So Fix it

Many motorists who desire improved fuel economy, more power and a smoother drive will opt for an automobile with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) clutch rather than a traditional automatic transmission. In theory, this transmission uses a pulley and belt system to provide the driver with an unlimited number of gears. If your car has a CVT, you can adjust the CVT to improve your vehicles fuel economy and your driving experience even further.

Instructions

1

Find the CVT clutch under the hood of your car. The clutch is in different places in different models, but you can find it near your engine. The clutch contains two large steel circles connected with a rubber belt. Lightly sand the CVT clutch with fine sand paper. This reduces wear and tear of the clutch and improves the surface grip of the belt. Use brake cleaner to clean the remaining part of the clutch and wipe it dry with a rag.

2

Increase the variator roller weight on the clutch. Use your wrench to twist the roller weights onto the bolts visible on the wheel of the clutch. A higher weight increases the speed for each position of the belt. The converse is true for a lower weight.

3

Adjust the torque of the CVT clutch. You can tighten or loosen the belt that connects to the hydraulics to change the torque. Use a wrench to slowly tighten or loosen the screws around the belt. You can find these screws around the center of the wheel. Tightening the screws will increase tension and torque, which will provide more power. Loosening the belt will reduce torque, providing a smoother driving experience.

First used in the U.S. market in 1989, Subaru Justy, the continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a different type of transmission which, instead of using a number of differently sized gears, uses a belt connected to a pair of variable or cone-shaped pulleys. It changes the size of the pulleys to simulate gears, but, instead of having only five or six choices, it can move in a nearly infinite number of steps, since the changes can be done quite smoothly. The idea behind this is that it can always keep the engine in its optimal power band for the best performance or fuel efficiency.

Limited Power Handling

The original CVT transmissions could only handle engines of 1.2 liters or less because the belts that they used would snap under the load of a more powerful engine. Although modern CVTs have stronger metallic belts or chains, they still cannot be used with engines that generate a great deal of torque, or pulling power.

Special Transmission Fluid

To protect their relatively delicate belts, many CVTs require a special transmission fluid which is extremely expensive to replace. It also can require more frequent replacement than the fluid in traditional automatic transmissions.

Unnatural Driving Feel

CVTs constantly change their drive ratio, acting as the equivalent of an automatic transmission with thousands or millions of gears. Because the transmission changes are so smooth, they lack the shift feel that accompanies the process of shifting through the four to six gears on most automatic transmissions. Because of this, many drivers believe that they feel unnatural.

Limited Fuel Economy Benefits

CVTs, theoretically, should deliver significant fuel economy benefits since they can always keep the cars engine at its optimal operating speed for providing the most power with the least fuel. However, many modern engines have a broad range of speeds at which they operate efficiently, allowing even a traditional automatic transmission to keep them within an optimized power band.