Whether it will becom a lemon when a sporty-ish car equips a CVT transmission?

[sharkrules]

Recently I have noticed that Lancer has equipped CVT transmission. Even Audi A4 has CVT models as well. Both cars are kinda sporty (well, ~ish perhaps) to me.

Well I know CVT runs very smooth and easy to handle. But is it a really good idea to put a CVT gearbox in those cars which claim themselves sporty? What do you guys think?

[Vectracious]

If its not a manual, its not a sporty car to begin with.

Sent from the MAGI.

[2002_XC]

Agreed. I also think paddles aren't a manual. Needs a clutch + gear selector to be a manual

[gmonkey]

id never buy a cvt car as to get one fixed is near $10k at best of times

[lonewolf1983]

yep they are not good for performance of any kind, and when you break one costs a shitload to fix
a4 and lancer arent sporty at all (unless talking about S4/RS4 + lancer ralliart/evo - none of which are CVT)

[Wraith]

Recently I have noticed that Lancer has equipped CVT transmission. Even Audi A4 has CVT models as well. Both cars are kinda sporty (well, ~ish perhaps) to me.

Well I know CVT runs very smooth and easy to handle. But is it a really good idea to put a CVT gearbox in those cars which claim themselves sporty? What do you guys think?

If it is a 'proper' sports CVT transmission then why not...I'd describe that as being similar to a 'proper' twin clutch type auto trans that in manual or sport mode will hold any gear to any revs until you shift it, then it'll shift it faster than any human could in a manual, will usually make the engine (forced inducted ones) pop on upshifts and perfectly rev match on down shifts, depending on what you'd call sporty as it's all done for you instead of looking silly trying to be a pretend race car driver getting the heel and toeing all wrong LOL, that may or may not fit the bill, I certainly like them :)

I've so far driven 2 types of vehicles with CVT's - the Mitsu Lancer and the Suzuki Kizashi, of those 2 the Kizashi is good or at least feels good, the Mitsu is not as good...

It'll be the same story as everything else, ie. the longer they're around the better they'll get, although it will be interesting to see if indeed CVT's have a longer term future or not because alot of manufacturers both high end and lower end are releasing autos with an ever increasing number of gears which given an overly wide spread of ratios would probably defeat the purpose of a CVT ??...

It used to be manuals that have 2 or 3 gears more than an auto in the same vehicle, now it's getting the other way around...

The question of whether or not autos of any kind are sporty or not is totally subjective depending on peoples opinions of which they prefer, auto haters will always dissmiss any of them regardless of how good they are or what they offer over a traditional stick manual...

For mine, I like both and have both :D

[Vectracious]

Id rather get a manual and muck up some heal-toe shifts and practice till I get them right rather than take the lazy way out and be a pretend 'expert' and let the computer do it all for me.

Also, I have yet to see a cvt being used in a racing application, unless someone can enlighten me.

Not an auto hater by any means, current car and last car both automatics. But they are not sporty.

Sent from the MAGI.

[gmonkey]

there was a point were Williams F1 team in the early 90s were trying to implement it.. but too much power for the gearbox meant it failed

[efi304]

I'm working at a Mitsi dealership, the Lancer CVT trans feels terrible, and the manual has a vague plastic feel. I honestly think lancers don't look half bad, they are reliable, but I dont like the auto, or manual. I wouldn't go anywhere near one because of this.

The older model CH Lancer (no CVT) drives nicer, especially the mivec 2.4L, it goes surprisingly hard

The Ralliart Lancer has a twin clutch computer/hydraulically controlled manual box, so no clutch pedal, and a little ratchet style shifter, it is fun to drive, but the computer will never drop the clutch of the line, so there kind of slow to get going, but go pretty good when they are moving

[gmonkey]

paddle shifters on the auto lancers where rubbish on the VRX and ralliart ones... so much lag!!! and on column not wheel is just tarded

[Bazwell]

Sports cars have clutches.

[gman]

there was a point were Williams F1 team in the early 90s were trying to implement it.. but too much power for the gearbox meant it failed

Actually Williams had it running and ready to go. Coulthard was the Williams test driver and it was ready to race. McLaren heard about it and complained to the FIA and it was banned before its first outing.

And it was QUICK!!! It allowed smoother acceleration out of corners which helped with traction and the engine was held at a constant RPM keeping it at max torque and increased engine life through reduced stresses.

So it was working an ready to go. Downside, it sounded crap! The engine was constantly one RPM level. So doing 50 or 150 it sounded the same.

I've driven my parents old A4 with a CVT. great for a cruiser, crap to go quick in. There was also always a slight delay when moving from a stand still as the CVT picked the right ratio for the situation. A pain when pulling out of an intersection.

I'll take a manual or as a second choice a manual DCT over a CVT.

7 an 8 speed autos are a pain to IMHO. Driven a 7 speed merc and it always felt like it was about to change again when you didn't want it to.

[JohnBu]

I've driven an 8 speed auto BMW, I thought it was fine..

It did upshift a lot but was smooth and not noticeable.

I can't see any advantage over a good 6 speed, but choosing an 8 speed has more to do with emissions, fuel consumption & taxes than performance.

It's like the schick razors, do we f'king need 5 blades? 5 must be better than 1,2,3 or 4 right?




Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk

[Shay]

Id rather get a manual and muck up some heal-toe shifts and practice till I get them right rather than take the lazy way out and be a pretend 'expert' and let the computer do it all for me.

Also, I have yet to see a cvt being used in a racing application, unless someone can enlighten me.

Not an auto hater by any means, current car and last car both automatics. But they are not sporty.

Sent from the MAGI.

as mentioned earlier, CVT was banned from F1 in 1994, purely because the rich teams would be able create to much of a performance gap to the lower budget teams.

and CVT has been used in american racing, Formula 500 from memory, since the 70's...

not to mention a lot of motorbikes, and snowmobiles...



if been considering building a cvt for our FSAE racecar, because we're limited to a restricted 600cc engine, anything that can make the little power we have last longer should help with drivability...



P.S. Def agree, neither the Lancer or A4 are particularly sporty and that cvt will prob never be put on a road "sports" car, but cvt does make sense as a motorsport concept...

[Vectracious]

and CVT has been used in american racing, Formula 500 from memory, since the 70's...


Had to google what that was - in that application a CVT does make sense because of the engines they are using.

[Wraith]

7 an 8 speed autos are a pain to IMHO. Driven a 7 speed merc and it always felt like it was about to change again when you didn't want it to.

Actually test drove several Merc C Classes lately with the new 7spd G-Tronic and didn't mind it at all it worked very well with the twin turbo oiler in the C250 CDI - BUT you have to have it in sport mode and works a treat !!! it does a bit of what you described in normal or 'eco' mode :)


I've driven an 8 speed auto BMW, I thought it was fine..

It did upshift a lot but was smooth and not noticeable.

I can't see any advantage over a good 6 speed, but choosing an 8 speed has more to do with emissions, fuel consumption & taxes than performance.

It's like the schick razors, do we f'king need 5 blades? 5 must be better than 1,2,3 or 4 right?




Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk

Agree John, accompanied a close friend interested in buying the new 1 series BMW albeit the 118d oiler with the new 8spd auto and it drove remarkably well, suffice to say he loved it and bought the car...

If anyone wants more info on that particular car I can certainly find out for you once he gets a hold of it early next year :)