Continuous automatic transmission or variator: what is it?

What is the BAKL? Stepless automatic transmission, otherwise the variator. This is a transmission that does not have fixed transfer elements, such as a mechanic or an automaton. Features of this type of gearbox are:

- smooth rise and fall of thrust;

- Absence of tripping torque when switching speeds;

- a complex transfer of large traction efforts.

Features of driving with a variator

The start of the car with this kind of transmission differs from the start on the machine. At idle, the engine has a speed of about 700-900 units. As soon as your foot touches the gas pedal, the car starts to gain momentum, but does not move almost from the spot. And only after the desired figure is dialed, the car smoothly starts moving. If we compare the acceleration of the variator and the automaton at the initial stage of the race, then at the initial stage of the race the car with the automatic transmission gets a slight advantage: it starts abruptly, but when the gear is shifted , the machine jerks due to the lack of traction at the moment of loss of grip, and the machine loses precious seconds . Otherwise, the variator behaves. What does it mean? And there is a start as if the accelerator pedal was pressed a little later, but after the car is smoothly and confidently dispersed, and eventually overtakes the "automatic". The engine speed at the beginning of the motion of the variator is always in the zone of maximum torque. The transmission ratio of the transmission changes, and thus the car accelerates. The gasoline injector often behaves rather sluggishly at less than 3,500 units. For such an engine, a good acceleration starts at 4,500 units. At what number of turns will the car be accelerated? What does it mean? The variator program determines the moment when it's time "to give traction" to the wheels. Smoothly pressing the gas pedal, the transmission slightly increases the reading on the tachometer, the car accelerates slightly, at low revs. By pressing the accelerator a little sharper, the turns "fall" into the norm, starting to pull until you press the gas. "Red zone" on the tachometer appears immediately if you decide to press the pedal to the stop. The box keeps high revs until the pressure on the gas pedal stops. It's simple: the faster you want to gain speed, the faster you press the pedal.

We put in the manual mode variator. What does it mean?

In addition to automatic switching, the variator has the option of manual mode. That is, you yourself can use the handle of the box to switch speeds to higher or lower. On the dashboard this process will be displayed. But the variator is designed so that you will not be able to drive the revolutions in the red zone, and you will not be able to decay at low values. He will still switch gears for you. If you carry out a test drive in manual and automatic mode variator, then the latter wins. When manually switching the needle of the tachometer "jumps" from low rpm to high, thereby preventing the engine from providing an even pull and improving acceleration.

Advantages of a car with a variator

If your car has a variator, what does it give you during operation? First, good overclocking results for medium-sized cars (engine up to 200 horses and no more than 2.0 liters). Economical fuel consumption, especially if Go along the highway using cruise control. A good indicator of safety in extreme situations: the presence of constant adhesion helps to avoid drifts, as happens when using a mechanic or machine when changing gears. Well, the most obvious pluses: do not need to switch the speed, press the clutch pedal, etc.

Disadvantages of variator

Without shortcomings, nothing is dispensed with, including a variator. Reviews of car owners are different. But one of the main ones is the impossibility of a sharp start. In addition, the variator does not work with an engine of more than 200 horsepower. And for extreme situations, you need to retrain yourself a little: if you are bored and you need to stabilize the car, you need to press the gas a little earlier than you used to do on a mechanic or automatic machine. If you are a fan of sports maneuvers on the car, then this transmission is definitely not for you. Smooth running, comfortable handling, fuel economy are the main advantages of cars with a variator.