- Honda Car Owner's Manual

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1) Driven-Shaft-PlacedAccelerationClutch
TheHondaMultimaticdiffersfrompreviouslyexistingstep-lesstransmissionsisthattheacceleration
clutchisplaced onthedrivenshaft.Theprimaryreasonwetook thisroutewasto controltorqueat the
closestpossibleplacetotheaxle,allowingforsmoothacceleration.Inaddition,wewereabletoapplya
modestcreep*whichmostautomatictransmissionusershavegrownaccustomedto.Thisgivesthestandard
advantagesofanautomaticwhenparking,aswellasstartingfromadead-stoponhills.(*creep-youknow,
howyourcarwithATwillsneak/creepforwardunlessyouapplythebrakes)
Secondly, this allows for controlling the speed in all circumstances. In order to control speed, the
pulleyneedstobecontinuallyspinning.Byplacingtheclutchonthedrivenpulley,thepulleycanremain
spinningevenwhenthecarisstopped.Thismeansthatinemergencysituationsorsuddendeceleration,the
transmissioncanquicklystepdowntoLOWgear.
Lastly,thisset-upallowsforthetransmissiontobetowed.Whentheengineisstopped,theinputfrom
thetiresislockedoutbythefinalgearandthedrivenpulley.
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2) ProprietaryOilPressureControlSystem
Thepulleywidthandspeedcontrolishandledbyahigh/lowpressureregulator.Thefour-wayvalve
releasesoilpressureevenlytothepulleys.Additionally,theforcethatpinchesthemetalbeltbetweenthe
pulleysisalsocontrolledbythelowerpressureregulator.Asaresult,thetwopulleypistonsareofthesame
design-allowingforamoresimpledesign,yetallowinghighpoweroutputasneeded.
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3) SlimDesign
TheFront/Reverseswitchingmechanismwasplacedonthedrivingshaft,whiletheaccelerationclutch
wasplacedonthedrivenshaft.Becauseofthisopposingsetup,thetransmissionisverycompact,makingit
ideal for a FF layout. Additionally, the input shaft from the engine is inserted into the driving shaft,
allowingforthenumberofbearingstobedecreased-whichultimatelymeanslesspowerlosttofriction.
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4) DualFlywheels
We removed the torque converter, and instead sandwichedtwoflywheels- resultingin a dual-mass
flywheel.Also,theharmonicresonancefrequencywasloweredtothatofbelowidle-allowingustoshut
outtheunwantedvibrationsoftencausedbythetwistingforcegeneratedbytheengineduringtorquerate