In an embodiment, torque control operation is provided in a transmission having a variable displacement variator with a hydraulic actuator. The transmission is engaged in a neutral state such that the variator output experiences substantially zero torque, and a first hydraulic pressure sweep to the hydraulic actuator is commanded while a corresponding sweep of motor speed ratio of the variator is recorded. The transmission is engaged into a locked mode providing a fixed output speed and a second hydraulic pressure sweep to the hydraulic actuator is commanded, and a corresponding sweep of variator output torque is recorded during this sweep. A torque/pressure map is then constructed relating motor torque, motor speed ratio, and actuator pressure by scaling the sweep of motor speed ratios and the sweep of variator output torque. The resultant map is usable to provide feed forward torque control of the transmission.