METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A DRIVE BELT, A DRIVE BELT AND A METHOD FOR OPERATING A CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION INCORPORATING SUCH A DRIVE BELT

摘要

The invention relates to a method for manufacturing a drive belt for a continuously variable transmission comprising two pulleys and the drive belt that is reeved around and in frictional contact with such pulleys and that comprises a number of transverse elements provided on an endless tensile means of the belt, whereof the transverse elements are made of a steel that contains more than 0.7 % by weight carbon, in which method the steel transverse elements are hardened by first austenitizing and then quenching the transverse elements. According to the invention, after quenching, the transverse elements are either incorporated into the drive belt without any further heat treatment, or are subjected to a further heat treatment of tempering at a temperature of between 175°C and 225°C for less than 60 minutes, preferably less than 10 minutes.