lol sludge....it would have to be mud or something.

Unless you pull the valve cover and literally SEE gunk on the cams, its not a gunk problem. A couple things it might be- oil not getting to the pin which locks the vtec cams, weak oil pump, lack of oil


If the cat is clogged the car will still engage the vtec cam because oil pressure does not care about clogged cats. Now if you cant get to 4400 rpm...thats a different problem.