[julyer]

pro's or con's... i rode in a nissan with the cvt and the car shifted smoothly through it's range (i would say gears, but i don't think it has gears). i don't know a thing about the tranny...any info would be helpful?

 

[LMJD]

I'm not acquainted with the Nissans, but I'm familiar with the theory of the system. To put it in simple terms, you have a drive pulley, and a belt which drives the driven pulley in place of a regular transmission. The shives of both pulleys can vary themselves in diameter according to vehicle speed, engine RPM, load, power demand, etc. For example, starting out up a steep hill, the drive pulley will be small diameter, the driven pulley large diameter to gain maximum mechanical advantage. (Like starting out in low gear with a normal trans) On the other hand, when cruising along under a light load, the shives on the drive pulley come closer together forcing the belt out while the shives on the driven pulley widen so the effect is like a high gear. The drive pulley is then turning less RPM than the driven pulley.

I don't have a clue if I'd like it in a car or not, but my Polaris 500 Sportsman has it, and I really like it in that application. It's always in a good RPM range for whatever the speed and conditions are.