Driving a CVT - after 6 months.

[Graham]

yeah that buzz if you're accelerating hard in D was weird at first but im sort of used to it now, it sustains its revs somehow

[squala]

can anyone shed some light if changing the gear into neutral rolling down hills and then back into drive mode will cause a lot of damage to the gearbox? sorry if its a stupid question.

Don't do it. Placing the lever from N to D when a car is rolling could be bad for the transmission. The pulleys may get a shock when engaged suddenly. It's also unsafe as no engine braking is available. Just let your car roll downhill and ease off on the pedal. Fuel benefits are insignificant compared to what it may cost you.

[JazzyB]

I get what he's saying here...

how bout this one - and let's not guess, only speak up if u know the answer cos I've been pondering this for a while...

In an auto, altho 'bad' for the transmission, u can go into reverse, reverse at say, 10kph, then while still traveling in reverse, slam it into D and put ur foot down and because it's a geared transmission, there IS drive to the wheels and they spin forward as the car's moving backward (ie, u spin the wheels)

in a CVT - the transmission is NOT geared, so changing into D from R changes the direction of the pulley(s?) and the belt may slip, the belt may stretch, the belt may break, the pulleys may be damaged depending on the setup of the belt etc.

Similarly, going down hill in N then switching to D would have an effect on the belt/pulleys as well - what sort of effect?

I'd GUESS from seeing a few CVT transmissions on machines at my work that if you slam it into reverse/drive you would almost surely have the belt slip - if it's a smooth belt, if it's a toothed belt and toothed pulleys, then you may strip teeth!

And same question about doing the "auto trick" at the lights, one foot on the brake, one foot on the accelerator, build up revs - and release brake... All auto drivers know this one I'm guessing...

in an auto this is "bad" for the gearbox... it puts it under stress, but in reality, only as much stress as you would put the car under if u were really driving hard or something - it's NOT like ur transmission blows up the first time u do it - it's not that bad....

But in the CVT, with this "weak transmission" I wonder what differences there are....

[ofey]

On the MMCS they have a measured value of INSTANTANEOUS FUEL CONSUMPTION.

So when you press the accelerator, this number goes up. Similarly NOT pressing it, leaves it at 0. I've tried letting my car roll down a high slope in gear and the consumption is 0. Similarly, I've free geared it i.e. in N, the consumption is still 0.

So with all the risk of wrecking your transmission, please don't leave it in free.

[JazzyB]

Yeah, I wouldn't see it as more economical...
Specially not if u blow ur tranny

Non-MMCS users can get instantaneous fuel consumption readings by pressing "INFO" button on the dash a few times... REALLY helps u drive economically when u see the difference between getting to 80km quickly or slowly...

[LZY_EYE]

Yeah I leave mine on the consumption screen all the time, that way I don't need to look at the odometer and be depressed at how many ks my car has on it!!

[SIR-VRX]

^^

Mine is nearly getting to that stage now

[JazzyB]

won't it be cool when car's travel 200,000 between services and make 10,000,000 as a lifetime average...

*sighs*

[Klue2k]

wow thanks for everyones responses. nice to know we have a lot of smart and knowledgable people on the board. loving my lancer although hoping to get some modifications down the track.

[LZY_EYE]

Heaps of good people here, just stay away from SIR-VRX hahaha kidding

Definitely have to get some mods underway, there is heaps of visual stuff you can do without spending a bomb... and of course the skys the limit