic trans?
Any problems with the turbo charged engines in the Honda Civic SI models brand new?
CVTs don't have discrete gears that mesh together, instead they have a (usually steel, like on Hondas) belt that slides up and down between two 2 opposing cones on each shaft to give you, in effect, an infinitely variable gear ratio, i.e. a continuously variable (CV) gear ratio. This is a big advantage - powertrain engineers can have the engine run at the best engine RPM for fuel economy, or torque, or acceleration (pick one, you can't pick them all) through a very wide range of vehicle speeds - for many practical driving conditions, at *all* vehicle speeds.
Some people think CVTs are slow. That's wrong. They listen to the motor, and they are used to (with a conventional transmission) hear the engine RPMs rise steadily when the car accelerates, in fact for them, the noise of the RPMs rising, IS the car accelerating, which is wrong of course - acceleration is the change in velocity of the car, and with a CVT, that can occur even without much RPM change. You'll hear them call the CVT "rubber bandy", that's because the vehicle speed is disconnected from engine RPMs - but as explained, this is the car's "audio", it's not the acceleration performance. What's sad is, some automakers have started to make CVTs that jump from one place to another, rather than sit at the optimal engine RPMs, or move smoothly from optimal fuel economy to optimal acceleration RPMs - they're doing this so that the CVT engine-sound is more like you get with a conventional transmission, basically to satisfy dim-witted buyers, and in so doing, they're actually defeating the advantages of having a CVT in the first place! *sigh*.
Apparently there are some CVTs that have had reliability issues. I haven't heard of any issues with Hondas, and they've been selling CVTs for 20+ years. I have also heard that it's not suitable if you're someone who's going to make performance mods to the engine that increase horsepower and torque by 50% more than the CVT was designed for. That may be, but most people don't do that.
I put 125,000 miles on my 2013 Accord with CVT when I sold it, and there was no discernible deterioration in that transmission whatsoever. Driving that Accord lightly, it would run 2,000 RPMs when in town doing 25mph, all the way out to doing 2,000 RPMs at 75mph on the interstate, literally no change in RPMs at all. Meanwhile the car would be really quiet as the engine was just loafing, and I wasn't turning many engine revs per mile, which has got to be good news for the engine life - less frictional wear can only be a good thing.
CVTs bring a significant improvement in gas mileage. The car runs quieter. I think they'll also help your engine life. The only downside is an aesthetic one - it doesn't *sound* like a traditional car. I didn't like the sound of my Accord when I first got it. Within a year I got used to it. By the time I sold it, I much preferred it.
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 05-05-2019 at 01:25 PM..
Nissan reportedly has been having problems with their CVTs, but Honda's have been pretty reliable. A lot of people complain that CVTs take the fun out of driving and behave differently when compared to traditional stepped transmissions. CVTs actually return better fuel economy and can improve 0 to 60 times.
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The CVTs in the new Nissans are so good most people can't tell the difference between that and a multi gear transmission. I rented the newer Rogues and Versa Notes and was very impressed by how smooth and quiet the CVT is.
Nissan reportedly has been having problems with their CVTs, but Honda's have been pretty reliable. A lot of people complain that CVTs take the fun out of driving and behave differently when compared to traditional stepped transmissions. CVTs actually return better fuel economy and can improve 0 to 60 times.
It depends on how they are programmed, but if the CVT is programmed to maximize acceleration, it can absolutely be faster than either a manual transmission or a conventional automatic. (A) In the CVT, the power is ALWAYS being delivered to the driving wheels, you're never losing time between gears with the engine disconnected briefly from the drivetrain, and (B) if it's programmed for maximum acceleration, the CVT can run the engine at the RPM of maximum acceleration at ALL times (all vehicle speeds), rather than just passing through this point, rising above it, and then falling below it with each gear change. CVTs are illegal for racing!
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 05-05-2019 at 01:52 PM..
I have a KTuner(reprograms the ECU) on my 17' Civic EX-T CVT. It's a blast to drive! I use 93 octane with it, and the included stage 1 tune(18.5 PSI...nothing too crazy).
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