he could have his stock steelies widened, and throw some fat slicks on it. If he still has his stock brake setup, he could get away with 13’s as well, to expand his tire choices.
As for the topic, if I’m understanding you correctly the “ignition” issue begins before VTEC crossover, by about 1K rpm? This is a b18c1 right w/ stock intake manifold? VTEC crossover occurs well before the secondaries in the manifold open…but that wouldn’t necessarily affect ignition timing. Intermittent problems still sound too much like loose connections.