I hav'nt read the whole thread but I'll say what I think...

I think he's droping the car into a non-vtec zone, and while engaging vtec makes the car FEEL faster, but yet it is'nt and it makes him think this is the way to go fast. The only way to find out is to go to a 1/4 mile track and see your numbers. When my bro tuned his vtec and made it so he lands back in vtec with every shift, the car was actually much faster ( we tested it at the 1/4 track). Get toyo proxes RA1, these tires are very special, why? the more they get worn out, the better they grip. I have a set with alsmost full thread on mine and they're great. My dad has a set shaved on his SCCA built CRX and they're even better shaved. Trust me, tis is the tire, just make sure you get 14" rims