I have noticed this since I have owned my car but never really thought much about it until now. lets see, how can I explain this. When I turn my car off(whether the engine is warm or cold) it doesnt just shut down smoothly, it shudders a bit before it shuts down(sometimes worse than others) Does this happen to anyone else? Is it normal?

Greg

 

mine does it too... has since day one.

 

Haven't seen the problem yet with my MY00.

RED

 

Perfectly normal and mine does it also.

 

 

Mine too.

 

Mine does too. I kind of like it. I always wondered if this was due to the lack DOHC stabilizer bars. I hope that's what their called. I read an article on reworking H22A (prelude engine) where they disconected them for minimal gains. I also read that the F20 was enginered without them. Does anyone know if this accounts for the "studder" at engine shutdown?

 

Stabilizer bars? You mean stabilizer shafts? These are mechanical driven devices that counter-rotate to smooth out engine vibration. It depends on engine design (block and head angle, firing order, etc). Mistubishi V6's often have had them. Heavy engine vibration is normally only a problem with 4 cylinders with alrge displacements, 2.5L or more.

Not every engine shuts off like an electric one - remember that spark plug firing order plays into the sense of smoothness, and when the engine is cut off, you lose that. Plus, engine mounts figure into it, as one luxo cars they are made soft, or on cars like the Acura TL-S, they are electrically variable - on the S2000, I would guess the mounts are pretty stiff, to prevent engine positional shift, which would not be good in hi rev situations. That and the minimal amount of NVH insulatation add to the shut off experience.

My car does it - who cares what happens at shut dowen as long as things are OK when the engine is running.

 

It's just the cars way of saying "I want to keep running"

 

Has since day one.