eli5: Why does a CVT transmission still “shift” if it can be in any position and move seamlessly as they say?
In: 579
User experience. There’s no mechanical reason for the CVT to jump between fixed ratios other than that’s how transmissions have worked for decades.
It’s also feedback to the user to let them know that the transmission is doing something/give the feeling of acceleration.
During acceleration traditional CVTs will generally run the engine at peak torque (Constant rpm) and decrease the gear ratio to go faster, this may be faster than shifting but it also feels/subs very different than people are use to.
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