BELT DRIVE TRANSMISSION GEARS UP FOR THE '80S

An international consortium has been formed to develop, produce, and market a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) that is more efficient than the current stepped transmission. The principals in this venture are: van Doorne's Transmissie B.V. of Holland, whose founder invented this "Transmatic" transmission; Borg-Warner, a U.S. based corporation which is the world's largest independent producer of automotive transmissions; Fiat Auto Company of Italy which will soon introduce the new transmission; and the Dutch Federal government which has temporarily invested money in the project to provide jobs for workers in the Tilburg area where the "heart" of the system will be made. The CVT will eventually be assembled at B-W's Transmission Division in Letchworth, England. The basic mechanism of the CVT is a steel V-belt which runs between a variable-diameter driving pulley attached to the engine driveshaft and another variable-diameter driven pulley in the transmission. The switch from a rubber to a steel belt enabled a reduction in belt and pulley sizes. The ratio range in the present version is 4:1. Theoretically, CVT's enable an engine to run at its most efficient speed while driving the vehicle at many different speeds. The Transmatic provides improved fuel economy, estimated to be 14% to 20% higher than that for conventional automatic transmissions, as well as much greater smoothness. It is expected that the initial cost of the transmission will be comparable to present automatics and will decrease in time. The Transmatic is especially suitable for front-wheel drive cars because it provides a simple system for transmitting torque from the crankshaft to the differential.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/31209162
• Corporate Authors:

  Chilton Company, Incorporated

  One Chilton Way
  Philadelphia, PA  United States  19089
• Authors:
  • CALLAHAN, J M
• Publication Date: 1980

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 34-38
• Serial:
  • Automotive Industries
  • Volume: 160
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Randall Publishing Company
  • ISSN: 1099-4130
  • Serial URL: http://www.ai-online.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Continuously variable transmissions; Costs; Economic efficiency; Front wheel drive; Fuel conservation; Transmissions
• Uncontrolled Terms: Efficiency
• Subject Areas: Economics; Energy; Finance; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00391463
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-028 709
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Dec 30 1984 12:00AM