Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Again, the steplessness IS the sound and feeling of the powertrain working.
It's really not. With a stepless transmission, you push the accelerator and the engine revs up to a point where the software believes the engine provides the best combination of power and efficiency, and it continually varies the ratios to keep the engine there. It drones. It's a constant HUMMMMMMMM as the car accelerates forward. Smooth for sure. But it sounds like a constant speed vacuum cleaner. Or a boat. Or a go kart with a centrifugal clutch. There's very little change in the way the powertrain sounds. I don't like that. It's boring; it's monotonous. It's drab. Stepped ratios provide different sounds and feels from the powertrain.
Do you just not like it, or do you really think it represents greater isolation? Those are two different ideas.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
And then on the other hand, where you might WANT a constant engine speed (like to hold a gear through twisty corners), a conventional CVT without step control can't offer that. If you're on and off the throttle, that CVT is going to cycle the engine up and down and not keep the engine cooking where you want it to. CVTs offer no control; with a stepped transmission, automatic or otherwise, the driver has full control over the engine.
Assuming the stepped transmission in question allows manual gear selection, this part makes sense.
If we're comparing a CVT to an automatic WITHOUT manual gear selection, I don't see how a stepped transmission offers any non-trivial kind of additional control. With a CVT, you mash the gas and then wait for the revs to climb; with a stepped automatic, you mash the gas and then wait for a downshift. Either way, there are annoying delays and the possibility of hunting for the right ratio.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I like control over the engine, as apparently you do. Because of a foot injury my wife sustained years ago, a clutch pedal in our cars is out. What's the next best thing? The ability for me to control engine speed through ratio selection. Stepless CVTs don't offer that, and I'm not interested in them for that reason. Give me ratio control with a CVT, even if it's a separate "M" mode or something, and I'd be happy with it.
Why have a CVT at all, then? A decently programmed 8-speed automatic, let alone a DCT, would blow it away in the manual mode without giving up much efficiency.
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Again, the steplessness IS the sound and feeling of the powertrain working.
It's really not. With a stepless transmission, you push the accelerator and the engine revs up to a point where the software believes the engine provides the best combination of power and efficiency, and it continually varies the ratios to keep the engine there. It drones. It's a constant HUMMMMMMMM as the car accelerates forward. Smooth for sure. But it sounds like a constant speed vacuum cleaner. Or a boat. Or a go kart with a centrifugal clutch. There's very little change in the way the powertrain sounds. I don't like that. It's boring; it's monotonous. It's drab. Stepped ratios provide different sounds and feels from the powertrain.
Do you just not like it, or do you really think it represents greater isolation? Those are two different ideas.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
And then on the other hand, where you might WANT a constant engine speed (like to hold a gear through twisty corners), a conventional CVT without step control can't offer that. If you're on and off the throttle, that CVT is going to cycle the engine up and down and not keep the engine cooking where you want it to. CVTs offer no control; with a stepped transmission, automatic or otherwise, the driver has full control over the engine.
Assuming the stepped transmission in question allows manual gear selection, this part makes sense.
If we're comparing a CVT to an automatic WITHOUT manual gear selection, I don't see how a stepped transmission offers any non-trivial kind of additional control. With a CVT, you mash the gas and then wait for the revs to climb; with a stepped automatic, you mash the gas and then wait for a downshift. Either way, there are annoying delays and the possibility of hunting for the right ratio.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I like control over the engine, as apparently you do. Because of a foot injury my wife sustained years ago, a clutch pedal in our cars is out. What's the next best thing? The ability for me to control engine speed through ratio selection. Stepless CVTs don't offer that, and I'm not interested in them for that reason. Give me ratio control with a CVT, even if it's a separate "M" mode or something, and I'd be happy with it.
Why have a CVT at all, then? A decently programmed 8-speed automatic, let alone a DCT, would blow it away in the manual mode without giving up much efficiency.