Article Written By Vicente

CVT
A CVT, is a type of automatic transmission that provides more useable power &  better fuel.

Advantages of the CVT
CVT can vary the engine speed as needed to access maximum power as well as  maximum fuel efficiency. This allows the CVT to provide quicker acceleration  than a conventional automatic or manual transmission while delivering superior  fuel economy.

Disadvantages of the CVT
The CVT's biggest problem has been user acceptance. Because the CVT allows  the engine to rev at any speed, the noises coming from under the hood sound  odd to ears accustomed to conventional manual and automatic transmissions.  The gradual changes in engine note sound like a sliding transmission or a  slipping clutch -- signs of trouble with a conventional transmission, but perfectly  normal for a CVT. Flooring an automatic car brings a lurch and a sudden burst of  power, whereas CVTs provide a smooth, rapid increase to maximum power. To  some drivers this makes the car feel slower; in fact a CVT will generally  out-accelerate an automatic.

VARIABLE VALVE TIMING
The concept of a static or single-mode combustion engine is a little out of date in  today. Because of the nature of fuel injection, carburators, the 4-stroke cycle  and valves, the internal combustion engine only really works really well at one  particular range of speeds. Any higher or lower and you start to cock up fuel  efficiency, reliability and power. To overcome this issue, and to try to make  engines more usable throughout their rev ranges, manufacturers invented  various different types of variable valve timing. The idea is simple - alter the  timing and/or size of the intake and exhaust ports at different engine RPM’s to  ensure that the engine is as efficient as possible throughout it's range of  operating speeds.

VTEC
VTEC allows the valves to remain open for two different durations. A short  opening time for low-speed operation to give good torque and acceleration, and  a larger opening time for higher speeds to give more power. To do this, the  camshaft has two sets of cam lobes for each valve and a sliding locking pin on  the cam follower that determines which lobe is operating the valve. The locking  pin is moved by a hydraulic control valve based on the engine speed and power  delivery requirements. The two lobe shapes are referred to as fuel economy  cams and high power cams, meaning that Honda engines with this technology  are really two engines in one - a performance engine and an economical engine.  The two animations below show a pair of cam lobes and followers to  demonstrate the fundamental operation of VTEC. The left animation is fuel  economy mode - the blue locking pin is not engaged so the two followers run on  their respective cam lobes independently. The yellow one is the main cam  follower which pushes on the valve. On the right, in power mode, the blue  locking pin is engaged so now the red cam follower is locked to the yellow one  which, now being driven by the red one, no longer contacts the lower profile  cam lobe. Because the red follower is running on a higher profile cam lobe, it  now forces the valve to stay open longer.