What the heck does VTEC mean?

LoadChrisGT said:

I was at a party recently and these guys were talking about how their cars start to pull really hard when they hit vtec. What in the hell does that mean? One guy has a S200 w/ intake and exhaust, think I can beat him? I have 00GT w/ V-1 Strim 8lbs prochamber, magnapacks and a couple of other mods. L8!!

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well i dunno about an S200, I've never heard of them before, but if it's an S2000, then you should rape, pillage and plunder him. And if you don't, kill yourself because you don't deserve that car! lol

EDIT: Oh yea, as for the original question....... I really don't know. I just know that the VTEC engines are supposed to start "pulling hard" in the upper rpm band. Why? I dunno, I think some are equipped with variable valve timing.

Valve Timing Electronically Controlled

and yes the timing takes over at higher RPM and leaves the intake valves open longer to let in more air/fuel

Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control. This allows a low dur. low lift profile to be used at low speeds to help low speed torque production and at higher engine speeds a secondary set of lobes are actuated allowing more duration and lift to help top end power. Almost like swapping in a set of cams on the run. . .allows Honda to have some of the most powerful 4 poppers ever made (per liter) . . . .awesome technology


edit: eh, beat me to it, lol

thats funny when they say the vtec kicks in which is a plus for the slow 4 bangers or very tall engine coolent kicks in my mustang lol (if u dont get it never mind its a joke)

I was always under the impression that it was "Variable Valve timing electronic controller". I am prolly wrong, but maybe it will jog someone's memory.

Hey CManT1914...just noticed you were in Killeen. . . . .what up?!

HIGDON said:

Hey CManT1914...just noticed you were in Killeen. . . . .what up?!

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Not much man, nice to meet a fellow K-town stanger. What are you sporting? I just got back from Vegas for a week, so I'm glad to be back home. Looks like we're gonna have some nice clear and cool weather for the next week or so too! later!

EDIT: Just saw your sig, and your video too! did you shift into 3rd in that burnout?!?!?! lol

DOHC VTEC - How it works
The combustion environment is one of the most important factors to determine an engine's performance. The combustion environment inside an engine is largely influenced by the valve settings - when they open (timing) and how much they open (lift).

In high performance engines, the valves are set to open wide for a long duration, or high lift. This allows a rich mix of fuel and air to flow into the combustion chamber, generating high power at high revs.

However, at low revs, the combustion cycle is slower, so the air/fuel mix leaks out before it has a chance to burn. The result is sluggish performance at low rpm.

Transversely, fuel-efficient engines are able to produce torque at low rpm due to the lean air and fuel charge, but can produce only a limited amount of power.

VTEC allows two different combustion environments in the same engine.

Honda's DOHC VTEC engines use a four-valve-per-cylinder configuration - two intake valves and two exhaust valves for each cylinder. Two pairs of cam lobes and rocker arms operate the valves.

VTEC modifies this cam lobe/rocker arm configuration by adding an extra, high profile cam lobe to each of these pairs. The extra cam lobe actuates an extra rocker arm, which in turn rests on a dummy valve spring. At low- to mid-range rpm, this extra rocker arm moves up and down without acting on a valve.

At a pre-determined mid-range engine speed, a hydraulically actuated pin slides through all three rocker arms, locking them together. This gives control of the entire set of rocker arms to the extra cam lobe. With its higher profile, the extra cam lobe opens the valves even higher and longer, letting more fuel and air flow into the combustion chamber. With the larger fuel/air charge and higher rpm, the engine generates more power to move the car faster.

Once the desired speed is reached and the engine slows back down, the locking pin disengages, allowing the low-profile cam lobes and their rocker arms to resume operation.

The timing of the switchover is handled by an electronic control unit, or ECU, which switches oil pressure to activate the hydraulic pin. The hydraulic pin snaps into place quickly and smoothly, sending the engine into high-power performance almost instantly.

The result is a DOHC VTEC cylinder head with dimensions similar to that of an ordinary SOHC design.

Honda's VTEC technology varies the timing and lift of the intake and exhaust valves. Dual overhead camshafts offer the high-precision necessary to generate massive power at ultra-high rpm.

DOHC VTEC technology takes the equation one step further. At low- to mid-range rpm, the valves maintain a low enough lift to let the engine deliver strong torque.
At high rpm, the VTEC mechanism opens all valves wide so the engine can rapidly intake, burn, and exhaust a large fuel/air charge for high power output.

Yep, 3rd gear I was just getting a feel for it and wanted to try and keep it off the limiter. I did another after my friend did one in his M3. . .I revved it hard and ended up in 4th gear. . .I have the full video somewhere, I had to edit it down for server space and the 4th gear one is hard to see. Trying to get heads on the motor right now. . .missing the best weather of the year

HIGDON said:

Yep, 3rd gear I was just getting a feel for it and wanted to try and keep it off the limiter. I did another after my friend did one in his M3. . .I revved it hard and ended up in 4th gear. . .I have the full video somewhere, I had to edit it down for server space and the 4th gear one is hard to see. Trying to get heads on the motor right now. . .missing the best weather of the year

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:worship: that's awesome, 4th gear? dang! lol. I haven't done a burnout since February! I did 5 the first 2 weeks after I got it (mid-jan) and haven't done one since. I spin my tires a lot just taking off real hard, but I haven't just sat there and smoked them in forever! I do need new ones though, maybe I should have some fun with these before I replace them. lol This weather is fantastic, it was crappy a couple of weeks ago, then I went out of town for my brothers wedding, and then to vegas for a week, and i had great weather both places, while it was crappy here. Then it started raining in vegas yesterday (sunday) and i had a 1:15 am flight home this morning, so I've been catching some great weather lately! lol

Ya it feels pretty impressive, mostly because they are kinda wimpy till it kicks in, so it gives the impression that it's better than it really is.The earlier S2000 redlined at 9000rpm but they lowered it a bit in the new ones.A stocker should be good for mid 14's in the 1/4, but are a **tch to launch b/c of the lack of torque from the little 4 cylinder engine.

Yeah, most likely you could beat the S2000 if your supercharger fell off. I laugh when I hear ricers talk about "their VTEC kickin in". In most cases, depending on the engine, it can't even be felt.

Brisk281GT said:

I laugh when I hear ricers talk about "their VTEC kickin in". In most cases, depending on the engine, it can't even be felt.

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You are stupid. I rode shotgun in my buddies Honda and we raced an Enzo on the highway. He had few buslengths on us early but damn, when our VTEC kicked in it threw us back into our seats and we reeled him in!! We were FLYING!! No literally, he had a 10' wing and we were airborn

I had a 2001 Prelude. I could definitely feel it when the VTEC activated. The car would have completely sucked if it didn't have that.

I have noticed that before Honda put VTEC in the preludes, they had about 130hp, give or take a few hp. After VTEC, they had 190+hp. Trust me, it makes a world of difference.

The Prelude was a fast car. True, only 156lbs of torque. But when it hit 3rd, it was pretty quick. I liked it a lot, and sometimes I think I was stupid to get rid of it.

I've had a Geo Prism, a Chevy S-10, a Ford Explorer, the Honda Prelude, a 2003 Camaro V6, and finally my GT. The Camaro was the first one I ever modified. Out of all the cars, I would have to say the Prelude handled the best and was the best overall quality. My GT is a very close second though. If my GT didn't have any rattles, I would say it was the best interior quality of them all, but since it does rattle and it's only got about 20,000 miles on it... that just makes me Plus the engine idle in my opinion has never been smooth like it should be (unless maybe when the exhaust was stock).

I have some pics of the prelude and camaro. I was thinking about putting up a website sometime with the pics of them.

I'll bet if you modded a 2001 Prelude, that would be one fast car. I know you can mod anything and make it fast - but I mean just a few mods, not overhauling it. IDK, just my $0.02.

VTEC is the slang word for rice in Japaneese

CanadaStang said:

Ya it feels pretty impressive, mostly because they are kinda wimpy till it kicks in, so it gives the impression that it's better than it really is.The earlier S2000 redlined at 9000rpm but they lowered it a bit in the new ones.A stocker should be good for mid 14's in the 1/4, but are a **tch to launch b/c of the lack of torque from the little 4 cylinder engine.

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Just for the record, when I refer to the Vtec as having lack of torque, I'm meaning in comparison to your V8 Stang. Compared to a naturally aspirated 4 banger of equal displacement, it's not to shabby at all.

Oh, almost forgot,VTEC stands for Variable Timing and Lift Electronic Control System. They just skipped over a few words and used VTEC. I guess they thought VTEC sounded better than VTALECS