Re: CVT vs Selespeed

[Scott Fisher <sfisher71@domain.elided>]

--- Keith Walker <100662.3423@domain.elided> wrote:
> >>  I think Alfa should
> just ditch the Selespeed and put CVT in. It's
> lighter (over 80lbs lighter)
> , more responsive, has LESS hydraulic plumbing (less
> things to go wrong)
> and you can program "gear ratios" into the computer.
> <<
> 
> But the CVT can take less torque, 
> is far more expensive, less efficient
> and heavier

Not Audi's, not on any of those counts: better fuel
economy than a manual, lower overall drivetrain weight
due to the lack of a torque converter, better
acceleration by 0.1 sec to 60 mph, and currently in
use in vehicles with 220 bhp/221 ft/lb of torque (the
most powerful engine available in their FWD range;
Multitronic is not yet available with quattro).  I
can't quite get a grip on the price issue, but in the
US it's the cheapest powertrain option -- $700 less
than the 6-speed quattro, and quite a bit cheaper than
the Tiptronic quattro.

Disclaimer: I have yet to drive a car thus equipped,
but I've been reading about the new Audi CVT for some
time.  You can start here (or Google it up for
yourself) for a few tidbits:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/at_011212.htm

Alfa note: one of the first demonstrations of a CVT
was in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta at Zandvoort, because
the original belt-driven CVT was connected to the
Dutch firm DAF (no doubt someone on the Digest will
remember the details better than I can).  Bystanders
were said to be unnerved by the continued scream of
the Giulietta at peak revs through a series of
corners; the engine did not drop and raise as much as
it would with a standard gearbox, the CVT instead
keeping the engine on the boil and adjusting the wheel
speed.  Given the 1300's love of high revs, that would
have been a wonderful pairing; I would love to drive
such a vehicle.

--Scott Fisher
  Tualatin, Oregon
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