Hello everyone,
I have a 2015 Honda Civic with a CVT transmission. When I go out to drive in the mountains, I like to downshift to the S and L gears, for better acceleration going uphill and engine braking downhill. My question is whether using these gears on my CVT transmission will put more strain on it? I know CVTs don't have gears like regular transmissions, which is why I was wondering if I could wear out the transmission faster by using these gears.
Thank you!
By doing that, you put strain on the transmission. If you had a manual transmission, it would be ok time to time but I would not advise it since the CVTs are way weaker than any other transmission.
CVT's tend to be under-built.
They started out in lightweight vehicles like scooters, but then fuel economy regulations pushed them into bigger and bigger cars, and they just don't seem to be able to take the strain.
Because of that, I would rather spend a bit more on brake parts, then have to replace a CVT.
If you want more acceleration going uphill, I suggest just pushing the accelerator harder, but even then, go easy on it. Forcing the transmission into a fixed ratio is going to hurt your economy anyway.
