
Originally Posted by
yebo
a CVT is also an AT. a "traditional" AT has an automatic clutch (hydromatic, wet plate, multidisk, etc) coupled to a planetary gear train. a CVT has an automatic clutch coupled to a variable belt drive. a CVT theoretically has a wide number of possible drive ratios since theoretically the variable diameter pulleys can be varied infinitely, unlike a planetary gear system where the drive ratios are fixed by the size of the gears.
a CVT has a slower response since it takes time to shift to "1st gear" (there are no gears, it's a belt). but after the 1st gear it's zoom-zoom all the way. a car with a cvt will lose on the start block but will win in a long race. kung mag-race ang 2 cars UPHILL to baguio, with same engines (and everything else equal) but with one using a traditional AT and another using a CVT the one with the CVT will win since it has more gear ratios to play with and thus match engine speed and vehicle speed.