It’s a concept that is a bit hard to grasp for the casual observer. I’ve been told how CVT’s work… twice, and I was still having a bit of a time visualizing it (without taking apart my Helix)… Then I found this little article from Sam at the Flexistentialist.org. If you’ve got a modern automatic and you need a little primer on how it works you should give it a read. If your a slow reader, like me, you should be able to get though it in about :15 minutes and it’s well worth it.
Short Snippet:
The truth of the matter is, a new variator, springs, or weights WILL NOT increase your vehicles over all power! The power your vehicle produces depends on the engine, not the transmission.
What it does do is adjust your rate of acceleration, and at what RPM your motor runs at while it is accelerating, and at what speed the motor is reving when you reach the highest gear ratio available
Then he breaks down every piece in the drive train.
Mon, Apr 3, 2006
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