While searching the Rocket Auto SM Inventory, be sure to ask the seller if any individual vehicle you’re looking at has a CVT.Ī car with a CVT is great for some people, but might not suit others. While CVTs are very popular on the Japanese market, they are becoming more common in the United States on such models as the Honda Civic, Subaru Forester and Toyota C-HR, to name just a few. There is really no shift, which is why the ride feels smoother. To put it another way, a traditional transmission jumps between a fixed number of gears, whereas a CVT glides between an infinite number of gears. Unlike gears, which shift in increments, the belt and the width of the pulleys are constantly changing depending on the power the vehicle needs. The input pulley takes power from the engine and, by way of the connecting belt, turns the output pulley, which turns the axel and thereby the wheels. Instead of using gears, a CVT has two pulleys connected by a belt. The continuous slide of the pulley is less jerky than shifting gears and allows the car to accelerate smoothly and more efficiently.Ī CVT is similar to an automatic transmission in that it does not require input from the driver. The difference between the width of the engine-based pulley and the wheel-directed pulley is the CVT’s version of having different gear ratios. The belt “slides” up and down between the wide and narrow ends of the pulley depending on how much engine power the wheels need. A CVT employs two cone-shaped pulleys connected by a belt, with one pulley connected to the engine’s power and one that delivers that power to the wheels. While a traditional transmission uses the motion of larger and smaller gears to turn the axel depending on driving conditions, a CVT uses a belt and pulleys to turn the wheels. When the bolt is looser, you could switch to a shorter wrench which turns the bolt faster (like a higher gear at high speeds).Ī continuously variable transmission does not employ mechanical gears, but it accomplishes the same task as a traditional transmission, just in a different way. This could also be referred to as higher torque. It provides more mechanical advantage and is best when trying to get the bolt loose (like a lower gear at low speeds). A low gear would be like a really long wrench. Say you are trying to pry loose a really tight bolt. So how do gears work? We’ll put it in language that doesn’t require a master’s in mechanical engineering to understand. Generally the lower the speed of the car, the lower the gear the more speed required, the higher the gear. Modern manual and automatic transmissions usually have between four and six gears. On an automatic transmission, the vehicle has technology that senses which gear is optimal and shifts without driver input. In a manual transmission, the driver decides which gear is optimal and mechanically shifts into that gear. They also may be louder than cars with other types of transmissions and even more costly to repair.First it might help to explain how traditional transmissions work. For starters, they aren’t great for sports cars with more horsepower. While there are many upsides to having a car with a continuously variable transmission, there are also a few downsides. Typically, a CVT can find the perfect ratio needed almost instantly in any circumstance. Other types of transmissions can have difficulty finding the right gear when driving uphill to get the necessary power. This means you’ll have improved fuel economy overall. Similarly, because a continuously variable transmission does not have distinct gears, there’s also less occasion for your engine to rev before shifting to another gear. Instead, the pulley will slide smoothly up or down the cone as necessary, meaning your car will use more or less power – without the jerky ride. A Smoother Rideīecause CVTs don’t actually have gears, there’s no halt while accelerating as the transmission shifts up. Your mechanic can also go over these advantages with you, but we’ll give a brief overview here. There are several distinct advantages to having a car with a continuously variable transmission, including how your car rides, the fuel economy, and overall weight of the car.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |