I suppos you might be able to use them to help you accelerate faster under some circumstances. But can you use them to increase your mpg by upshifting sooner than the computer would? Is it feasible?

 

i doubt you can get better mpg using paddle vs auto.
modern cvt is pretty good when it comes to getting best mpg possible

 

No - the CVT is more efficient than a traditional manual transmission specifically because it does not have to deal with fixed gear ratios and can instead always have the engine at an optimal rev range for the amount of power requested by the driver. The key here is making the driver request less power.

 

Its true you should shift as soon as possible to the next gear for better mpg BUT you can't shift too quickly either so the engine bogs down, thus using more fuel. More than likely the ECU is probably programmed to do it very well so beating it, except perhaps downhill, is not likely to be better.
But it sounds like a good experiment.

 

The paddles aren't "shifting" because there are no gears to shift in a CVT. When you tap a paddle, you are essentially locking the CVT in a ratio that is not ideal for either power or efficiency.

For example, say you downshift to pass a car. You have a sudden jolt of power, but as you speed up now you are locked in a ratio which has less power than if you had just let the CVT keep it in the ideal power curve. Sport mode would have been a better choice, or just pressing the pedal to the floor.

The only time I can think the paddles would be helpful is for engine breaking down a mountain, but you could just shift into sport mode for the same engine breaking without being locked at certain ratio.

 

A CVT transmission changes the gear ratio continuously by changing the radii of adjacent'wheels connected by a chain. When the gear selection is in shift mode the 'wheels' do not change until commanded by paddle or ECU, whichever controls. When the ratio between 'wheels' locks the engine must increase rpm to gain speed. In that manner using the paddles to select gear ratios is more supportive of faster acceleration as increased rpm results in more power. The ECU will hold back the changing gear ratios too but the upshift is lower than you can achieve at red line )where the ECU will force upshift anyway) so acceleration is improved. Using paddles to downshift results in more rpm, at least til redline is reached.
Using the paddles will increase performance because you operate better in the upper rpm ranges above ECU controlling the ratio of the two CVT wheels.
That jolt of power is the result of the higher rpm with a higher hp (torque) output. And its real. It doesn't go away til you reduce rpm or overev the hp curve. A lap around a track will verify quickly.

 

Dang I just got pwned.

 

I use them for fun and increased acceleration, but the best mileage result is with the Econ button on and in drive.