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Cvt Opinions (350Gt Sedan)

Cúl-Báire
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Cúl-Báire Rookie

Cúl-Báire

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HIGuys,

Unsure if you saw my post in the newbies thread, but I am a skyline newbielooking for a few thoughts... I have long been a V8 performance fan, havingowned a number of fuel guzzling Fords, and Holden’s over the past 7 years ofhaving my license; but now I am getting a little older and a little more consciousthat V8 just isn’t everything any more - the V35 350GT puts out just as much asmy current ride (which was inconveniently stolen, and badly damaged), with only3/4 the amount of cylinders and I am positive it's much more efficient too.Anyways enough of that!

I am currently looking at the 2004/5ish 350GT Sedan as my next mode oftransport, and I am yet to take one for a test drive but I am a little unsureof the Constantly Variable Transmission (CVT) in these things; after watching afew YouTube videos last night I think I have afair grasp of how it works... Itappears as though it brings the engine upto the rev range and stays there, oneof my questions is what RPM does it sit on at freeway speeds?.. Does it dropback the RPM once at cruising speed, if so I can see it be fantastic on fuel whilstcruising the freeway.

Next question, I drive a fair percentage of freeway kms, but I also likespirited driving on the windy back roads we have around Brisbane, and GoldCoast, how does the CVT fair in conditions like this, is the manual mode(paddle shift) a good option when it comes to these sorts of conditions? Alsois there any risk of damaging the transmission if the car is left in manualmode for any length of time?

As mentioned above, I am yet to take one for a drive but from what I am told Iam sure I won't be turning back to the old Holden any time soon - the V35 looksto be somewhat more classy, and is bound to turn heads

Anycomments you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

-Cul

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GRK35L Rising Star

GRK35L

Posted
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People who buy the CVT and don't maintain it or haven't got the money to fix problems when they go wrong don't like them.

To answer your questions:

I have a 350GT8 and have had it for 11months,

I drive freeway every day to work , on the freeway the RPMs sit at 2000 near the whole time , generally am either going 90kmp/h or 100-110km and it will comfortably sit at 2000rpms,

As you accelerate depending on how much you put ur foot down the car will pick rpms and sit there till you back off once reaching the desired speeds , generally when accelerating the car dosn't need to go past 3000rpms to reach speed quite quickly then drops back to >2000rpms

USING THE PADDLE SHIFTS IN THESE CARS ARE AMAZING. The shifts are near instantaneous and unlike other makes and models the car lets you drive it how you want without shifting itself whenever it feels like. It will only shift itself when it hits redline or drops below 1000rpms

I go on spirited drives quite regularly on some local VERY twisty mountain roads and the thing is amazing.

Also the power of the car is quite good. Have left many V8 owners scratching heads and car is quite capable to beat many cars , left my mates 260rs Stagea far behind, as few other models

Cúl-Báire Rookie

Cúl-Báire

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People who buy the CVT and don't maintain it or haven't got the money to fix problems when they go wrong don't like them.

To answer your questions:

I have a 350GT8 and have had it for 11months,

I drive freeway every day to work , on the freeway the RPMs sit at 2000 near the whole time , generally am either going 90kmp/h or 100-110km and it will comfortably sit at 2000rpms,

As you accelerate depending on how much you put ur foot down the car will pick rpms and sit there till you back off once reaching the desired speeds , generally when accelerating the car dosn't need to go past 3000rpms to reach speed quite quickly then drops back to >2000rpms

USING THE PADDLE SHIFTS IN THESE CARS ARE AMAZING. The shifts are near instantaneous and unlike other makes and models the car lets you drive it how you want without shifting itself whenever it feels like. It will only shift itself when it hits redline or drops below 1000rpms

I go on spirited drives quite regularly on some local VERY twisty mountain roads and the thing is amazing.

Also the power of the car is quite good. Have left many V8 owners scratching heads and car is quite capable to beat many cars , left my mates 260rs Stagea far behind, as few other models

That was the info I was after, hoping test drive one inthe next week or so!.. :-)

As for the maintenance, it’s like any car if you maintain it properly you won’thave a great deal of issues.

n15m0 Grand Master

n15m0

Posted
Posted

That was the info I was after, hoping test drive one inthe next week or so!.. :-)

As for the maintenance, it’s like any car if you maintain it properly you won’thave a great deal of issues.

Its not about how you maintain the car, its more about how it was maintained/or not in the past. I have no doubt the CVT8 is great. My Merc is a CVT too and I love it. There is already plenty of evidence and bad experiences documented in this forum if you do a thorough search with regards to the CVT8. You will be taking a huge gamble if you do buy one...

By all means test drive one but please do not buy before test driving a S2 5AT 350GT sedan. 12/04 onwards

I test drove a CVT8 few years ago...did a bit of research and chose the 5AT instead, this is my 4th year of owning it and it has never skipped a beat.

Cúl-Báire Rookie

Cúl-Báire

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Wellthat’s true I probably couldn't agree more with your top statement; my old SSCommodore is a fine example of this it was poorly maintained before I got it(dispite having a good service history in the log book), and no matter how wellI looked after it there would always be something going wrong with it... I likethe idea of the CVT, but I am not quite sold on it - a 5AT or 6MT would befantastic but I am finding them pretty hard to come by in my price range unfortunately.

Cúl-Báire Rookie

Cúl-Báire

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Price is also a good indication....there is a reason why the CVTs are priced well below the 5AT versions of similar year. BTW, what price range are you looking at?

I am looking anywhere between 15k and 25k, but it will be more dependant on what my exsisting car sells for - there is quite a few good looking coupes in that price range; but not a great deal of sedans; obviously the coupe was the more popular import.

I'm not completely close minded about the coupe though as I hear they are pretty good in the back; just sucks there is no middle seat for the baby seat.

I am itching to take both a sedan, and a coupe for a drive and see which I prefer.

Chris Rogers Grand Master

Chris Rogers

Posted
Posted

listen to nismo - he speaketh the truth :)

take a later sedan for a run. you will like it. I have driven nismo's one a few times and it has more than enough poke to do what you want. now if you like the idea of paddles - buy the earlier 5sp auto and then swap the paddles from the CVT8 into it. I have been privy to a few horror stories on CVT8s now and most are bad. I had one kid blame a stereo shop in maroochydore for his failing. (all the y did was replace the radio for him) another with random issues that would not appear on my scanner.

buy the car you want but at the same point make DAMN sure you know what you are buying and DO NOT look at distance covered. I wrote the thread mentioned above for a reason :)

austingtir Contributor

austingtir

Posted
Posted (edited)

The price of the cvt8 makes them an absolute bargain with or without issues. At the end of the day a 5 speed auto (puke) or the six speed isnt that difficult a conversion if it fails just a major pain the in the ass.

I nearly bought one a month or two ago at auction with "transmission issues" if it was terminal which id be suprised if it was, then convert to six speed if its done properly it would practically increase in value provided you undertake the work yourself.

I totally disagree about the 5 speed with paddels its just a total waste of time on that pathetic slow shifting piece of crap. This is coming from someone who has owned both at the same time though.

People should be informed before purchasing one.

Edited by austingtir
n15m0 Grand Master

n15m0

Posted
Posted

The price of the cvt8 makes them an absolute bargain with or without issues. At the end of the day a 5 speed auto (puke) or the six speed isnt that difficult a conversion if it fails just a major pain the in the ass.

I nearly bought one a month or two ago at auction with "transmission issues" if it was terminal which id be suprised if it was, then convert to six speed if its done properly it would practically increase in value provided you undertake the work yourself.

I totally disagree about the 5 speed with paddels its just a total waste of time on that pathetic slow shifting piece of crap. This is coming from someone who has owned both at the same time though.

People should be informed before purchasing one.

You probably drove the 5AT in a series one. Try a series 2 5AT...I have owned and driven both and they are miles apart, needless to say I have kept the series 2.

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