CVT capability

[Mitsu008]

anyone find out how much hp the CVT tranny can hold b4 it blows up

[slaker138]

152... =D jk.

idk. im only adding like 12 to my car. =P

[nj_08_gts]

CVT isn't going to hold tremendous power...that's no fault of theirs...it's just the nature of CVT's. It's a glorified snow-mobile transmission. If you want to hold and control power, you'll need a manual gearbox.

[Bawb3]

This has been discussed in other threads but they never really came up with anything conclusive. According to RRM, their turbo CVT is pushing around 50% more horsepower, that's about 72hp gain bringing it up to 228hp @ the engine. At the wheels, I'd say around 170-180 total. So we know it seems to be holding up to roughly 230 in the engine. However anything beyond that we still dont know.

[Mitsu008]

^ yea that i already know.

[Khoranic]

has anyone here read the rrm turbo thread? they are utting around 205-210 to the wheels of the cvt lancer... same with the manual kit.. and both are reliable.. the cvt will hold a good amount of power... everyone is just skeptical

[Bawb3]

There's plenty of reason to be skeptical, this a pretty intricate transmission that we don't often see in an actual automobile. Yeah, they use CVTs in snowmobiles and stuff, but those are only similar in theory and concept. In fact this thing is so complex, that they don't even service it, if something goes wrong in it, they just put a whole new one in. Theres a big huge ? stamped on this thing.

Now, if it is actually a beast transmission and can handle lots of power, it could in fact be better than a manual gearbox with a turbo application because you will never loose your boost. Even in sport shift mode, since the shifts happen so fast, and you never let off the gas, you will loose little to no boost between shifts.

From what I've gathered; heat is the major concern with adding large amounts of power to the cvt. Hence why RRM put out a trans cooler, and perhaps we can put some better trans fluid in to help them stay cool even more. However I'm sure at some point, the belt and pulleys will just break if you give it too much.

[Mitsu008]

lol the CVT tranny will never be better then the manual for nothing other then not shifting, i mean c'mon its ran by a belt on a hamster wheel to i think its only a little over 50% more horses due to lack of gears and redline point the tranny cooler would allow us to be able to put more hp but not much

[Bawb3]

You could be right, but you never know. In any case, Im not going to be the one to try it. I'm just going to drive mine for a while and get an evo x in a year or so, so it doesn't really matter all that much to me .

[ambystom01]

Define holding power, do you mean for 5000 miles? 10000 miles? Indefinitely? Daily driven? Track raced? There are a lot of variables in deciding what a transmission is capable of.

[nj_08_gts]

Originally Posted by ambystom01

Define holding power, do you mean for 5000 miles? 10000 miles? Indefinitely? Daily driven? Track raced? There are a lot of variables in deciding what a transmission is capable of.

Holding power for me means being on the track since that's where a transmission will take the most punishment (for the most part). Granted that when you add power to a race car you'll be smart to upgrade the clutch, etc.

But with the CVT, you're stuck with what you have; which is a street car CVT transmission trying to cope with the turbo you just bolted on while running at high RPM/redline. Reliability and durability will go down the tubes.

[ambystom01]

Actually the transmission takes more abuse on the street than on the track (arguably). While yes you are driving fast on the track, that helps to cool the entire car and you're generally not launching that often. Figuring out how much the tranny can take isn't that easy, it boils down to what you're doing and what your exact setup is.

[MFO Jester]

Edit: Disregard my previous statement. I'm am idiot.

[ambystom01]

The evo doesn't use a CVT transmission.

[elpoole]

CVT Turbo? Yeah Ive heard of it, but like Bigfoot I dont know anyone who has actually seen it in action. Hmm... I dont know anyone who has even seen one. Is there a single person on any forum, YouTube, Google, that has a video of a CVT Turbo'd Lancer?