I remember Ford was working on one for the Austin Martin line and I don't know what happened to it. That was several years ago and I may be way wrong. BUT

What do y'all think of CVT ( Continously Variable Transmission)? Audi has come out with one for their A4. HP tops out on the V6 around 220HP. Is there any CVT out there that could work on these trucks? Or any info at all on CVT. Thanks for any help.

 

they have that on the hybrid cars too. if this is a correct guess im making then i like it. seeing as how whenever you shift gears you would always lose a little hp on the dyno (engine hp not rearwheel). with the CVT i think that that would eliminate the problem. just a continuous climb to the peak hp that the engine can give. im not sure that this is right. im just makin a guess so tell me if im right ok?

 

My$0.02:

No. Current CVT designs would not be able to cope with the power of the Ls engine. In fact, I believe the days of the CVT are numbered. Other designs (such as SMTs and DCTs) are either more robust and/or more efficient. For example, the new Volkswagen DCT auto gets better fuel economy than SMTs, CVTs, even better than a manual transmission. The SMTs are more fun to drive as well. Both can be easily scaled up to handle additional power.

 

Hey snoopy, where did you get the info on the SMT and DCT??? First time i heare those names and i would like more info.

My friend has the A4 with the CVT he likes it, havent been in his car yet though.

 

ooohhhhhhh!! New acronymns

Hadn't heard of SMT or DCT please explain. I had only heard abut CVT and thought the idea was great, but it couldn't handle the power.


ALSO wannanicecar,
My understanding of it is that it would go to peak power and stay there. Your engine speed is not tied to your wheel speed. You are thinking of treating it like one big 1'st gear that would just go and not have to change gears. This would be constantly changing gears as wheel speed increases the CVT would constantly change its ratio to mesh with the engine RPM.



Please more info on other options.

 

Here are some links of press releases to get started:

The SMT (sequential manual transmission) began in Formula 1 cars, if memory serves me. You also see them a lot in rally cars. It's similar to a motorcycle design -bang up, bang down. Presently it's an option on the BMW M3, the Toyota MR Spyder, and a couple of Ferraris (I think).
SMT

The DCT does away with the torque convertor and replaces it with a 'robot'. A computer controls the engagement profile.DCT (aka Dual Clutch Transmission, "DualTronic")

 

mocklab-

thank you for correcting me. i had friend tell this to me in shop class who "seems" to know a lot about cars.

 

The Audi A4 and A6 are available with a CVT. 220HP, 221TQ. The CVT is not available with the bigger engines in the A6. Autoweek has some info on the Ford CVT, I can not remember any details about it. This article about the Audi's said something about gaining 10% fuel mileage and 5% increase in acceleration, (I think). If those numbers are true, sounds like a good deal.

 

A CVT is not good for high Torque applications, Ford is building one that will come out next year on the Escape, but it's strictly a low power kinda thing, it uses bets and chains instead of gears, my understanding is it has no hard parts.

G