Vtec question!! no hating please...

Question

ok so i have a 90 teggy..well tuned (i think lol) but like most of guys know its non-vtec. My question is: does vtec really makes a big difference in a race?? is it possible to do a swap?? alot of people tell me its difficult cause my car has never been wired for any vtec system. But honestly i really think vtec is no big deal....is it??

Answer 1

yeah but the thing is ls/vtec's are very unreliable. common problem is vtec works better on high compression such as the gsr motor. in the gsr motor theres piston squirters that cool the pistons while many common mistakes is the ls/vtec pistons are too fragile. most of them break after awhile. adding a vtec block isn't just a simple DIY, you need a full conversion done by a qualified mechanic if you want a reliable swap. you'll probably want to buy an ecu and tune it so that way it redlines at least 85k-90k for better results.

Answer 2

Yes you can have vtec by swapping in a vtec cylinder head to your car.  It does help and will work you just have to add the wires that are missing in your cars harness ( vtec oil pressure switch, vtec solenoid, knock sensor) and an adapter kit to feed oil to the head externally for the vtec because the LS block doesn't have the vtec oil jet and an ecu. But the problem with this is your block was never meant to rev past 7000rpm's. The vtec head doesn't make any real power until about 7600rpm's and can rev to 8200 stock.  But as long as you don't red line it constantly the engine will give you plenty of life, but for best results you have to build up the bottom end.  You can also install a whole engine that already has vtec.

Your right it isn't really that big a deal. V-tec was designed to improve low to mid range rpm torque on a low displacement engine that was made to make its peak horsepower at high rpm's. It was made to be able to drive the car around town without having to rev it to red line to get it to move.

If you search for race spec B series engines you will find that most have the v-tec disengaged and running on big duration cams all the time.  When racing there is no need to use the lower rpm range because the engine doesn't make any power there. Hope this helps.