I rarely VTEC my '02 during the winter months and it's still doing fine after 76k miles so far. I wouldn't worry about damaging your engine by not VTEC'ing...

That having been said, I'd have to agree with the others that you're probably not saving that much gas money by staying out of VTEC. Rev it up, have some fun - hey you only live once!

 

The original question suggests another one. I live in an area which is filled with retirees. I recall talking with one S2000 owner a bit older than I, o.k., in his seventies. He had no idea that there was a high lift cam, or that anything special happened once 6k rpm was exceeded. Suppose that said car had literally never been VTEC'ed for several years of ownership. Is there a danger that the little rod that actuates the high lift cam followers might stick, and that damage might be done to the engine? Remember, that little rod is expected to fly into place almost instantly, and lock up all the cam followers on all 4 cylinders. Actually, I guess it is two little rods, one for the intake valves and one for the exhaust valves. Yeah, that's why they call it a DOHC engine.

 

engine issues aside, it's bad for YOU to not hit vtec!

 

This is pretty much the equivalent of the so called "italian tune-up".
Whether it BS or not every car guy/gal I've ever talked to is an advocate for giving it some throttle every once in a while (nevermind the fact that its more fun).

 

what if the car is brand new and you are in break-in mode??

 

Break in mode..under 5k rpm first 600mph, don't you read the manual

 

99% of people will tell you to follow the manual (600 miles of no full-throttle and nothing over 5,500 RPM).

I VTEC'ed my car quite a bit during break in. But this is how I've broken in all of my VTEC cars. Never burned any measureable amount of oil.

 

drive the car the way it's supposed to be driven or sell it....

 

 

trade that shit for a MIATA.