Is Vtec really overrated??

[KillerCam282]

You know what, I will come out hard and say it. VTEC is overrated in all out racing purposes. Think about it. Why do VTEC race cams have identical off- and on-VTEC cam lobes? Because in the end, valvelift is valvelift no matter what your valve cover says. For daily drivers who do not want their car to idle like crap, VTEC is awesome. For people like me who could not give a shit, VTEC means nothing. Well no, it actually means a heavier engine (I am stingy with engine weight), so F22b was the best thing for my purposes. If you want stock reliabilty then VTEC is the way to go. If you want all out power and great tuning, it does not matter at all.

There my rant about VTEC was not that bad at all. I could have been much worse trust me.

[ACC0RD22]

You know what, I will come out hard and say it. VTEC is overrated in all out racing purposes. Think about it. Why do VTEC race cams have identical off- and on-VTEC cam lobes? Because in the end, valvelift is valvelift no matter what your valve cover says. For daily drivers who do not want their car to idle like crap, VTEC is awesome. For people like me who could not give a shit, VTEC means nothing. Well no, it actually means a heavier engine (I am stingy with engine weight), so F22b was the best thing for my purposes. If you want stock reliabilty then VTEC is the way to go. If you want all out power and great tuning, it does not matter at all.

There my rant about VTEC was not that bad at all. I could have been much worse trust me.

this should be handed out with every VTEC engine that is bought . . .

[KillerCam282]

this should be handed out with every VTEC engine that is bought . . .

I did my best to give my stand on it without getting banned.

The day someone tells me their engine is better than mine cause it says VTEC...words cannot describe what how I would react. This is coming from someone who could have easily got a Type-S motor.

[h22sparkle]

vtec slowtech motech the most shits that been hyped is the damn type r

[xlr857]

I thought I heard somewhere that VTEC is used for two different reasons. On the single cams it's more for fuel economy and for the more performance oriented Hondas/Acura's its for performance. I had a 95 Accord EX VTEC and never even noticed it. I wasnt really into the motor, more for looks. But know that I have a stock H22 Accord I definatly know what VTEC is all about.

[Direthought]

The reason slow-tech is more for economy on the single's is because thats what the engine and head were designed for.
The dohc's have more air flow stock as to create a more performance oriented motor. Slow-tech is just there for gas mileage as well, and to keep a steady power curve, (move it up to higher lift as the engine needs more air/fuel). Basically, if you want performance stock, (there are gonna be some more fast sohc N/A's real soon) then get the DOHC.

[ACC0RD22]

HEY THIS MIGHT BLOW YOUR MIND!

all VTEC is for gas milage, DOHC VTEC just hits harder because it has a 3rd high lift lobe . . . get it?

[ckyskater733]

i can feel and hear it in my lude. in my opinion, its awesome.

[deevergote]

H22s are meant to be performance motors. So are the upper-end B series. F series (not including the F20C) and D series are NOT made to be performance motors. Simple as that.

The VTEC lobe on the B18C5 cam had a profile damn near that of a race cam. Those engines are made to make power up high, unlike the grocery getter motors that are made to haul milk and toddlers.

The purpose of VTEC in the SOHC motors is to provide a little extra power in the high range, while providing a decent amount of low end torque and fuel economy. Also, it was (and still is) a marketing gimmick. People see VTEC, they immediately think that it's better. So they pay more for it. Honestly, I would take an F22A6 over an F22B1 any day!

DOHC motors use the same technology to give a fatter powerband in the upper ranges. If you JUST ran the VTEC lobes, you would have NO low end... imagine revving to 5k before you went anywhere... Not fun. Just the low-end providing non-VTEC lobes would result in a serious drop in power beyond 5k. SO, what the VTEC setup gives you is the ability to make enough low end power to get moving, then allows you to continue making power to 7k+ as if you were running a bigger cam.

For those of you who have considered running different cams, consider it this way... If a new cam affected your drivability by killing your low end, you'd perhaps not want it. If such a cam also killed your high end, but made lots of power down low, you also wouldn't want it. Now, if you could start a run with the low-end cam, and swap cams in the middle of the race for the high-end cam, wouldn't that be great? VTEC.

[DrLove'sKuDang]

exactly what he^ said. which is why the vtec killacams are a good idea for drag cars, but thats about it. it turns a motor into a nonvtec motor or all vtec motor, depending on how you look at it.

thats the best part about vtec. a friend of mine has a ls. he put a set of cams in and it idled like shit. but i can put a set of meanass cams in my car and nobody will know until it hits vtec. idle is unaffected. normal driving is unaffected. it only changes where you want it to.

[J-specCb4]

man my look on it is if u want a quick cb but dont want to deal with a lack of driveability grab urself an h22 but if u want a fast ass cb and dont care as much about driveability grab an f22b or any of the other dohc applications for a cb7 and get high comp ratio pistons and some mean ass cams its all about preference and im all about building a balls out fast car... period. driveability is cool but pullin up next to any mustang or camaro and handing it to em is worth a lil loss of driveability...

[MRX]

Although i do think vtec is overrated to some degree. Most ppl think because it says vtec it must be fast. A simple change in cam lobe isn't that astonishing to me Its a great concept and has served its purpose quite well. And its also very versatile. Most ppl that praise vtec like theres nothing better probably don't even know that the concept of variable timing and lift was orginated through ferrari. It was just popularized with honda. The newer innovative versions of vtec that are coming out are awesome tho. Some are even able to adjust the cam gear timing on the fly. And then theres that other invention that can both change the cam profile as it pleases, the cam gear timing, the overlap, everything!...now that ish is praise worthy.

[MRX]

driveability

can you explain this word please?

[WiKKeDV16]

exactly what he^ said. which is why the vtec killacams are a good idea for drag cars, but thats about it. it turns a motor into a nonvtec motor or all vtec motor, depending on how you look at it.

thats the best part about vtec. a friend of mine has a ls. he put a set of cams in and it idled like shit. but i can put a set of meanass cams in my car and nobody will know until it hits vtec. idle is unaffected. normal driving is unaffected. it only changes where you want it to.

lol.. not true drlove.. depending on the level of "meanie" cams.. u put it.. the idle CAN be affected just like on a nonvtec car.. is it as severe? no.. because of the selection of two profiles.. but not all vtec cams are made for the purpose of top end.. alot of them out their give substancial gains in the low end.. thus resulting in a cam that has pretty beefy lift/duration.. ive personally seen/heard/ridden in a h22a civic that had toda 3s... didnt idle like shit but u could definetly tell it was modified.. now.. if u have that level of a cam in a nonvtec motor.. it sounds like a drag car.. but thats the fun of it ...


As for weither or not its over-rated? IMO.. yes.. if u have it.. you have a slight comfort zone.. where u dont have to deal with insane lift/duration near idle.. but those of us who dont have it know how to make power out of what honda gave us.. ive read up on alot of non-vtec cars.. that make more power than that of hits vtec counterpart.. b18b vs b16a.. b18b vs b18c.. and finally... this is what this thread leads me to..



www.NON-Vtec.com .....

^Shameless plug..

[deevergote]

@ the shameless plug

I agree that a LOT of people who praise VTEC don't know the mechanics of it... THAT is why it's overrated. I take it for what it is, and it's a very useful design. I like VTEC because of the simplicity. The more advanced versions in the newer Hondas, Toyotas (they're late, but stepping it up), and Mitsubishis (MIVEC has been around almost as long as VTEC) are a little more complex. However, the simple lobe-changing VTEC makes slipping in a new set of cams a simple upgrade. There are basically 3 options for cams on an H22: large lobe only race cams, which kill low end considerably; cams with two modified lobes, making more power overall with a slight loss in low end; and the cams the good Dr above mentioned, those that have stock-ish small lobes, and wild VTEC lobes... those are good, but you lose some midrange in the crossover (got that from Crower).

If VTEC a replacement for turbo? No. Does it make an engine a monster? No. Does it give more options, in some cases... if you choose to use it.


If I ever boost an H22, I want to tune it so the turbo hits maximum boost at the same time VTEC hits... just for S&G