Wow, idiots are funny. This motor is pretty common. You can buy them online for around $500, but not from hmotors. You're stupid if you think that the first stage is for nothing other than gas mileage. Running 8 valves from a stop actually makes more power than if you were running 16. The reasons why the VTEC-E Civics are so slow are because 1) the long gearing of the trans and 2) power falls off in the mid/high RPM where the EX/Si motors would switch over to VTEC. In other words, if you have a VTEC-E (let's say D16Y5) motor vs a VTEC (let's say D16Y8) motor, both SOHC, with the same trans, in the same car, all things being equal, the VTEC-E would be faster at the start, and then the VTEC motor would catch up and pass it. Now let's say your motor had VTEC-E from the start, and then had VTEC from 4500 RPM up on the same motor, and let's say you were smart enough to optimize the cam lobes for the entire rev range. What you'd end up with is a motor that is significantly faster than the normal VTEC motor even though the max hp would be about the same. The hp up to 4500 is higher on the Y5 and the 3 stage than on a Y8.