Will VVEL position "stay" with no power?

Def

I'm thinking about starting a new project. It's a mid engine car built from scratch that utilizes a transverse drivetrain. I like Nissan powertrains, and would like to stay NA for this build, so a VQ37VHR seems ideal for this (weight vs. power vs. packaging). It will need some bits to adapt it to a Sentra SE-R Spec V transmission, but I think it's all doable given enough time and $$$.

Now onto questions. It seems the only "cheaper" ECU that can drive 2 DBW throttle bodies, the AEM Infinity 708, cannot do PID control of the VVEL motors on its own. I don't really want to go down the route of getting a stock ECU working without NATS, BCM etc., as paying someone to do that to the harness and then the honestly kinda weak tuning solutions for the stock ECU puts me over the price of a 708. Plus I don't really care about using VVEL to gain efficiency, I want it for crazy big intake cam opening. So I'll use the DBW throttles like "normal" with them being barely cracked for idle, and the VVEL lift being much higher than stock.

With that in mind, my idea to get it up and running is to move each VVEL bank to its "high lift" position and leave the power off the motors to start with. Will things stay where they are when doing this? I was thinking I could put a locking collar on the VVEL shaft if I want a bit more positive retention, so was hoping it'd stay put as is.

Later I'll probably try to control it via an Arduino, using outputs from the Infinity. I can essentially then have it be stepped with maybe ~220 deg duration around idle, going to a ~240-250 deg "mild" cam in the lower midrange, then going full wild somewhere above that.

But for now I just want to know if VVEL will lock with no power to the motors.


Or should I just go with a VQ35HR and some cams off the bat and deal with the lower displacement and compression?