So Im reading about the CVT Transmissions and MAN theyre ingenious! No shifting, smooth acceleration, better reliability, and maximum engine efficiency!

Heres the ultimate thing...how AWESOME would it be to put in a 300SDL diesel!? I mean, would you NEED modulators and vacuum pressure and things of that nature? I wonder if theres a company out there or an existing CVT that could be retrofitted into an SDL! Anybody know?

Check out the Subaru Justy from the early 1990's They had CVT's and had longitudinally mounted engines. I think Nissan had them on some of their Sentras and Stanzas as well. These CVT's do not work so well with higher torque engines so I do not know how it would work with a 603. I bet they would be awesome hooked up to a 616 in a 240D

CVT's had mostly been abandoned now as comouter technology has made conventional engine/trenamission combinations more efficient.

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

I think the CVTs in Japanese light and medium duty trucks (Nissan UD, Mitsubishi Cantor, etc.) are electronic. Might be easier to work with a non-electronic or less electronic DAF or Volvo CVT from the 70s. I don't know if DAF or Volvo made something small enough to fit in a 126.

Drive a CVT before you commit. As Nissan found out, people don't really like the feel of a true CVT. The current crop of Nissan passenger car CVTs feature simulated shifts for better acceptance.

Sixto
87 300D

I can certainly relate to this. The SDL's currently have high stall torque converters and the engine will generally sit right at 2000 rpm's with little drop from 0-45 mph. I prefer the lower stall converter on the SD that allows the engine to actually drop rpm's significantly during the shift.

I can only imagine the general dissatisfaction with the CVT. You'd be convinced that something is amiss in the transmission.........just cannot get past the feeling of constant rpms.

CVTs are made for people that don't enjoy driving.

Here's a DAF Variomatic in action!
DAF Variomatic

__________________
1984 300TD

CVT sucks, you wont be able to feel the torque that the engine is producing.

__________________
Current Garage
2008 Mercedes GL320 CDI 188k mi Repair/Work in progress
1994 S350 160k mi Garage Queen & prepping for repairs
2005 E320 CDI 203k mi Healthy & Daily Driver
1994 S350 357k mi Retried as parts car
1984 300TD 214k mi Blown OM617 Poss OM603 Swap??

Sold
1987 300SDL 200K+
1994 S320 181K mi
2008 E320 Bluetec 127k mi
1999 S420 130K mi
1980 240D 360k mi
15+ Others that has come, stay and gone

GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
1995 E320 SE 220k mi
1984 300SD 350k mi

No way man- cv transmissions are crap. Drive one before you get all excited about it- you will understand. I have driven several mini coopers with that trans and its like driving with an auto transmission that is only half full of fluid! The racing of the engine and nothing happening liked to drive me crazy!
Nope- The sdl's need a good 5 or 6 speed manual transmission - Now that would be cool!

We have had a Nissan Murano for about 60K miles so far. The CVT tranny gets it moving pretty well with a 250HP V6 and about a 4000# AWD vehicle. It seems to apply force to accelerate pretty well and will run up the revs. The overall feel is more turbine like than traditional rev - shift - rev - shift. It is driven differently. If you think you want a quick acceleration, start early and keep the revs up. Otherwise it will be "lazy", kind of like lugging shifts with a manual.

The sport mode in the tranny is like purposely driving in a lower gear. While I would not call it an enthusiasts tranny, but it can be "shifted" manually if you want to in the sport mode.

I would guess it nets a 10%+ mileage improvement. We get a shade over 20mpg around town with my wife's heavy foot, and have seen 27 on trips with 4 people and luggage. In my Infiniti I-35 ( Nissan Maxima clone) with the same engine and a traditional 4 speed auto I get 26 on the highway ( 1000# lighter car).

The jury is still out on how long it will last. There is a Murano forum with many folks over 100K so far. Nobody with 300K yet... 8-).

i had a new altima rental... it was OK. nothing overly thrilling. the keyless go, bluetooth, navi & xenons on a "cheap" car were fun tho...


if you wanna find out how a W126 w/ a CVT would drive... stop by your local nissan dealer && drive a brand new Versa SL hatch back w/ the entertainment pkg.

i would know...
my sister traded her C220 in on one

__________________
Matthew McIvor

2016 E350 4Matic Black/Black
2007 GL450 4Matic with Off-Road Pkg Silver/Black
1995 E300 Diesel White/Gray
1994 S600 Euro Black/ Black Velour
1986 560SL Blue/Blue/Gray
1986 190E Blue/Blue 93k

Brian, I kind of like the way my 300sdl shifts. I really enjoy hitting the pedal and trying to keep it right at 2000 rpms. It's funny all of the little games we play while driving our diesels. If I want a little faster take off I will let the revs stay at about 2500 and let the car catch up.

My most fun is on the Interstate at about 60 mph and then just touching the pedal lightly without a downshift and the torque of this motor taking you right up to 80 or 85 very quickly.

I have the option of driving my 07 BMW 530i or the Benz on Interstate jaunts over to Shreveport (100 miles) or Tuscaloosa to see my daughter (300 miles)
and I always pick the Benz for my trip. They do not build cars like this anymore.

__________________
John
1986 300sdl
1985 380se

I hate CVT's, they just don't feel right to me. I also hate the new 7sp and 8spd tranny's they are putting in cars. They shift so much it feels like its slipping.

If MB keeps putting a million gears in their auto box's I can see a BMW or Audi with a stick in my future.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Meh...automatics are made for people who don't enjoy driving. CVT's, and their infinite number of speed reductions, are better at keeping the engine at its optimum operating speed. They don't feel right because its not what we're used to. But if its something that a person could stick with, it would end up being a more enjoyable driving experience (compared to a traditional automatic). It disassociates the engine speed from the ground speed, and makes driving more fluid. You want to accelerate from a given speed? You don't have to wait for the car to drop a gear, you press the pedal and hear the engine (nearly)instantly speed up and then the car's speed increases and eventually matches the engine speed/ground speed relationship that you were at before. I think it would be neat.

Its like the Dvornak keyboard, its superior, but noone wants to take the time to learn it so they stick with the same ole-same-ole that's designed to slow you down.

Of course, a modern cvt is equipped with lots of electronics, and I just prefer an all-mechanical manual shifter But if I had to choose an automatic type of transmission, I'd go with a cvt first.

__________________
1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now

You should read the patent by LUK gmbh on the CVT, its amazing what the german mechanical engineers come up with. I was wanting to use the idea for a mtn bike (someone recently came up with 1 for bicycles).

The cool thing about the electronically controlled CVTs is they can actually be programmed to feel like a conventional. I wonder why the new ones havent got driver programmable "shift points", seems like they could make it feel like a tiptronic, but infinitely variable and driver programmable. Probably costs too much (although whats an 8 speed cost??!). Or maybe they cant alter the pulley diameters that fast...

But yeah I remember when the Suburu Justy came out with 1 and the horrible reviews, droning at 2500 rpm feels really boring. But Im not really sure an old MB diesel is for someone who wants spirited driving anyways (insert big turbo manual swap doing donuts vid here)

__________________
Paul
Benz-less
I need an SDL !