CVT with 5 speed transaxle

[gvfc2]

posted this over on heymow.com

just going through some ideas here. would it be plausible(cost and power effective)? would i gain any added benefits of having a CVT and a manual transaxle?

what do you guys think? just trying to get a wide range of opinions here

 

[Doc Sprocket]

I've thought about this myself. Here's what I've got-

*Low gear would be waaaaaaaay low (crawl). Typical mower 1st gear is 9 or 10:1. Combine that with the CVT's engage range of say, 2.5:1 and you have a 25:1 take-off.

*Gearing THAT low may cause broken tranny parts, as that's a shipload of torque going thru the tranny.

*In order to negate that, you could maybe overdrive the transmission, but it could cause problems in the high-range. I'd be worried about excessive input speeds.

* either way, the wide ratio range would very likely result in a useable midrange, and unuseable lows and highs. Two thumbs down.

This is, of course, only theory. If I was bent on using a mower tranny for a kart, I would be more likely to use a centrifugal clutch.

I'd be interested to read what the heymoe guys say...

 

[gvfc2]

i will post their replies in the thread. but what you say sounds like it would be spot on. i might just use a cent. clutch as it would be alittle cheaper

 

[gvfc2]

well they shot down my thread. made the mistake of saying it wasnt for racing. they do only racing builds there. but what you say would be correct. it would change the gear ratio alot for torque. i got my answer thanks to you

 

[Doc Sprocket]

well they shot down my thread. made the mistake of saying it wasnt for racing. they do only racing builds there.

Why am I not surprised? :toetap05:

 

[dmaznic]

depends on the engine though! if you can get 7-8k rpm+ then gearing that low should be ok. motorcycles gear as low as 40:1 first gear

yes, mind the durability of your parts when you do this

 

[Doc Sprocket]

While theoretically true, 7-8k into a mower tranny may not be too good for it. Much of it would depend on the individual tranny model.

 

[gvfc2]

well the tranny model is a spicer 4450-3. heard they are good and also heard they retail about 400$

 

[exenos]

If they retail for $400 then I say sell it an put that money towards upgrading the kart (suspension, bike engine)

 

[gvfc2]

well i would but its not a kart sadly. its just a lawnmower. i will how ever seal the tranny and dump gear oil in it so it can handle higher rpms.

 

[exenos]

Oh, ok. Sorry I thought that you were using the transaxle on a kart.

 

[gvfc2]

if it was on a kart i would just ditch the transxle and go with a ragb and a live axle