CVT vs 4AT/5AT

[Droll]

i have driven a CVT for 2 years and yes you are correct in the behaviour. power doesn't come immediately. once the computer has revved the engine up to the right RPM then power kicks in. so some people call it the spooling effect or rubber band winding up effect. power is slow but when it comes it just surges.

 

i believe that could be why some manufacturers have a regular torque converter in combo with the CVT?? not too sure about this.

[Genes]

erm, i think altis with its 4AT is also getting around these kinda FC range..

[Mikeyeo]

The reason that I overcame the typical "slack" problem of the CVT has convinced me to own 2 Mitsubichi Lancers since 2001 and I do not regret it at all.

 

My car do not have the 'slack' problem that most cars with CVT problem faces. My Lancer pick-up is very responsively, fast by simply stepping lightly on the throttle. A car with CVT one will not feel the little jerk while changing the transmission unlike a normal auto. My car will simply pick-up speed and the next moment, I realised that my car is travelling at 80km/hr.

 

One has to understand that if CVT has this common problem, do something about it and enjoy your drive. If anyone knows about the behaviour of CVT and don't intend to do anything about it, you either have to bear with it or buy a normal automatic car.

 

Though car with CVT has slightly better consumption than normal auto engine, the saving on the FC is simply not that significant at all as compared with the price of the car.

[Vicz]

That is to say that CVT is there to smoothen the gear changes so that we do not have the jerky feel that is all.

 

If one does not mind the jerky feel he/she can opt for a 4AT loh since there is no difference only the gear change is smooth without jerky feel during change of gears?

 

I heard CVT provide good FC as it is more efficient than 4AT but some drivers with 4AT have also achieved a fanastic FC which is very much close to a CVT drivers.

 

I have never try CVT before so I do not know how bad it is when doing overtaking. Is it that bad till we do not have the confident to overtake or when full load going up the slope?

 

Cvt does smoothen your ride very much... in fact there are many gearboxes nowadays offer smooth rides with near to seemless shifting but there will still be some small amount of jerk felt lah.... i should say it really depends on how we drive our cars. FC wise, trust me, its good.

 

Actually, not too bad lah, if u use it and overtake reasonably, it still should serve u well. however, if u expect it to work like a WRC or F1, then, we are dreaming. Don't worry too much about it if u like a certain model with cvt, in fact i was like u then but after experiencing it, i never regret having it, neither have i love it so much that i can't part with it. i think its an overall package that we should be looking at if we are talking about buying a car. it still boils down to ur personal requirements, there will be good points and bad points in a car but we do have our priority don't we?

[Ario]

Bros...try the corolla Axio CVT then compare. definitly performs alot better then Lancers and Latios..

Edited May 4, 2007 by Ario

[Elfenstar]

yah thats true. but i did read from somewheer nissan made the maruno3.5 with cvt to show that is is possible to fit a CVT in a big capacity car. well the murano have been on the market for a long time. and so far i have never seen any reports or issus with the murano3.5 with CVT having problems.

 

well give another few years, alot of new cars will come in CVT instead of 4AT.

 

My 2 cents

 

Yup because CVT is cheaper to make and cheaper to maintain.

[Elfenstar]

yeah it's very linear, but the cvt tranny means i have to allocate a safe amt of time to complete overtaking. Especially in dangerous situations(touch wood) when i need the immed power, i can't have it, and could result in accidents or not.

 

i drove e lancer cvt b4, floored the pedal and the engine was screaming but the car is still picking up. it's the difference between running up to speed, and sprinting off immed that explains my choice for traditional AT or steptronic.

 

Thats because of the tuning by mitsu rather than because its a CVT.

[Elfenstar]

Do you have support regarding to your figures mentioned above? As far I know the one which create power loss is mechanical linkage. In the manual car the power is transeferred by means of friction plate to the gearbox. This is ZERO power loss from engine to gearbox, except the friction plate is worn out that's another story. Manual gearbox is only type of transmission with almost no slipage loss, therefore most performance car is using electric manual gear (ex. selespeed in alfa romeo)

The loss on CVT and AT gearbox are similar, since these gearboxes need torque converter to transmit engine output to gearbox input shaft.

Without torque converter it's not possible to stop the car with idle engine in AT or CVT equipped car.

 

If CVT generate less loss than manual transmission, that is doubtful.

 

All cars have drivetrain losses. Even manuals. how much depends on the the drivetrain components. The problem with CVT in this respect is that there are so many different designs that the transmission losses for one type will not be the same as another.

[Elfenstar]

general rule of thumb for power loss from engine to wheels

1. manual - 15%

2. torque converter auto - 25%

3. cvt auto - 10%

 

You really can't generalise it that way because drivetrain layouts, component weights etc all play a part. Just for a manual car the range is roughly between 10% and 30% from what is measured at the wheels vs what is measured at the flywheel, and even auto's can have this figure as most modern day units have a lock-up torque converter that allows for 0% transmission losses (just like a manual) when its up to speed or in the highest gear.

[Secondhand]

how come u guyz having issue with overtaking with CVT?

Me currently driving with a CVT gearbox too... But overtaking wise is sama sama as my previous manual ride...

Maybe it's just the expectation that we want the gearbox(CVT,4AT,Manual) to perform...

So far, no complain from me...

[Mikeyeo]

Hi ARIO, if you will to compare Axio, Lancer and Latio all with CVT and standard (meaning without changing some of the original parts), Axio being the newest car in the market does out-perform the other 2 cars.

 

My own Lancer is different because I have replaced several stock parts with better performance parts. So my Lancer cannot be compared with other Lancers.

 

Recently I was C&C Lancer showroom at Leng Kee Road driving my Lancer and there were 2 gentlemen who can't decide whether to get a Lancer CVT (the cheapest), Latio or Axio. They approached me and enquired what car I drives.

 

So I mentioned to them about more of the negative remarks about Lancer CVT. I told them that if they want to overcome such common problem, they ought to do something about it. I showed them my engine compartment and explained what I did and without changing the stock air-intake.

 

I took them for a spin in my car and they could the difference between my and the stock CVT version. I don't have bodykits, side-skirts except for a lip spoiler that is used on BMW M3 series.

 

Thereafter, each of them asked if they could try driving my car and I told them I have no problem but caution them that they just need to tap lightly on the throttle.

 

They felt 'shiok' while driving and when we returned to the showroom, they went to book the CVT on the spot as I have already shared with them how to overcome that negative

'slack' perception.

 

As some posters have mentioned, the reason why some felt that the Lancer CVT has this 'slack' pick-up issue is because there is no jerk when the transmission changes and the engine just pick up speed unlike the standard AT.

 

Though I don't get any commission when they booked their Lancer CVT on the spot, at least I am happy that they understand the behaviour of a CVT engine especially Lancer which besides is one of the cheapest 1.5L & 1.6L engine range, can perform so well.

 

It's a value for money car and whatever savings from the other brands could be used to replace some of the stock parts to better approved and legal parts and yet with plenty more spare money to keep.

 

I have to quality here that I am not in the mechanical or motor engineering industry just a car buyer just like anyone of you but I do lots of research on the car and the relevant aftermarket parts to replace the stock parts to improve on the car performance and FC. Cars that are replaced with aftermarket parts and improve the drivibility and fun to drive are one of my passions.

 

However, my dream is to become to freelance motoring writer and able to write on aftermarket parts to improve on a vehicle performance and FC.

Edited May 4, 2007 by Mikeyeo

[Ario]

Hi Mike..sounds cool! I am really curious as to wat you did to ur ride. Are you able to share?

[gigi5]

go with the 5AT

[Orangiler]

HELP!

 

I am really interested in the modification u did that improved the preformance of your lancer.

 

Could you share with us the mods u did for your lancer?

 

my new lancer is suffering from the lag ... and its really irritating (was riding a manual vios before )..

 

Thanks!!

[Mikeyeo]

Hi Orangiler, the following are what I did to my Lancer. The reason why I am sending this provate message to you instead of putting it up in the forum is that there are bound to have alot of critics.

 

1) 2 magnetic fuel savers that clamp around the fuel line does work.

2) Replaced the stock drop-in filter with a high performance one.

4) Replaced the stock spark plugs to iridium spark plugs.

5) Replaced the stock spark plug cables to high tension performance type.

6) Added 9 points imported grounding cables each with a magnetic fuel saver. 4 of these

cables to each of the spark plugs.

7) Installed a cyclone inside the flexible hose between the air filter box and engine

block. This provides more consistent air flow into the engine, thus making the car

faster.

8) Added an air-charger to help supplement more air-intake into the engine chamber.

9) Added an air breather to allow excess moisture in the engine chamber to escape.

10) Installed a EZ-Stab voltage stabilizer.

11) Installed a high performance ignition spark optimizer.

12) Added friction reducer into the engine block. It helps to reduce related wear and

tear. Once mix with the synthetic engine oil, it further help in the performance and

make the engine smoother. This friction reducer will remain in the engine compartment

for 100,000km.

13) Add engine tonic into the fuel tank whenever I fill up the tank full. This enhances

further power to the engine

14) Replace the 4 stock anti-roll (sway) bars to the aftermrket performance type. The

aftermarket ones minimise the vehicle body roll especially when taking taking bends

and cornerings. The car is very stable that the occupants feel very little swaying.

 

With the above, I just need to step on the accelerator lightly and the car pick-up is very fast including overtaking.

[clement229]

More and more cars are equipped with CVT than AT these days.

 

What do you think about CVT compared to AT and their pros and cons for both.

 

 

[leehock13828]

You should search before starting such a topic.

[clement229]

You should search before starting such a topic.

 

 

theres no such topic