CVT transmissions for buses

CrabbyMilton · November 05, 2021, 05:52:31 PM

Today I took delivery of my brand new car after almost 18 years. It's a NISSAN ALTIMA and it has a CVT. It does a great job of keeping the engine in a low rpm range which obviously means better mpg, less wear and quieter. This engine has 188 hp but at 2.5L has nice torque anyway.
Would such a transmission in heavier duty design be viable in buses? Smooth operation and keeping the engine in the ideal range sounds good. There are pros and cons. Thoughts?

chessie4905 · November 05, 2021, 05:59:05 PM

no, because drive belts won't hold up. They do work well with small engines. My daughter has a Honda crv and it works fine.
Several years back, GM was going to offer them on their larger vehicles. Pulled the plug at last minute. Couldn't get durability necessary.
Unsure how large an engine is behind them these days.

CrabbyMilton · November 05, 2021, 06:05:42 PM

NISSAN has it on the MAXIMA which has the 3.5 V6 so it may top out at that.

lvmci · November 05, 2021, 10:51:45 PM

My ladies new escape with a turbo 4 cylinder, has a cvt, no towing, her last escape with less horsepower and a real transmission could tow up to 2200 lbs...

richard5933 · November 06, 2021, 03:30:05 AM

My Subaru has a CVT. I had an interesting talk with a service tech about it when I first had the car and one of my shift points was becoming harsh.

The things are designed to keep the engine at the optimal RPM. Working on their own, the driver would never feel a shift since these things really don't shift. The engine gets to the correct RPM and stays there and then the transmission does its magic to keep it there as the vehicle accelerates.

However, people are so used to feeling their car shift under them that the engineers had to add artificial shift points into the system. Not feeling the car shift was so disconcerting that people didn't like it.

At some point in the first few years in my Crosstrek one of the shift points got really screwed up and the car lurched from one to the next. It felt like something was mechanically wrong, but all they did was reprogram things. Too bad they couldn't just remove all the fake shift points. My guess is that if they did, it would feel about as close to driving an electric car that a gas car can get with smooth acceleration all the way up the speedo.

sledhead · November 06, 2021, 06:02:49 AM

down side of a cvt is they are throw a way so when they screw up there is no fix and as my buddy found out it's only 6-9 k for a new one at the dealer at 67k miles ? found one at a wreckers for $2500 and when all was done it cost him 4k . 500 miles later the car was sold

but they have worked awesome on snowmobles for ever but it is easy to change the belt

the wife has the 8 speed 2 clutch auto ( kinda standard ) like a formula one race car and so far it is awesome

dave

BusNit · November 06, 2021, 07:22:50 AM

I had the Nissan NV200 cargo van with the cvt. I think all Nissans except the skyline use the cvt transmission. At 22,000 miles the cvt went kaput and the dealer put in a new one. Never had the van with anything in it. with the 2.0 litre engine it was powerless. Traded it in for a Ram Promaster 3500 since I wanted towing capability. From my understanding, none of the CVT's allow towing and if they do, it is under 2000lbs. Almost all new cars today are coming with CVT's to meet the required fuel efficiency standards. Personally, I do not like the feel when you get on them. Makes your neighboring lane driver think you are about to race them and off they go leading the way. As said before, they run a series of belts that allow slippage to keep the engine in a perfect power band to road speed. My FIL has a Hyundai Venue with the CVT. Driving it around town it feels like a normal geared transmission. (Many car makers have put a program in to give the feeling of "Shifting") When you need to accelerate on the highway, you need to rev the piss out of the engine. I think more noise than go is what it feels like but in reality, it does pick up speed. (1.5 liter engine on that one)

CrabbyMilton · November 06, 2021, 07:33:35 AM

Thanks guys. Everything has its drawbacks. Time will tell how it holds up for me but it is smooth that way though I will miss the sound of my old GRAND MARQUIS going thru the shift points.
But hey, as long as I don't have to shift it myself, any automatic is fine. Hey think about the long gone DYNAFLOW.

chessie4905 · November 06, 2021, 07:37:03 AM

Had a Burgman Maxi Scooter with one. Worked quite well. There was a manual mode you could move rocker switch to allow belt to climb higher or lower. Had to watch revs or it would hit limiter before moving switch. Felt like shifts there. Overall loved it in that application. Always Honda should of gone that way on a Gold Wing. I could easily jump a Harley for 500 feet off a light before he went by. Fun for the shock value for unsuspecting since few knew about them.

windtrader · November 06, 2021, 11:24:08 AM

The 2011 Nissan Altima with over 170k runs fine. I personally am not a fan for the constant RPM it strives to maintain but it drives fine and goes when you put your foot in it. There is a sport mode and also has manual gear selection so it offers some features for a more active driving experience but still nothing like a manual shift.

pabusnut · November 10, 2021, 05:33:44 AM

I travel frequently for work so I am in a lot of rental cars--no choice of vehicle.

One time I had a Nissan Versa with the CVT.
It accelerated so slow that I was afraid to pull out unless absolutely no cars were coming!
It was scary slow. My Farmall Cub moved faster! I almost got broadsided and it would have been my fault.

That turned me off to CVT's.

richard5933 · November 10, 2021, 06:02:20 AM

Quote from: pabusnut on November 10, 2021, 05:33:44 AM
I travel frequently for work so I am in a lot of rental cars--no choice of vehicle.

One time I had a Nissan Versa with the CVT.
It accelerated so slow that I was afraid to pull out unless absolutely no cars were coming!
It was scary slow. My Farmall Cub moved faster! I almost got broadsided and it would have been my fault.

That turned me off to CVT's.

That was slow because it was a Nissan Versa, not because it had a CVT.

chessie4905 · November 10, 2021, 06:26:18 AM

yeah, cvt's aren't slow pulling out. Something was wrong or you are use to a Mustang or something similar.

CrabbyMilton · November 10, 2021, 06:59:19 AM

I'm finding that out that it's a bit slow on response but it doesn't bother me at all since I didn't want nor care for a hotrod. I think as some of you said that we are just so used to a conventional automatic running thru the gears. There is a sport mode that allows the engine to run faster but I don't bother with that.

freds · November 10, 2021, 09:04:43 AM

Makes me wonder if large vehicles with go the train approach with the power plant driving a generator with traction motors. Hey six wheel drive!!!

Some interesting possibilities with a hybrid battery pack.