WRC Tommi Makinen would prefer a CVT in the STI

[buster]

Link


Quote:
World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen admitted he’d actually prefer if the current generation of STI had the WRX’s variable transmission in it.


Quote:
As for Subaru’s decision to go for a CVT in their WRX, well, no-one who loves driving a stick is going to be swayed over to the dark side. However, as this is the sort of transmission you expect to find in a snowmobile, it somehow seems fitting that the first compact performance car to get it is a Subaru.

 

[dparm]

No surprise. CVTs, in theory, allow the car to stay in the powerband for much longer and that means better performance.

The sad reality is that many manufacturers use CVTs with lousy programming, probably tuned more for fuel economy than anything else. Subaru's CVTs are actually pretty good, IME, when compared to some others I have driven.

I'm not sure why some have that strange rubberband/slingshot effect -- is it a programming issue or is that a mechanical thing? That is probably the most annoying thing of all with many CVTs.

 

[Smokescreen]

Perhaps the rubber band effect could be due to where the torque comes on from the engine. Some cars its quite noticeable.

 

[rjundi]

STI was a complete carryover of mechanicals and defied the modern stupidity of more HP means better car.

Instead they focused on the car alone and chassis and came up with an amazing car that "just" has 300HP same as 10 years ago. It is the best STI at least. I have not tried the WRX with 2.0L.

Subaru focused budget on chassis tuning/engineering.

 

[SteveSRT8]

There are critical elements to the throttle programming as well. It's not just the trans.

Many cars' stock tuning is "gamed" to beat the EPA tests a bit, and can be fixed easily by a bit of aftermarket tweaking.

Programming and setup is key to the acceptance of CVT's...

 

[jrustles]

The old GM CVTs (Made in France) had an I position on the gear selector that was somewhat of a "Power" mode that held the RPMs higher. Most new CVTs should have a sport mode

 

[buster]

Since Subaru put a CVT in the WRX, I've been very interested in them. I think they have incredible potential.

If this is my next car, it's going to be a tough decision on whether to get the MT or CVT. Main reason being, the AWD system on CVT models is superior to the MT viscous coupling/center diff unit.

 

[artificialist]

If someone crashed into my car and I got a good settlement, I would consider a WRX 2.0L which has a CVT, or a VW Golf R which uses DCT.