(FK7 Civic CVT) Engine stuttering HARD during acceleration

[Faliq]

Hey yall,

First time poster, long time lurker. I have a 2017 civic Hatchback Sport with a CVT transmission. I have the PRL DP/FP with the CAI (street MAF) and swapped the exhaust . I also have the Hondata Flashpro currently with a custom stage 1 tune by Powermetrics and MSD ignition coils. My dad took my car to work one day and noticed that under hard acceleration, the engine would stutter and not accelerate almost at all, its like there's some struggle for power going on. I went to my mechanic and he thinks it could be the spark plugs, as I didn't get them changed when I swapped the ignition coils. Me and him both know for sure that its not the transmission, when we go through the gear simulations it works completely fine, the stuttering only occurs when accelerating hard. I am going to get the spark plugs replaced tomorrow and will give an update. This post is for people who might have the same issue along the road, but if anyone can pitch in their opinions of what's wrong, please help a bro out! Thanks

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[MetalKnightCivicHB]

Yea its very possible its the sparkplugs. When i was tuning with Derek, I noticed a stutter at wot pulls. Derek said it was a misfire and advised to change plugs. Its running 100% since then.

Another event was with my cousin's cvt hatch. He was fbo on ktuner basemap. RPM started stuttering and bouncing during idle. He changed the plugs and it was driving normal afterwards.

 

[Benster]

Just a question because it's seen less and less these days but why did you change your coils? It's not a limitation on these engines as it is with most older carburated engines. On the Toyota engines most aftermarket coil packs are the cause of issues. Your problem is most likely spark plugs as metalknight said but I'm just curious what made you change the coils, not judging.

 

[Faliq]

Yea its very possible its the sparkplugs. When i was tuning with Derek, I noticed a stutter at wot pulls. Derek said it was a misfire and advised to change plugs. Its running 100% since then.

Another event was with my cousin's cvt hatch. He was fbo on ktuner basemap. RPM started stuttering and bouncing during idle. He changed the plugs and it was driving normal afterwards.

Hey thanks for the quick reply. If that's the case than that's a relief. But what I don't understand is that it happened all of a sudden, I remember driving it the night before it happened and it fine. I've had the coils on for about 2 months now. I am also thinking it could be weather related, we had our first big snow storm here in Toronto about that same time, maybe condensation? Well I'm gonna get the plugs replaced tomorrow so I'll have to see. Thanks again

 

[Faliq]

Just a question because it's seen less and less these days but why did you change your coils? It's not a limitation on these engines as it is with most older carburated engines. On the Toyota engines most aftermarket coil packs are the cause of issues. Your problem is most likely spark plugs as metalknight said but I'm just curious what made you change the coils, not judging.

The MSD ignition coils have a greater voltage and gives a better spark to the spark plugs for better reliability (ironic as hell). I also figured it would help smooth the acceleration because of the better spark energy, and it actually did make the acceleration smoother by a noticeable margin (I tested the stock ones and compared just to be sure). Was it worth it? For the $300 I paid, prolly not, alot more mods out there that give you better bang for your buck.

 

[xjoshuax89]

The QC on those MSD coilpacks have been very hit and miss on our platform. Drob actually recommended to several people to avoid them as he's seen too many perform alot worse than oem coilpacks.

 

[Feddy_Ace]

The QC on those MSD coilpacks have been very hit and miss on our platform. Drob actually recommended to several people to avoid them as he's seen too many perform alot worse than oem coilpacks.

They have been. They’ve been absolutely great for me. Over 2500 miles of use on the MSD coils and my car has never ran better, but others have see early failures. I think these work best if you’re NOT tuned and running 91 octane. Plugs and coils seem to really fuck things up once you tune, so I agree OP should go back to stock and see if that fixes it. Any time I’ve had a car do this it was the coil packs.

 

[Faliq]

They have been. They’ve been absolutely great for me. Over 2500 miles of use on the MSD coils and my car has never ran better, but others have see early failures. I think these work best if you’re NOT tuned and running 91 octane. Plugs and coils seem to really fuck things up once you tune, so I agree OP should go back to stock and see if that fixes it. Any time I’ve had a car do this it was the coil packs.

Hey, I just actually got the spark plugs changed a few hours ago and tested it on the MSD coils, and it was still the exact same stuttering under hard acceleration. I put the oem coils in and they fixed the problem 100%. Guess it was the coils, not the spark plugs. I noticed better response with the new spark plugs so thats nice.

 

[Faliq]

Hey, I just actually got the spark plugs changed a few hours ago and tested it on the MSD coils, and it was still the exact same stuttering under hard acceleration. I put the oem coils in and they fixed the problem 100%. Guess it was the coils, not the spark plugs. I noticed better response with the new spark plugs so thats nice.

Just another quick update. As I drove a little more I noticed in the midrange, when I'm moderately accelerating, i feel the slightest stutter, i don't know if its knock, i don't have much experience with knock. I suspect this stutter could go away? Maybe its just the oem coils adjusting? Idk

 

[360glitch]

Just another quick update. As I drove a little more I noticed in the midrange, when I'm moderately accelerating, i feel the slightest stutter, i don't know if its knock, i don't have much experience with knock. I suspect this stutter could go away? Maybe its just the oem coils adjusting? Idk

Have you contacted your tuner yet? You will want to record a datalog and have them review it.

 

[jayy_swish]

The lesson here: stick with oem coils ALWAYS. Unless the aftermarket brand is denso or NGK, preferably NGK.

 

[Benster]

You wouldn't feel knock on this engine unless the tune is way too aggressive or something is wrong with the car. As 360glitch said, talk to your tuner and datalog it, he'll point you in the right direction.

 

[CAPTS]

could be a tune related issue too, best datalog send it to your tuner & have it check it out.

 

[Bunhyung]

The QC on those MSD coilpacks have been very hit and miss on our platform. Drob actually recommended to several people to avoid them as he's seen too many perform alot worse than oem coilpacks.

This is the truth. I had a set fail on me with less than 500 miles on them. Glad I got them off the forum as there is no way I would pay full retail for almost certain failure. I'll save my money for Ignition projects.

 

[pumpkin]

The lesson here: stick with oem coils ALWAYS. Unless the aftermarket brand is denso or NGK, preferably NGK.

the lesson to me is, don't use a tune, seems pretty simple,

i don't know why, or understand why, people go out of thier way to create their own problems

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