- Feb 4, 2012
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Wall of text inbound:
Just a simple thread to go over what I've noticed on many forums/youtube (cough fastlanecar cough) videos/general public in regards to CVTs. Most people are like "Oh I love the car but when I stomp on the gas I can't stand that drone! It's Terrible!"
Now I just got a 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5SV and yes, it's my first CVT. I remember the first time I took it for a test drive and stomped on it that there was something wrong with the transmission since it pegged out at over 6K. Did some research and then the lightbulb came on in my head, it's actually an ingenious design.
I play a lot of WWII Flight sims, and the #1 thing you learn in flying a prop plane is Prop Pitch or the angle of the blade. Throttle controls manifold pressure, engine RPM is controlled by the prop pitch. You adjust it so that you stay in the powerband no matter what your speed is (100kmph-500+kmph, you'll stay at 3400RPM or whatever you engine rating is). It just makes sense to me now that I can compare it to a real world application.
I've heard rumors of how "oh they suck, you have to replace the belts constantly" and "they're completely unreliable". Belts needn't be changed as much as many of the ignorant believe, and no they shouldn't have an expected lifespan of 50K....that's rediculous. Now an overhaul will probably be expensive as hell but as long as you take care of the car/transmission it should last as long as a regular transmission. I remember in highschool when my Firebird had to have it's auto transmission rebuilt...twice in 120K. That particular transmission was a PITA. Maint/Care is KEY with everything when it comes to cars.
People won't give them a chance because they're different and don't constantly cycle through the RPMs while shifting. Now my transmission feels just like a regular auto transmission except when I floor it. On the highway I'll be doing 1.5-2K RPMs, I rarely ever go over 3K unless I'm flooring it which is just like my previous automatic before. Now yes, a 4 cyl will scream a lot if you are trying to drive like a bat out of hell, that's just 4 cyls in general. My girlfriend has a 2013 Honda Accord 4 Cyl that is mated with a CVT. I honestly couldn't tell even after driving it until I read the specs when I was looking at cars to buy.
Then there is the "OMG they are so slow" at 13.9-14.2 in the 1/4mile I wouldn't exactly call my CVT v6 "slow". And it gets good gas mileage to boot! Now CVTs do limit my choice of mods as I don't want to do a muffler/catback job where my exhaust will end up just screaming if I gunned it. Fast or slow that'd get old quick.
Was there this much drama when automatics first came on as popular? I know people still act elitist when it comes to "Manual or die" but I would NOT get a manual transmission for a daily driving when living in Houston as I do. That's suicide/tempting fate with going crazy.
People just need to accept that it's looking likely that CVTs may replace traditional automatics in many areas in the next few years.
Don't mean to be a troll post or anything, but there seems to be A LOT of misinformation on these transmissions as well as ignorance just due to the fact that they are different. Hell just like anything else I hear a lot of hate from people who have never driven a CVT, yet they act like their word is accepted as standard.
TL : DR
Ignorance is bad, m'kay?
Just a simple thread to go over what I've noticed on many forums/youtube (cough fastlanecar cough) videos/general public in regards to CVTs. Most people are like "Oh I love the car but when I stomp on the gas I can't stand that drone! It's Terrible!"
Now I just got a 2013 Nissan Altima 3.5SV and yes, it's my first CVT. I remember the first time I took it for a test drive and stomped on it that there was something wrong with the transmission since it pegged out at over 6K. Did some research and then the lightbulb came on in my head, it's actually an ingenious design.
I play a lot of WWII Flight sims, and the #1 thing you learn in flying a prop plane is Prop Pitch or the angle of the blade. Throttle controls manifold pressure, engine RPM is controlled by the prop pitch. You adjust it so that you stay in the powerband no matter what your speed is (100kmph-500+kmph, you'll stay at 3400RPM or whatever you engine rating is). It just makes sense to me now that I can compare it to a real world application.
I've heard rumors of how "oh they suck, you have to replace the belts constantly" and "they're completely unreliable". Belts needn't be changed as much as many of the ignorant believe, and no they shouldn't have an expected lifespan of 50K....that's rediculous. Now an overhaul will probably be expensive as hell but as long as you take care of the car/transmission it should last as long as a regular transmission. I remember in highschool when my Firebird had to have it's auto transmission rebuilt...twice in 120K. That particular transmission was a PITA. Maint/Care is KEY with everything when it comes to cars.
People won't give them a chance because they're different and don't constantly cycle through the RPMs while shifting. Now my transmission feels just like a regular auto transmission except when I floor it. On the highway I'll be doing 1.5-2K RPMs, I rarely ever go over 3K unless I'm flooring it which is just like my previous automatic before. Now yes, a 4 cyl will scream a lot if you are trying to drive like a bat out of hell, that's just 4 cyls in general. My girlfriend has a 2013 Honda Accord 4 Cyl that is mated with a CVT. I honestly couldn't tell even after driving it until I read the specs when I was looking at cars to buy.
Then there is the "OMG they are so slow" at 13.9-14.2 in the 1/4mile I wouldn't exactly call my CVT v6 "slow". And it gets good gas mileage to boot! Now CVTs do limit my choice of mods as I don't want to do a muffler/catback job where my exhaust will end up just screaming if I gunned it. Fast or slow that'd get old quick.
Was there this much drama when automatics first came on as popular? I know people still act elitist when it comes to "Manual or die" but I would NOT get a manual transmission for a daily driving when living in Houston as I do. That's suicide/tempting fate with going crazy.
People just need to accept that it's looking likely that CVTs may replace traditional automatics in many areas in the next few years.
Don't mean to be a troll post or anything, but there seems to be A LOT of misinformation on these transmissions as well as ignorance just due to the fact that they are different. Hell just like anything else I hear a lot of hate from people who have never driven a CVT, yet they act like their word is accepted as standard.
TL : DR
Ignorance is bad, m'kay?
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