12/03/2015
Honda’s VTEC system is almost as famous as the brand itself, steeped in many myths from the world of motorsport, street racing, motor bikes and even super cars. VTEC is synonymous with the Civic Type R, the screaming S2000, hints at the NSX and is a mainstay in their fight sales. But what is it?
VTEC stands for Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control. Honda developed this variable valve train system in order to offer efficiency and power in smaller engines. VTEC systems use two camshaft profiles, one for bottom end economy and another for top end performance. Nowadays a number of different types of variable valve timing are in use with different manufacturers, from BMW’s to the widespread VVT-i system used by millions of new Toyotas.