Forgive me if these questions sound stupid. My most recent car is from 1998 so I'm not up to date with all these new technologies and such, lol.

Can somebody explain to me what exactly is CVT and how it differs from automatic. Will having a car with CVT increase maintenance costs?

Also, what is sport mode? I assume sport mode and the paddle shifters go together? Can we shift to sport mode while driving on the highway? or do we have to be at a full stop in order to change to sport mode?

If I use the paddle shifters, will I cause any damage if I downshift while at a highspeed on the highway (whether by accident or by ignorance)? Can the paddlshifters be used to improve performance on the highway the same way a manual transmission would allow?

How can a Fit driver make the most out of the CVT, sport mode and the paddle shifters? My concern is highway performance.

 

Can somebody explain to me what exactly is CVT and how it differs from automatic. Will having a car with CVT increase maintenance costs?

*have a look at some other threads here, some have good videos of cutaway gearboxes and how they work. There should be no increase in maintenance costs over a standard auto.



Also, what is sport mode? I assume sport mode and the paddle shifters go together? Can we shift to sport mode while driving on the highway? or do we have to be at a full stop in order to change to sport mode?


*due to the CVT effectively being one gear that can change ratio from low to high range it gives a particularly bad feeling to drive... similar to a slipping clutch. Also the gearbox is set so it will try and give the best economy, swapping to sports mode alters the setting so it will try and give them most performance, the paddles give 7 ratios to make it feel like the CVT has gears and is more pleasant to drive fast rather than the engine just sitting at the one RPM (generally 6000rpm if your foot is flat to the floor)

*can engage sports mode at any time, you do not need to be stopped.



If I use the paddle shifters, will I cause any damage if I downshift while at a highspeed on the highway (whether by accident or by ignorance)? Can the paddlshifters be used to improve performance on the highway the same way a manual transmission would allow?

*it wont let you, its quite invasive and just doesnt accept your input and leaves it in the 'correct' gear. same deal if you try and change up into 7th too quickly, it wont let you and just stays in a previous gear setting.



How can a Fit driver make the most out of the CVT, sport mode and the paddle shifters? My concern is highway performance.

*full auto Vs paddle shifters gives very little real world performance gains and is a bit gimmicky. At the very least it does get the engine to alter revs and feel like you have a normal gearbox.

 

Thanks!

So it seems the paddle shifters are actually kinda pointless then, huh? lol

 

The only time I use the paddles is downshifting on snow and ice. Or, when I remember I have them and just want to have some fun.

 

to me the CVT makes a good transmission for an A -> B car but its not enjoyable to drive. The paddle shifts help with that a little.

If you like driving, manual all day every day over CVT, if you dont care and want slightly better economy and lower RPM at 60mph then CVT is good. I think its the same old deal of Auto Vs Manual except now the auto is actually showing some real world improvements on economy.

Ive only driven the GK in the snow once (on radials so was dangerously slippery) and didnt find my self going for the paddles, was quickly disabling all the stability control and traction control support though!

It felt like if I forced the car into a lower gear and it started to loose traction I had no clutch to disengage the engine... just typical lack of control type stuff that you get with any auto transmission I guess.

 

Saying that a CVT is less "enjoyable to drive" than a traditional automatic (or a manual, for that matter) is, of course, an opinion. It is somewhat different, definitely, but probably mostly "worse' because of what we're used to.

Arguably, a CVT actually does what you'd theoretically want a transmission to do: match the engine power (and hence RPM) needed to the wheel speed as efficiently as possible. It's a little like controlling your lighting with a dimmer switch rather than by turning various lamps on and off; you get the precise amount of light you want, rather than something close enough.

While their general use on cars is comparatively recent, CVTs of various sorts have been used on other vehicles for quite some time. Snowmobiles, for example, have pretty much always used a belt-based CVT, and it works out OK aside from the belts not always lasting very long. Hydrostatic lawn tractors (and other such equipment) use another sort of CVT, as arguably do airplanes and boats with variable pitch propellers.

All that said, if you're fond of stick shifts, a CVT probably would beseem annoying or even infuriating.

 

I just got through a nasty winter driving season and I was greatly helped by stability assist, traction control, and paddle shifting. SA and TC alone helped me on a number of occasions. Love having them.

 

Im guessing you had snow tyres / chains? If I turned traction control on the car wouldnt move LOL

 

My '98 Civic HX has the CVT with 250k miles on it. No special maintenance required, although I did drain and refill at 100k miles. The tranny selector has the typical D, S, and L. I do my own maintenance, so I have ramps to drive up onto for changing oil, filter, etc. The only time I've ever used anything other than "D" is to drive up onto the ramps.

Previous posters have it right...there are no 5sp, 6sp, 7sp, or 10sp CVT's because there are no gears or speeds...that's why it's continuously variable.

Yes, IMO, the paddles are pretty much useless. CVT's are for economy, not sport.

Also, just a note: My Civic HX turns 2500 rpm @ 65 mph.

 

Good to hear you have had the CVT go so many miles and be dependable. They build CVT's just north of me about 30 miles. Not sure if all are built there though. Kind of cool knowing.

 

People are acting like the CVT is something new. Fits have been mated with a CVT as long as they've existed. They've just not been available in the US until now.

 

^^1000 times this!!

 

Well regardless, i am looking forward to being bored with the cvt and paddle shifters

 

As long as it gets me from point a to point b without requiring heavy and frequent maintenance costs, it's all good.

 

The only thing different this time around is Honda is using an Earth Dreams CVT. Built and programmed somewhat different from previous Honda CVT's.

 

And I not too much hassle with the shifting of the gears in LA's traffic.

 

My wife and I have always had sticks, but this time I'm opting for the CVT, both because our daughters will be learning to drive in this car and because it's to the point where there is no real advantage to rowing your own. Economy is now considerably better with the CVT and with the proliferation of ratios shifting is becoming a chore. My old Datsuns and VWs did fine with four, adding an O/D 5th was reasonable, but with the wide powerbands on modern engines six is silly unless the top gear is a level-roads-only tall overdrive. Unless the engine has a peaky powerband you end up shifting more and going slower.

I find it rather amusing that the sportier versions of the CVT have fake fixed ratios for their paddle shifters. Here they have a transmission that can pick the optimal ratio to give the desired acceleration with best economy and then they have to screw with it to create a Walter Mitty F1 experience!

It would be interesting to put it to a test on a track with a good driver, 10 laps using the paddles and 10 without to see if there is any advantage at all.

 

That would be a better argument for the manual transmission, you know.

 

"due to the CVT effectively being one gear that can change ratio from low to high range it gives a particularly bad feeling to drive... similar to a slipping clutch."

That is opinion not fact.

It's all kind of what you are use to, and or grew up driving.
I learned on a manual...and then later have driven standard automatic transmissions.
But I like the CVT. I think it improves fuel efficiency, and the absence of shift points can just as easily be defined as "smooth" driving, I think more precisely than comparing it to a "slipping clutch".

To each his own. But I don't think it fair to characterize a CVT as having a "Bad Feeling To Drive" or being "Less Enjoyable To Drive".

 

[QUOTE=fitchet;1367525 To each his own. But I don't think it fair to characterize a CVT as having a "Bad Feeling To Drive" or being "Less Enjoyable To Drive".[/QUOTE] Have never driven a CVT equipped vehicle that felt "good" ....I'd take a regular old slushbox over a CVT anyday....but, of course, my LX is a manual....in my book, any car with a manual is more engaging to drive than the same car with whatever form of automatic trans.....but that's just me