Would anyone here know which one gets BETTER gas mileage? A CVT (belt) or automotive-style automatic tranny?

Compare say a Sportsman400 VS Honda's Rancher which has a mechanical automatic tranny.(ESP) Or a Sportsman 500EFI VS a Rubicon.

In general which type of tranny gets better MPG and WHY?


When it comes to boats, I know for fact that an i/o gets much better GPH then a jet drive.

 

in general a auto trans. takes more hp to runthem like on auto's but i would thinh that a belt cvt would be better as it's the smooth and constant. but this is just my guess.

 

on a AVERAGE ride of 50 miles the rubicon will use about 2.5 gallons the sportsman will use about 3.5 gallons......bear in mind i run the rubi in manual shift most allways.

 

If you're shifting a manual or semi-automatic transmission I'd put my money on the shifting variety. You can keep it in higher gear longer to get better mileage from your gas.

 

I would say the Honda would be more efficient because they weigh 20% less not the type of tranny.

 

There's way more to consider with gas useage then the tranny. CC's, (carb jetting) if not EFI, weight of machine, clutching, tire size, weight of machine. Lots of variables to look at.