Patent ID: 8214127

Claim:
An engine control system comprising: a clutch cut off enable module that generates an enable signal based on a clutch engagement signal and an accelerator pedal signal; and a torque control module that, in response to the enable signal, (i) reduces a spark advance of an engine directly to a minimum value and (ii) disables fueling of cylinders of the engine, wherein the minimum value is a minimum allowed spark advance for current airflow of the engine and is less than a mean best torque value of spark advance for the current airflow, wherein the torque control module enables fueling of the cylinders based on an increasing torque request, wherein the torque control module, after enabling fueling of the cylinders, performs a plurality of spark advance decreases, wherein each of the spark advance decreases corresponds to one of the cylinders and offsets a torque increase realized from enabling fueling to the cylinder, and wherein each of the spark advance decreases operates equally on all of the cylinders of the engine for which fueling is enabled.