Anyone try a Continuous Variable Transmission CVT system in a mower?

Just thinking of ways to improve my upcoming racing mower build, so anyone try this and ditch the pulley clutch?

http://www.mfgsupply.com/gomini/gominiclutch/gominiclutchtorq.html

ive never used one on a mower but i have one on my Baja Warrior and it was mounted horizontally and works great, Comet Rates there CVT drives for 8hp but you can run them over 8hp and have no problems but you cant run Comet belts you need aftermarket ones, My Warrior has the same mods as Fearless front has done to his Racing lawn tractor but i have the stock muffler gutted and im planning on running a GX340 Carb soon.

They should work mounted vertically but i dont think its the greatest idea, your going to run CVT to a transaxle and use the CVT system as a clutch? seems like alot of extra stuff(and they are pretty pricey but they are universal fit pretty much), id just use something like a electronic clutch with a pulley on it then run a switch to the clutch pedal so it disengages the clutch when the pedal is fully depressed then you can shift and still have slow speeds like you would before. The only problem would be that Water + Electricity = Problems. The real solution to this is if a company made clutches for small engines that were manual clutches.

There are an ass load of MTD tractors with them. Most people hate them. They can be tricky to setup. And the clutch sucked, mile of stroke on it, and slow. Other's have speed them up and say they work.

What type of "racing mower" are you building? A rule of physics when you convert power you loose something, ussually as heat/enegy in the procces. I would guess it depends on what you call "works." I know from drag racing cars two cars can have the same HP but differant drivelines and that makes a big differance. If you have one 2500 lb car equipped with say a 4 speed automatic and the other with a two speed PowerGlide, the glide will win everytime. It has less spinning mass and takes less time to recover between gear changes. My guess would be by the time yours recovered from going off throttle to full throttle rest of the folks would be long gone. Try doing like a buddy of mine did when he got into tractor pulling. He saw who was winning all the time and started hanging around the pits acting like a real dummy about tractors and asking the guy key questions mixed in with the stuipid ones. Before long the guy had told him all about his fuel system, what turbo he had, what he'd done to the internals, basically his whole set up. Randy then came back to Diesel class and we rebuilt as a class project his 4000 Ford just like the winning tractor, then threw in a few "tricks" we knew about. His first night pulling he took home the win. The guy he copied asked him why he looked familliar and he told him. I'd do like I did drag racing, see what everyone else is running, try to improve on it. If you think you have a new combo that will work, try it out in a known enviroment. Test what you have now for speed, ET, 0-60 times ect. then modify it and retest.

Stretch44875 wrote:

There are an ass load of MTD tractors with them. Most people hate them. They can be tricky to setup. And the clutch sucked, mile of stroke on it, and slow. Other's have speed them up and say they work.

Totally forgot about those:P they are cvt:P, not the exact same setup as the comets but they do the same thing

Stretch44875 wrote:

There are an ass load of MTD tractors with them. Most people hate them. They can be tricky to setup. And the clutch sucked, mile of stroke on it, and slow. Other's have speed them up and say they work.

Yeah there is a heavy duty type out there used for 20hp diesels, and I know it's great, but unsure in a speedy mower.
But I'm sure it's more efficient than the regular double clutch mower setup.

TheEquineFencer wrote:

What type of "racing mower" are you building? A rule of physics when you convert power you loose something, ussually as heat/enegy in the procces. I would guess it depends on what you call "works." I know from drag racing cars two cars can have the same HP but differant drivelines and that makes a big differance. If you have one 2500 lb car equipped with say a 4 speed automatic and the other with a two speed PowerGlide, the glide will win everytime. It has less spinning mass and takes less time to recover between gear changes. My guess would be by the time yours recovered from going off throttle to full throttle rest of the folks would be long gone. Try doing like a buddy of mine did when he got into tractor pulling. He saw who was winning all the time and started hanging around the pits acting like a real dummy about tractors and asking the guy key questions mixed in with the stuipid ones. Before long the guy had told him all about his fuel system, what turbo he had, what he'd done to the internals, basically his whole set up. Randy then came back to Diesel class and we rebuilt as a class project his 4000 Ford just like the winning tractor, then threw in a few "tricks" we knew about. His first night pulling he took home the win. The guy he copied asked him why he looked familliar and he told him. I'd do like I did drag racing, see what everyone else is running, try to improve on it. If you think you have a new combo that will work, try it out in a known enviroment. Test what you have now for speed, ET, 0-60 times ect. then modify it and retest.

Yeah more like speedy, not to race with.

W1ldyOvvnZ wrote:

Stretch44875 wrote:

There are an ass load of MTD tractors with them. Most people hate them. They can be tricky to setup. And the clutch sucked, mile of stroke on it, and slow. Other's have speed them up and say they work.

Totally forgot about those:P they are cvt:P, not the exact same setup as the comets but they do the same thing

Comets is the same I guess, CVT it's like a clutch and automatic gearbox in one compact unit, if setup correctly, that's why I wonder cus it's compact.

Kubota RTV's have them. i drive my uncles all the time. but if you really want to do this, im gonna let you know.
they dont have quick acceleration, even in low, so you wont be able to do a burnout. they top off early, having no bottom end punch, a mild middle range, and they top off really early.

crafsmankiller wrote:

Kubota RTV's have them. i drive my uncles all the time. but if you really want to do this, im gonna let you know.
they dont have quick acceleration, even in low, so you wont be able to do a burnout. they top off early, having no bottom end punch, a mild middle range, and they top off really early.

I know I have one on my kubota 2 cylinder, but mine does have nice acceleration tbh but mediocre in high.

So I guess this will work then.

Can't burnout w a double clutch either or can we?

Copied from BMI karts,

Why use a Torque Converter System?

Since these devices consist of a "belt" and two "variable pitch pulleys" all working together harmoniously, serving as both clutch AND transmission, we often call them "variable speed drive systems." Weather-proof, completely mechanical and occupying minimum space, they can operate mounted in any position and are adaptable to a wide variety of applications, both stationary and vehicular. Each Comet system is fully automatic and can be used anywhere that control by engine throttle alone is desireable.
There are no gears, no complicated controls or levers and neither manual shifting nor clutching is involved in these systems. Utter simplicity makes both cost of this equipment and its installation modest and also reduces future maintenance to a negligible minimum without compromise of performance of versatility.
The unique design of the "movable face" in each "driver" and "driven' member cause automatic, infinite variation and thus smooth shifting action between the system's low and high range in immediate response to chainging load and/or travel conditions, with constant optimum ratio between engine and drive wheel thus assured, you get the use of all the power your engine develops. Since ratio selection and "down-shifting" is automatic, braking and vehicle control are enhanced. Even engine and drive train component life (sprocket, chain, bearings, etc) is extended since shifting is smooth and not subject to the hazards of manual control.