[cleanspeed1]

Very true BD. A tech rep from Mast got back to me today, and he explained that the VVT system when properly tuned will yield more power and mpg by itself. The problems surrounding the VVT system concerns the lack of tuning expertise in the general populace and an overall prejudice because of misinformation. As he put it, "like when people were getting their heads around EFI back in the 80s". Lot of carb swaps took place until the rodders caught up; now, as we know, it's the hot setup.
They did a VVT swap with a cam in a 2000 Trans Am for a customer. The VVT system is defeatable, so the customer can run around with fixed timing and then turn it on at the track. The customer cut his et in the 1/4 mile by .4 sec and added 4 mph to the top end.
I asked if they had a cam grind that was more mpg biased, and they do. Combined with the VVT, it can produce a decent mileage boost without losing power.