Originally Posted by wstar

The only sane way to disable VVEL is to replace the heads. VVEL is an oil-pressure-driven mechanical system with an eccentric shaft, etc. The electronic servo just controls the angle between the shafts. Somehow disabling the ECU's control of it would probably be catastrophic.

Have you gone over all the basic maintenance/inspection stuff? PCV system, air filters (not clogged, not leaking air around them from a bad seal, etc?), clean the MAF sensors, reset the idle air volume, check for exhaust / intake tract leaks, etc. There are a lot of "little" things that can adversely affect engine performance.