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Old 03-01-2017, 10:54 PM   #1
3LOU5
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Engine/Transmission Question

In your opinion/experience, which engine do you think will have more trouble-free miles ??

A) Normally-aspirated 3.7L V-6 (I believe it's a Ford powerplant)
B) Turbocharged 2.5L in-line four

Transmission:

A) 6-speed automatic
B) CVT (the latest CVT in the Nissan Murano....guess what I'm trying to figure out is if those Nissan CVTs are beefy/reliable enough to handle their V-6)
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Last edited by 3LOU5; 03-01-2017 at 11:09 PM. Reason: edit
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Old 03-01-2017, 11:14 PM   #2
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I have NO experience with turbos.

In fact, the only turbo I've ever driven was a Saab 900 back in the early '90s. While fun-to-drive, especially up in the mountains of Colorado where I was passing normally-aspirated cars left and right, the replacement of its turbo was ridonkulous.....like $1200 iirc....JUST FOR THE PART !!

I'm wondering if the today's turbos are better than the ones back then. With proper care, how long do I expect one to last ??

I'm thinking also that today's synthetic oils are WAY better equipped to handle the stress and extreme heat of such devices.

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2016 Toyota Sienna SE - hers
2002 BMW 325i - his
1994 Chevrolet Silverado K1500 Sportside Z71 - whoevers vehicle is in the shop
2009 Harley-Davidson Sportster XL883 Low (Vivid Black) - his
2018 Can-Am Spyder RT Limited - hers
2007 Harley-Davidson Sportster XL883 Low (Pearl White) - hers (SOLD 02/29/20)
2011 Tao Tao 50 - whoevers bike is in the shop
2007 Reinell 186 FNS - the dog's
1995 Fleetwood Flair 27R - EVERYBODY'S !

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Old 03-02-2017, 07:15 AM   #3
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CVTs are awful. Stay away.

And a turbo will pretty much always be less reliable than an N/A motor. More parts to fail. But they are pretty durable these days.
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Old 03-02-2017, 08:46 AM   #4
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CVTs are awful. Stay away.

And a turbo will pretty much always be less reliable than an N/A motor. More parts to fail. But they are pretty durable these days.
to both.
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Old 03-02-2017, 09:25 AM   #5
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Need to know more about engine architecture. Compression ratio. Hydraulic or solid lifter? Timing chain or belt? Manufacturer service requirements, etc..
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Old 03-02-2017, 09:31 AM   #6
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Need to know more about engine architecture. Compression ratio. Hydraulic or solid lifter? Timing chain or belt? Manufacturer service requirements, etc..
We are talking minivan/SUV engines. I'm pretty confident that there won't be any solid lifters.
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Old 03-02-2017, 09:32 AM   #7
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Yeah, I threw that in for (my own) fun.
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Old 03-02-2017, 10:36 AM   #8
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CVTs are awful. Stay away.
For someone that insists on rowing their own gears, it's not going to be a fun experience. But these transmissions have gotten better in recent years, such that I wouldn't any longer accept a blanket, unqualified "they're awful" statement.

I haven't driven a Nissan with a CVT, but the Honda units aren't bad at all. I have extensive experience with the Accord CVT (owned previous to the Pilot), and it was surprisingly good. I'd take that over a regular geared slushie any day. Seriously. It's a different experience, but it's not worse.

I do have concerns about longevity and durability of CVTs, but only because I'm not informed enough about the inner-workings to know if it's a weak point in the drivetrain.
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Old 03-02-2017, 10:40 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ff View Post
For someone that insists on rowing their own gears, it's not going to be a fun experience. But these transmissions have gotten better in recent years, such that I wouldn't any longer accept a blanket, unqualified "they're awful" statement.

I haven't driven a Nissan with a CVT, but the Honda units aren't bad at all. I have extensive experience with the Accord CVT (owned previous to the Pilot), and it was surprisingly good. I'd take that over a regular geared slushie any day. Seriously. It's a different experience, but it's not worse.

I do have concerns about longevity and durability of CVTs, but only because I'm not informed enough about the inner-workings to know if it's a weak point in the drivetrain.
I've driven a recent Nissan CVT. It managed to combine all of the annoyances of a CVT with all of the annoyances of an automatic - including FAKE GEARS. Yes, that right. Fake gears. Because people complained about the monotonous buzzing of a CVT, they decided to try to give it pretend gears so that it felt more like a traditional automatic.
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Old 03-02-2017, 11:00 AM   #10
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I've driven a recent Nissan CVT. It managed to combine all of the annoyances of a CVT with all of the annoyances of an automatic - including FAKE GEARS. Yes, that right. Fake gears. Because people complained about the monotonous buzzing of a CVT, they decided to try to give it pretend gears so that it felt more like a traditional automatic.
Noooooooooooo!!!
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