found it. page 2 of the FAQ at the top of this forum. doesn't get as in depth about i-vtec as i thought, but i did read another article, one that came out in 2000 before i-vtec made its debut in performance cars, and the point i came away w/ is that it boosts ur mid-range torque. here's an exerpt from Jake D's post(which is not the article i mentioned):

i-VTEC

As successful as the VTEC system has been, one of the key arguments against it in comparison to competing systems is that it had only two profiles for timing and lift. i-VTEC answers the critics by introducing continuously variable timing. The valve lift is still a 2-stage setup as before, but the camshaft is now rotated via hydraulic control to advance or retard valve timing. The effect is further optimization of torque output, especially at low RPMs.

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/h...ml#post2552063