How an Automatic Transmission Works

[geokilla]

So I don't really understand the video, so sorry if I'm not making sense.

Since the gears are always engaged and the auto tranny just basically locks the shaft part or something when a gear change is required, isn't it possible for the transmission to act similar like a CVT where there could be an infinite amount of gears instead of having just 4 to 8 speed auto transmissions?

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: geokilla
So I don't really understand the video, so sorry if I'm not making sense.

Since the gears are always engaged and the auto tranny just basically locks the shaft part or something when a gear change is required, isn't it possible for the transmission to act similar like a CVT where there could be an infinite amount of gears instead of having just 4 to 8 speed auto transmissions?

The friction and wear on the bands / clutch / wear surfaces would be too great to make that a viable solution. Think of all of the slippage there would have to be in order to accommodate CVT-like behavior. Now imagine all of the worn-off material ending up in the transmission fluid. Not to mention the heat generated would probably hurt the fluid's viscosity. Besides that, I don't know how well bands deal with "slipping", I think they work best when treated as "on/off" switches.

 

[TehMac]

Automatic transmissions also turn men into women and make everyone lazy bitches.