Hondaswaps.info

1. Make sure your engine is cold. Remove your radiator cap. This will releave air pressure in radiator system.

2. Drain out your radiator fluid

action shot

3. Find the your throttle/cruise cable box and remove it

4. Remove the top portion of your lower radiator hose

5. Remove the 3 bolts holding in the thermostat housing.

6. go ahead and pull it out your thermostat now.

7. Install the black gasket as shown (mine was wrong )

8. When you re-install it, remember to place the black gasket in the housing correctly. There is a pattern.

9. Reinstall in reverse order. bleed the system and check for leaks

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Just four years ago, swapping a K-series motor into a Civic or Integra chassis was just a twinkle in the collective eye of the Honda community. EG and DC chassis swaps came first, shortly followed by the EK and eventually the EF and CRX. Last year, at SEMA Hasport even had a fifth-gen. accord with a K24 swap in it. Since the K has already been swapped into everything else, the DA Integra is the final frontier, and who better to tackle the project than Hasport?

The car was purchased as a theft recovery with a stolen engine. Besides the stolen drive-train, everything that connected the engine to the car other than mounts was cut instead of disconnected. In the end, it was a clean DA inside and out for $600. You can’t beat that.

The engine swap is a 2.4 liter K24A1 from a 2003 CRV purchased from a salvage yard for $750. It is rated at 156hp @ 5900rpm and 160 lb-ft of torque @ 3600rpm. The transmission is 5spd from a 2003 Civic Si purchased from a salvage yard for $650. It has also been outfitted with a Civic Si intake manifold and throttle body to accommodate future modifications.

This project is the basis for Hasport’s DAK1 K-series swap mount kit, DAKWH wire harness adapter, and DAKAX axles, which will all be on the market by the time you read this.

The DA’s proportioning valve gets in the way if it is left in the stock loction. The first step in this swap is to relocate it to a more conventional location on the firewall using the fuel filter mounting points.

The next step is to reinstall the fuel filter. It isn’t really important where the filter gets mounted, as long as it is near the fuel outlet and away from the header.

The transmission bracket gets in the way of the K-unit, so it needs to go. The spot welds are drilled out using a spot weld bit and a die grinder for those hard-to-reach locations.

This is the MAP sensor, purge solenoid, and fuel pressure solenoid. Chuck them; they’re not needed. The purge and MAP are on the K-series throttle body and the fuel pressure is not vacuum referenced on a K.

This tricky rear bracket bolts to the rear crossmember for the new rear mount. It’s slotted to retain some adjustability. At this time just finger tighten the bolts.

The Hasport bracket is then bolted onto the frame rail using some holes the battery tray used to bolt to and all the remaining open holes are marked. The bracket is removed and the paint is removed where ever there is a mark. The bracket is then reinstalled and welded to the frame rail through the open holes. Once the bracket is welded in place, a quick coat of paint finishes the installation.

All K-series manual transmissions use a hydraulically actuated clutch. The Hasport hydraulic clutch conversion allows you to operate it using the Integra clutch cable.

The Vehicle Speed Sensor on the K24 is electronic and sends a signal that is used by both the K-series ECU and CRV speedometer. The Integra uses a cable driven speedometer and the VSS electronic signal is generated by the speedometer, so we need a speed sensor that will drive a cable for our dash. The Integra’s sensor is too large due to its power steering pressure bypass valve. We are going to use one from a 90 CRX. It will work drop right in the K-series transmission. The tab that is used to retain the sensor in the D-series transmission was modified to fit the new transmission.

The engine bay is pretty big in this car so you can go in from the top or from the bottom. We usually go in from form the bottom, so a lift is needed as well as some sort of support for the engine. The crossmember will also need to be removed.

The K-series water temp sensor is not compatible with the Integra temp gauge. To fix this, a temp sensor from the original B18A was installed into this port using a 3/8 NPT to 1/8 NPT adapter. This port is normally used for an air assist valve which draws air from around the fuel injector seals. We decided knowing the engine temperature was more important. A wire also needs to be added to the wiring harness to feed the dash from the water temp sensor.

The passenger-side mount and driver-side transmission bracket are installed leaving the hardware slightly loose to ease installation of the opposite side. Once both mounts are in place they can be torqued down to spec.

The passenger-side mount and driver-side transmission bracket are installed leaving the hardware slightly loose to ease installation of the opposite side. Once both mounts are in place they can be torqued down to spec.

Now simply drop in the rear mount and bolt it down.

At the same time you’re installing the engine harness you can install the adapter harness. Most of the harness will be in the cabin, the two plugs in Gillespie’s left hand will go out into the engine bay and be connected to the Integra’s chassis harness by the right-hand shock tower. The large grey plug connects to the K-series engine harness, the small white plug is the E connector for the K-Pro ECU and the other wires will splice into the Integra’s stock ECU harness. The relay is for the Air/Fuel Ratio Sensor.

Next, the heater hoses go in. Some bulk heater hose of 5/8-inch diameter will work. It will have to loop around since the heater outlets are now on the opposite side with the new engine. Make nice gentle bends so you don’t kink the hose.

Bolt the intermediate shaft on the block and you’re ready for axles. Hasport axles were used since they are made to the exact specs to fit this swap.

While you’re back behind the engine, take the engine harness and feed it through the firewall. Hasport just stuffed it through the A/C hose opening since they won’t be running A/C. If you’re going to have A/C you’ll need to use the existing wire harness opening. It will be a tight fit. You will also need to pull the A/C evaporator to get to the opening. Run the wires along the firewall just below where the heater hoses go.

The stock front crossmember will not fit with this swap. Several companies have aftermarket crossmembers avaialble for the DA Integra. This one is a prototype from Hasport and will have mounts included for using the RSX or ‘03 Civic Si radiator.

There is no stock exhaust manifold that works with this swap so, a swap header is needed. The DC sports header that is designed for the EG Civic with K-series swaps happens to work just fine. A quick trip to the muffler shop is needed to finish the hook up after the rest of the installation is done.

Fuel lines for this swap are custom. Here is one way to do the setup. Fuel comes from the filter to the AEM fuel pressure regulator. The fuel then is routed to the AEM fuel rail while the excess fuel is bled of from the bottom of the regulator to the Integra return line. The larger black hose that is zip tied to the fuel line going to the fuel rail is the brake booster vacuum line. It runs from the intake manifold to the one-way valve on the brake booster.

Since we have a 5-speed, we got hold of a shifter and cables from a Base model RSX from salvage yard. There are a couple of ways to install them. Carcepts makes an awesome mount plate that allows you to mount them from the bottom to retain the stock look of the center console, but we opted to get down and dirty with a simple adapter plate that covers the stock opening and mounts the shifter on top. A hole then needs to be cut in the floor half way between the shifter and firewall to let the cables out.

As we said before, a ‘03 Civic Si radiator is used. Becuase of the proximity of the intake manifold to the radiator stock fans won’t clear. Here you can see the pusher fan that has been attached to the radiator. The Hasport crossmember has the bottom mounts for the radiator. A couple of metal brackets we made to hold the top. Modified ‘03 Civic Si radiator hoses were used too.

Last, throttle cable, purge canister vacuum lines and speedometer cable are connected to the engine and we’re almost ready. The cold-air intake is a prototype AEM unit for the EF with K-series swap. It fits rather nicely. Inside the cabin, the adapter harness is spliced into the Integra’s ECU connectors so all the dash lights and gauges work correctly. Plug in the Hondata ECU, fill the transmission, engine, and radiator with the appropriate fluids and we are ready to rock.

Source: http://www.hondatuningmagazine.com/

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General message from yours truely: I appreciate everyone who has used this site and many others that come on here to find help with all your needs. Some of the info found here such as how to wire the o2 sensor and small stuff can also be used for other k20/k24 swap vehicles. Just remember to take your time and be careful with anything you do aftermarket. Remember that this is merely a guide to help you with the install/swap of the motor into your car. I tried to cover everything as much as possible and continue to add stuff when i do have time and/or come across other stuff that may need to be added. Thank You and have a nice day.

If you look around especially on Hasport.com you will see a long list of things you need to do the swap into your car. For some of you that have already done it you know that you will not need all the parts listed. Remember that the parts hasport has listed that you need is NOT WHAT YOU REALLY NEED. Here is a run down in general:

Parts needed:
-Complete k20/k24 motor changeover
-intermediate shaft
-O2sensor for the same type of motor (typically from a 02-04 rsx type-s)
-subframe from any rsx 02-06 or 02-05 si (ep3)
-Hasport Mount Kit.. (other companies make em to) (make sure you get engine specific mount)
-Hasport Wire Harness Conversion (I wont be using this, i will attempt to wire it myself)

(please note that if you do a k20 swap into the car you will need the k20 mount kit. If later on down the road you want to upgrade to the k24 you will need to order the passenger mount only which lowers the engine more since the k24 is actually taller than the k20. HOWEVER, you can already order the k24 mount kit ahead of time and still use the same mount for the k20)

-Parts needed from any 2002-2006 RSX:
-shifter cables (2002-2006 rsx only. can be base or type-s)
-headers and downpipe
-throttle cable (you can use a 92-95 single cam civic cable, much cheaper and easier to find)
-clutch lines from master to slave cylinder
-high pressure power steering hose
-power steering return line

Parts needed from an 2002-2005 civic si:
-ac line from compressor to condenser (if you want ac)
-axles (base RSX axles will work to. NON type S)
-radiator and fans (RSX will fit but need trimming, not very much i might add)
-upper and lower radiator hoses

Other stuff you will need:
-custom ac line from compressor to condensor (again if you want ac)
-92-95 power steering resevoir with bracket (they do sell aftermarket ones which work just as good, especially if you want looks too)

PLEASE READ THE AIR CONDITION section for more details on how to run the a/c lines as there is more than one option to getting your a/c up and running

Now.. Here is a list of parts they say you need but you DO NOT need to get. I repeat DO NOT:
-rsx shifter assembly (your car already has one stock)
-fuel line (your car already has one stock)
-brake booster line (your car already has one stock)
-purge line (your car already has one stock)
-90 accord negative battery cable (i have yet to find out why they added this in there but you still dont need it)
-custom hood latch (dont need it, however you will need to trim your hood if you use hydraulic powersteering)

Here is what it costs me to get the parts. It may vary from state to state and different areas so keep this in mind that this is general pricing:
Here is the pricing of the parts i paid for everything. All these parts were new from the dealer unless otherwise stated that i got it from the junkyard

k20 intermediate shaft………………………………………..$220
Axles from 02+ si………………………………………………..$100 from junkyard
RSX Subframe……………………………………………………$600(quoted from acura) $150 from junkyard
Hasport Mounts………………………………………………….$400
Shifter Assembly………………………………………………..$100
Shifter Cables…………………………………………………….$300
02+ si radiator. i used the rsx radiator……………….$150 (TYC brand)
fans……………………………………………………………………$30 universal fan from autozone
02+ si upper radiator hose…………………………………$13
02+ si lower radiator hose………………………………….$11
RSX Throttle cable…………………………………………….. $40
RSX Fuel Line……………………………………………………..$45
RSX Brake booster line……………………………………….$45
RSX Purge Line……………………………………………………$40
02+ si ac line from compressor to condensor…….$100
RSX Clutch Line From slave to master………………..$20 from junkyard
RSX high pressure power steering hose…………….$240
RSX Power steering return line……………………………$50
92-95 Civic Power steering resevoir with bracket…$50

Optional Stuff:
Hondata…………………………………………………………………about $900
Hasport/Hybrid Racing Engine Harness………………about $300**
(complete new harness)

**they do offer a core exchange for a different price. if i remember correctly i think it comes to $150 with core exchange. But to be safe just call and ask.

So the grand total not including the motor on just the parts needed list for the swap comes out to roughly around $3754. Plus lets say 4% tax then that comes out to roughly 3900… give or take…

Just remember that this does not include the motor… i have seen complete motors that go for as low as $2000 for the SI to as much as $5000 or more for the JDM type R…

So now when you add everything that brings it up to roughly
$5900 or possibly lower to as much as $8900 or more

Also remember that you will not need to buy everything on the list if you have read my DIY… Basically you dont need the following
Shifter assembly
Fuel Line
Purge Line
Brake Booster Line

.. thats saving you at least $130.. if you can find a 92-95 civic single cam throttle cable that would save you a few more bucks

Another thing i want to add is this.. Make sure you get the correct o2 sensor for the type of motor you get. Yes the o2 sensor from the k20a3 and the k20a2 is different. I have proven this by buying both and trying it. The k20a2 and k20a use the same/similar o2 sensor and will work.

Another thing you might want to consider is getting K-pro before doing the swap. K-pro allows you to disable the immobolizer which saves you time and money on getting the car towed to the dealer to get the ecu reflashed. One thing i learned in my area is that the acura dealer near my house doesnt do reflash on the ecu but the one clear across town does. And in no way was i going to tow my car that far plus they were charging an arm and a leg not only for the tow but for the reflash itself. The k-pro also allows you to disable the secondary o2 sensor which isnt wired into the harness. If you are wiring the harness yourself then i recommend getting this.

If you are not planning on getting the k-pro then i recommend you get one of the plug-n-play harnesses from either hasport or hybrid-racing. Make sure you tell them to wire in the secondary o2 sensor in for you. You will need the secondary 02sensor wired in if you want to run the stock ecu. Not required if you run k-pro

Again if your not planning on getting the k-pro your car will have to be towed to acura to get the ecu and immobolizer and key reflashed to make it work. Unless you get a k20a JDM motor with the JDM ecu. Then there is a way for you to bypass the immobolizer.

Just to prove a point. A K20 Motor with a dual intake runner WILL.. and i repeat WILL fit in a 2001 civic.. but its a pain in the ass to put in

My 2 friends helping me out with the swap

Also the RBC Manifold will fit into the car BUT requires trimming of the front radiator support as you can see in the picture

However you will need to trim away at the upper radiator support area to make it fit. You have to trim about 3/4 an inch away just to make it clear.

Also note that you will need a karcepts adaptor to succesfully mount the k20 throttle body to the RBC manifold

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SHIFTER BOX COMPARISON

Left to Right: Revo, RSX-S, Base RSX, 01+ Civic (Non-Si), TSX

The Revo, RSX-S, Base RSX, and 01+ Civic (Non-Si) can all shift the 6 speed tranny, including reverse. The TSX shifter may be a different design but still bolts up to the same place as the other shifters and functions just as same. It can even use the same short shifter adapters as the other shifters.

The only differences in the Base RSX and 01+ Civic (Non-Si) vs. the RSX-S are in the bends in the shifter shaft itself!

If you look at the picture below. The left is the rsx-s and the right one is the base. The shifter itself is TOTALLY identical to all the other models. But notice the bend in the upper portion is different. Thats the only differnece between all the shifters. Is the BEND. has nothing to do with 5 or 6 speed. and has nothing to do with the short shifter adapters.

Here is a side by side comparison of the rsx-s (left) and the 01-05 civic (right)

And another comparison of the rsx-s (left) and the revo (right)

The shaft height on both the Revo and 01+ Civic (Non-Si) is .75″ shorter vs. the RSX shifters. The main point to all of this is that the choice is yours, since the Revo, RSX-S, Base RSX, and 01+ Civic (Non-Si) will all work with the short shifter adpaters and they all can shift the 6 speed tranny (if so equipped).Tthe type of tranny regardless if its 5 or 6 speed is irrelevant to the shifter box. the shifter box itself. and i do mean the shifter box ONLY is the same casting for all the shifter boxes i have mentioned earlier along with the pics.

The ONLY REAL difference is the bend of the fork. All it comes down to when using the oem shifters is the height and the bend. Nothing to do with the 5 or 6 speed. Thats the part i am trying to stress out. Even with pictures and explanations people will still not believe.

If you pull your center console out and look at you shifter with a 5 speed tranny you will see it never goes all the way to the right. Put in a 6-speed tranny and put it into reverse and it will still not hit the right side. I know this for a fact cause i am using the same shifter that came in my 01 civic when i was 5-speed….. and i am stil using the same shifter in my car with the 6-speed tranny. Putting on a short shifter adapter will shorten the travel length even more and you use less travel of the shifter box entirely.

pictures courtesy of karcepts.com

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REMOVING THE ENGINE

First thing you might want to do is pull out the your D17 motor out of your car. (alot of rags and brake/carb cleaner will help out alot at this point. The brake/carb cleaner comes in handy on cleaning up oil spills and cleaning the engine bay and parts etc.)

Jack up the front end of the car and take off the tires.

Drain you tranny fluid by removing the bolt on the side that looks like you have to use a square tool to fit in there. Basically a 3/8 ratchet will fit in there. After that pull out your axles very carefully as to not pull the shaft from the cup. You might need to use a really big screw driver to help leverage it out.

If you want to you can drain the oil at this time to help lighten the motor but not neseccary. Also while your at it be careful on pulling out the power steering resevoir cause you dont want to get the fluid all over the place. Then drain the radiator using the small white looking valve thing at the bottom of the radiator

Disconnect all hoses, lines, cables, battery, and wires from you motor. Take out the battery. Then take out the radiator by removing the brackets from the top of it.

Somehow your going to have to find a way to discharge you a/c system. It is illegal to discharge the freon into the air. But if you do then just stick something into the charging ports to release the air from the a/c. (PLEASE NOTE that this is illegal and you take responsibility for your own action. Do not breathe the discharge and make sure you are out in a well ventilated area.) Disconnect the a/c lines and move off any excess line to the side.

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HERE IS A MOTOR DETAILED EXPLANTION OF HOW TO PULL THE MOTOR. If you already know how to pull the motor out then skip this section.

Heres a more detailed explanation of how to remove your engine. If you already know how to do so then just skip these STEPS and continue on:

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Now take off the lower control arms from the subframe and not from the hub. This helps alleviate on step from taking it on and off the hub down the line.

Go into the glove compartment area and open it up by removing the 2 clips found inside of the glove box. This should expose the inner areas of the car. Inside there you will see you ecu and and wire harness. Remove the clips from ecu and you will need a long ratchet extension to get to the back bolts to pull out the ecu. Once the ecu is out yank out the wire harness from the engine bay area. Pull out the complete harness and put it off to the side.

Before continuing make sure there is NOTHING left connected to the motor except the mounts cause you dont want anything to be yanked out while pulling the motor out. Also i forgot to mention that make sure you have taken out you intake, headers, and part of your exhaust till its not in the way of the subframe

IF PULLING MOTOR FROM THE TOP:
Remove the front and rear motor mounts. Attach the lift to the motor with the chains with one point to the far left of the tranny as close to the mount as possible and the other to the far right as possible. ( i do suggest you have someone with you that has had experience using one of these, if not theres always a first time for everything.) Jack up the lift a little till you have some support from the lift. Then go ahead and remove the driver and passenger mounts. Then slowly lift the motor out while continously checking to make sure nothings connnected.

IF YOU HAVE A CAR LIFT DROPPING MOTOR FROM BOTTOM:
Remove the driver and passenger mounts and leave the front and rear mounts Using the engine lift connect the chain to the same points as described above and give the motor some support. Now take off the 4 bolts holding the subframe from under the car. Lower the engine lift to the ground. The whole motor along with the subframe should go straight to the ground. Disconnect the engine lift and then Lift the entire car up on the car lift and preston… Theres your motor out plain and simple

Here is a pic of my car when everything was finally pulled out

Now if you pulled the motor from the top. Jack the car back up so you have enough space to pull out the subframe. There are 4 bolts holding up your subframe. Take those 4 bolts out and the whole thing will drop.

After your motor is out. take the coolant sensor from the D17 and switch it with the K20 sensor. The sensor on the k20 can be found here on the right hand side of the head (tranny side of the motor) right behind this black piece of plastic

Lift up this plastic and it will reveal the radiator coolant temp sensor

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WIRING THE ENGINE HARNESS

Next lets do the wireharness. If you bought a wireharness from hasport or hybrid-racing then perform there operations on prepping and install of there harness and skip this step and go onto the next section. If not read on.

First off lets start with the C101 Clip. Here is a picture courtesy of Dark2K1 from 7thgencivic.com. If you dont know what the C101 clip looks like its the really big clip that goes along with the rest of the clips that connect to the ecu. There is also a picture of it on the top-left of the image below. If you can follow the diagram below then you know what to do. If not let me try to guide you through it.

Okay here we go. I’ll try to explain this as easy as possible. Especially for the newbies. I have learned from looking at my different harnesses that not all the colors may be the same. In my rsx harness it did look the same but in my jdm harnes the colors where different BUT.. and a big BUT.. even though the colors may be different it still had the same function. This works for all k20 harnesses (si, rsx, jdm) and HAS NOT been proven with the k24 harnesses yet. Or at least i havent checked it yet.

To the left of the image above is what the K20 harness clip looks like. To the right of you is how the civic one is wired up. Basically we have to make the k20 harness look like the civic one with 1 exception. The primary o2 will not be wired in..YET… Sounds simple so far?

So take the rsx clip and look at it from behind where the wires come out. Starting from the top left is pin 1. Refer to the diagram above to help you along. You can move it or cut it. Some of the pins may be smaller and/or bigger so you just have to cut and wire ONE AT A TIME each one individually. You dont wanna forget what wire came from where. Soooo ………………..
-move clip 1 into 4
-move clip 2 into 5
-move clip 3 into 6
-leave clip 7 as is
-leave clip 8 as is
-move clip 9 into 17
-take clip 10 – cut this wire off and label wire coming from harness with a piece of tape saying #10
-leave clip 11 and 12 as is
-take clip 13 – cut this wire off and label wire coming from harness with a piece of tape saying #13
-move clip 14 into 19
-take clip 15 – cut this wire off and label wire coming from harness with a piece of tape saying #15
-leave clip16 as is
-move clip 17 into 9
-leave clip 18 as is
-take clip 19 – cut this wire off and label wire coming from harness with a piece of tape saying #19
-leave clip 20 as is

The ones that you did cut (10, 13, 15, 19) Just pull the pins out from the clip cause we will no longer use it.

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WIRING IN THE O2 SENSOR

Okay now the fun part of wiring the primary o2 sensor. You will need a relay to make this completely work or else you will throw a code saying sensor malfunction. If not there is a way around it but you might burn out the o2 sensor.

If you look on your o2 sensor there are 4 wires. 2 black, 1 white and 1 green.(if not you got the wrong o2 sensor. I did notice however that some o2 sensors will have a blue wire instead of a green) Take the o2 clip and hold it in front of you so it looks like this. If you want to do what i did and take a black permanent pen and mark on the side of the clip the numbers so you dont get confused. Make sure you dont get the 2 blacks mixed up cause when i tried reversing it, it didnt work anymore.

1 white	2 green
3 black	4 black

So now that you know about the o2 sensor wiring…Lets continue shall we .. On the left hand side of the diagram below is the color of the wires and clip #’s that we originally worked on from clip C101. On the right hand side is the wires and pin # from the o2 sensor. So just gotta match it up.

Clip 10 (black/white) ————-> Pin 4 (black) of the o2 sensor

Clip 19 (red) ————————> Pin 1 (white) of the o2 sensor

Clip 13 (red/yellow) ————–> Pin 2 (green or blue) of the o2 sensor

Clip 15 (white) ———————> Pin 3 (black) of the o2 sensor

***12v relay—–> Pin 3 (black) of the o2 sensor

****Basically you take the 12v relay wire and combine it with clip 15 (white) and it goes into Pin 3 of the o2 sensor

I FINALLY ADDED THE RELAY WIRING AS OF 3/5/06. So here is it how it goes

Well first lets get you a relay. It can be the same relay used found under the hood of you car in the fuse box. Or if you want call hybrid and see if they will sell you one.. if not just go to a junkyard or dealer and see if you can get one. It should look something like this.

Here is a better look of it up close

The one on the left was from hybrid and the one on the right is from the fuse box in the car. They both have worked for i have tried both so no troubles there.

So lets get started. First of all lets take this diagram i made here to follow off of. Some relays especially the one from the engine bay fuse box will not have Pin 4 so dont worry about it cause its not used.

If you have aftermarket relays and wondering what each pin is numbered. Heres is what each number stands for:
1 – 30
2 – 87
3 – 86
4 – 87a
5 – 85

Soooooo…. almost done

Pin 1 from the relay combines with Pin 15(white) of the C101 as stated earlier during the wiring of the C101 clip

Pin 2 goes to a constant 12+ volt source. (This is a source of power that is always on even when the key is off)

Pin 3 goes to connector E on the ecu which is the far right clip of the ecu. Let me explain. Look at Pin 8 on the connector E on the ecu. there should be an orange wire. Cut the wire and take the end of the wire that comes out from the ecu and connect this to the relay Pin 3. If there is no wire in the E connector Pin 8 then you need to find a pin to stick in there from another clip. If you did cut the orange wire. Just take the side that is coming from the harness and tape it off.

Pin 4 is not used

Pin 5 goes to a switched 12+ volt source. (This is a source that comes on when you turn the key. A good place for this is possibly the cigarette lighter if you cant find one.)

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PREPPING THE ENGINE BAY

Okay now lets get the engine bay prepped a little. Some of you that want a nice looking engine bay now is the time to go to the store and pick u p some black glossy paint and paint the engine bay. If not then lets get moving.

After the wire harness is done. Take the ecu side of the harness and feed it through the hole in the firewall where the old wire harness went. Now if you look at the ecu. See the tabs that stick out on the left and right side of the ecu. I had to cut mines off with a dremel to make them fit in the slot where my original ecu is. Dont know if anyone else did that but thats what i came across. Dont connect the ecu to the harness yet.

Take your power steering line. It should look like half of it is a rubber hose and the other half of it is a metal line. The metal end of the hose screws right in to the stock location of where the original one was. You might have to bend the hose a little bit to get it to fit. Even the wire that connects to it will reach with a little effort. Just cut the plastic wire loom to help extend it.

Now look for the fuel line and purge line that is sticking out of the firewall area. It should look something like this (picture taken from hasport manual) This is the lines that hasport tells you to buy in there manual. But in all reality its already in our cars.

You have to gently bend the lines so that way it bends with the right line facing to the right and the left line is pointing towards the front of the engine bay. Now if you want to label these lines the left is the FUEL and the right one with the bend is the PURGE which hooks up to a vacuum on the manifold. Make sure you make no kinks in these lines or else you have to replace it somehow someway.

Now lets first start off with the left side bracket (passenger side). This is what was included with the hasport mounts to go on that side.

And this is how it supposed to look when its bolted onto the frame of the car.

Now one thing you might notice is that the washers or spacers they give you will not make the bracket fit flush to the frame of the car. In fact you end up short on spacers. Pick up a bunch of spacers that look just like the ones they supplied so you can mount it flush…. Heres what i mean

The bottom will mount flush except the top. I actually used the spacers on the bottom so it would be flush then didnt have any for the top. So check your package to see if they gave you more than 3 or 4 washers. If not then get a bunch more.

Okay now that side is mounted correctly. Lets move on to the driver side mount. For those of you with ABS you will have to modify the ABS bracket from what i read. I dont have ABS so i didnt have to come across it. SO if anyone who has ABS did the swap and wants to contribute anything about how to do it with the ABS and some pics or came across anything let me know so i can add it.

Okay now if you dont have ABS then the driver plate should be direct mount with 3 screws…… or so i thought.. i bolted one screw and the others wouldnt go in. You will basically need a dremel/ grinder to make the hole bigger on one side. Not all three holes lined up perfectly.

As you can see when the mount is flush to the frame the other 2 holes didnt line up perfectly. So basically what i did was i kept the bottom hole the same because that one lines up perfectly. The far right hole i had to grind it bigger up and to the left and the top one had to be grinded a little down and a little to the left.

Now take the radiator and put it into the original location of the stock ones. I used an RSX one and didnt have to modify anything. They say you have to trim around the cap opening around the grill… Seeing that as i had no grill cause i have an aftermarket one then it was real easy for me. As far as wires go for the fan on the radiator. Originally the wire hanging from the right is the A/C fan switch and the one on the left is the RADIATOR fan switch. Since this motor is reversed run the RADIATOR fan switch wire to the right hand side to make it easier access. I used an aftermarket universal fan so mounting it was easy. If you cant find an SI radiator fan just go to autozone or pepboys or something and get the universal 17in fans for like $30 or something like that.

*NOTE: This is for when the car is back together. When you finally get the car running check the fans to make sure it is blowing the air towards the motor. If not then make sure you switch the wires to change the polarity so the fan blows the right direction.

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AIR CONDITION INSTALL

If you take a look at your a/c compressor on your k20 you will see that it is has a harness coming off of it and it only has 1-wire coming off it. Thats fine and everything but i bet most of you are not wondering about that problem. Theres 2 things i am gona try and go through here. First thing is the a/c lines you gota use and how to wire your harness to the a/c compressor.

First lets start with the a/c lines. The really easy part is to order the a/c line from the 2002-2005 si model car or commonly known as the EP3. (This is for the U.S. Models). The part you will need from the car is the line from the compressor to the condensor. Which is that big looking intercooler thing on the front of your car.

Now the last line you need is really tricky as there are 3 options to do it.

1- Get a custom line made from the compressor to the line coming out of the firewall. If you do that they also need to put a LOW recharge port on the line so you can recharge the a/c.

2- Get the rsx line that comes off the compressor and goes to the line coming out of the firewall. However this line also needs some modification because it has no recharge ports. So u need to have someone weld on a low recharge port somewhere on the line.

3- This last option requires no modification whatsoever but it does require you to buy one more part. You will need the ep3 line from compressor to the line coming out of the firewall. BUT you will also need the double lines that come out of the firewall. If you look at the back of the firewall where your a/c lines come out. There is 2 lines attached to one plate held in place by one bolt. You will need to order this line as well. Everything else is bolt-on from there. Slight bending of the line might be required.

For the wiring part. I so far have come across 3 different wire configurations. I noticed that it can come from any particular vehicle and/or model. So bare with me on this

- First type of a/c wiring i have come across is the 1-wire which will clip right up to the stock a/c compressor. No modifications necessary.

- Second type is a 3-wire connector. The color of the wires are
-blue/red
-green/yellow
-blue/white
For this setup you have to take the blue/white wire and connect it to the green/yellow wire. Then the last wire which is the blue/red wire will go directly to the 1-wire compressor

-Last type is also a 3-wire connector. The color of the wires are
-blue/red
-red
-blue
For this etup you have to take the red wire and connect it to the blue wire. Then the last wire which is the blue/red wire will go directly to the 1-wire compressor

Im sure there are probably other color types out there i dont know about but if you have a blue/red wire and the other colors are different. Its safe to assume that the blue/red wire go to the compressor and the other 2 wires connect to each other.

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Everything is pretty much straight forward from here on in. I havent gone into detail too much which the remaining steps only because i stopped taking pics of the swap halfway through. PLEASE NOTE that however, I will be updating this again with more details and pics of the following when i do another swap into my car. I will be pulling the motor out and doing some work too it. So when i do put it back in i will take pics to go along with putting the car back together. So dont worry. I will go into more details next update. I will even try to go into how to make a custom a/c line for the car. Think i might do it using oem parts to.

1. Attach Rear tranny bracket to tranny
2. Bolt up the k20 subframe to the car. Dont attach the Control-A arms to the frame yet.
3. Now bolt the k20 rear mount to the rear bracket. not the subframe. Found it easier this way. Hand tighten but still leave it a little loose so you can still move it.
4. Mount on the hasport mount (or whatever brand you got) to the engine. Passenger side and tranny side.
5. If your using an engine hoist. Lift the motor over the car. and slowly lower it into engine bay be careful not to hit anything. watch the fuel lines and power steering lines in the back and the radiator up front.
6. I have done it both ways. Do which ever is easiest for you. Either mount the tranny side first then match up the passenger side or mount passenger side then match up tranny side. Remember hand tighten but dont tighten fully till all 3 mounts are in
7. When all 3 are in and ready to go. Tighten all 3 mounts.
8. Install axles. First put the axle into the tranny. Then attach the control arm back to the subframe. Make sure that the axle is in the tranny and in the hub while bolting up the control arm. Be careful not to pull the axle out of the cups or else your asking for it.. haha.. (there is another way to do put in the axles but requires more work)
9. Connect the fuel line and the brake booster line and so forth back to the motor. Radiator hose lines. Make sure you left nothing out.
10. Attach the powersteering pressure line to powersteering pump
11. For the return line u can use any approved hoses to run from the pump to the resevoir. Just make sure it doesnt rub against the accesory belt.
12. Attach a/c lines if you have them (will go into more detail next update)
13. Almost there. Attach engine harness to motor. Run wires into the car on the passenger side where you originally pulled out the D17 wire harness. Plug C101 clip into in-dash harness and clip the rest to the ecu.
14. Check all your fluids and fill it up. Powersteering, raditor fluid, oil, tranny fluid, blinker fluid.
15. Connect your intake and headers and the rest of your exhaust system

Double check everything. Turn key to on. Make sure you hear the fuel pump priming. On-OFF-On-OFF a few times. Leave it ON then go into the engine bay and check all your fuel lines and make sure nothing is leaking and you dont smell any fuel. If you do CHECK IT again. Of vourse before you can start it you gotta have kpro. Turn the key to ON then connect your laptop and access the ecu.

1. Start the kpro software
2. click on “file” then “new”
3. choose the appropiate ecu and motor you are running and hit “ok”
4. look for the window that says “parameters”
5. click on “MISC”
6. remove the check mark from “immobolizer enabled” and “obd2 enabled”
7. Check that the “multiplexer” is set to normal
8. then click “file” and “save as” and save it somewhere you can find it for future use
9. then click “online” and then “upload” and it will start sending the calibration to your ecu. If the “upload” setting is a very light gray that means either you didnt turn the key to “on” or there is no power running to the ecu. Check all your connections
10. I suggest after calibration is done uploading. Turn the key to off position then turn the key back on. Then try starting the car.

Like with any swap double check everything twice before you even start her up for the first time. Even while the car is running. Check the temp from in the car. Make sure its not overheating. Once car is warmed up the radiator fan will come on. If you hear any unusual noise turn car off.

If anything i suggest that if you never done swaps before to have someone there to help you with it just in case you forget something. I will be updating this thing in the next month with pics when i redo my swap

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K20 Specs and General Info

K20A – Japan Spec
• HP 220 @ 8000 rpm
• Torque 152 lb/ft @ 7000 rpm
• Redline 8400 RPMS
• Bore 86mm
• Stroke 86mm
• Comp Ratio 11.5:1
• Displacement 1998cc
• Specific output 110HP/L

Trans Specs
• 1st 3.27:1
• 2nd 2.13:1
• 3rd 1.57:1
• 4th 1.21:1
• 5th .97:1
• 6th .78:1
• Final Drive 4.765

K20A – EURO spec
• 147 kW (200 hp) @7400 rpm
• Torque 196 Nm @5900 rpm
• Redline 8100 RPMS
• Bore 87mm
• Stroke 86mm
• Comp Ratio 11,0:1
• Displacement 1998 cm3
• Specific output 100HP/L

K20A2 – US spec RSX type S motor
• 200 HP@7400 rpm
• Torque 142 lb/ft @ 6000 rpm
• Redline 8100 RPMS
• Bore 86mm
• Stroke 86mm
• Comp Ratio 11.0:1
• Displacement 1998cc
• Specific output 100HP/L

Trans Specs
• 1st 3.267
• 2nd 2.13
• 3rd 1.54
• 4th 1.14
• 5th .92
• 6th .73
• Final Drive 4.388

K20A3 – US spec Ep3 / RSX motor
• 160 HP@6500 rpm
• Torque 132 lb/ft @ 5000 rpm
• Redline 6800 RPMS
• Bore 86mm
• Stroke 86mm
• Comp Ratio 9.8:1
• Displacement 1998cc
• Specific output 80HP/L

Trans Specs
• 1st 3.662
• 2nd 1.769
• 3rd 1.212
• 4th 1.14
• 5th .92
• Final Drive 4.765

K24A2 – US spec TSX motor
• 200 HP@6800 rpm
• Torque 166 lb/ft @ 4500 rpm
• Redline 7100 RPMS
• Bore 87mm
• Stroke 99mm
• Comp Ratio 10.5:1
• Displacement 2354cc
• Specific output 88.33Hp/L

Trans Specs manual
• 1st 3.262
• 2nd 1.88
• 3rd 1.35
• 4th 1.0
• 5th .82
• 6th .659
• Final Drive 4.765

K24A – US spec CRV motor
• 160 HP@6000 rpm
• Torque 162 lb/ft @ 3600 rpm
• Redline 6500 RPMS
• Bore 87mm
• Stroke 99mm
• Comp Ratio 9.6:1
• Displacement 2354cc
• Specific output 80HP/L

Trans Specs manual
• 1st 3.262
• 2nd 1.88
• 3rd 1.35
• 4th 1.0
• 5th .82
• Final Drive 4.765

2002-2004 Acura RSX Specs in Detail

POWERTRAIN	RSX	RSX TYPE-S
Engine Type	16-valve, DOHC, 2.0-liter, i-VTEC 4-cylinder
Horsepower, SAE Net	160 hp @ 6500 rpm	200 hp @ 7400 rpm
Torque, SAE Net	141 lb.-ft. @ 4000 rpm	142 lb.-ft. @ 6000 rpm
Redline	6800 rpm	7900 rpm
Bore & Stroke	3.39 in. x 3.39 in. (86 mm x 86 mm)
Displacement	122.1 cu. in. (1998 cc)
Compression Ratio	9.8:1	11.0:1
Induction System	Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI)
Valvetrain	i-VTEC intelligent Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTC), DOHC, 4-valves-per-cylinder, chain-driven camshafts and variable timing control
Engine Block	Aluminum alloy with cast-in iron liners
Cylinder Head	Aluminum alloy with 4 valves-per-cylinder pent-roof combustion chambers
Emission Control	LEV-2 (Low Emissions Vehicle-II) emissions control
Ignition System	Direct ignition system
Alternator	110-amp max
Battery	12V, maintenance-free
Recommended Fuel	Unleaded	Premium Unleaded
Layout	Transverse-mounted, front engine, front-wheel drive

Transmission Ratios (:1) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Reverse Final	5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic transmission with Sequential SportShift and Grade Logic Control Manual Automatic 3.267 2.684 1.880 1.500 1.212 0.983 0.921 0.733 0.738 0.571 3.583 2.000 4.389 4.562	6-speed manual Ratios (:1) Manual 1st 3.267 2nd 2.130 3rd 1.517 4th 1.147 5th 0.921 6th 0.738 Reverse 3.583 Final 4.389
CHASSIS	RSX	RSX TYPE-S
Body Type	Steel unit body
Front Suspension	Fully independent Control-Link MacPherson strut
Rear Suspension	Fully independent compact double-wishbone with coil springs and stabilizer bar
Shock Absorbers	Progressive-valve gas-pressurized
Stabilizer Bars Front	.90 in. (23 mm)
Rear	.75 in. (19 mm)
Steering Type	Variable, speed sensitive rack-and-pinion power steering
Steering Ratio	15.1:1
Steering Wheel Turns (lock to lock)	2.64
Turning Circle (curb to curb)	38.1ft. (11.6 m)
Wheels	16 x 6 ½ JJ 5-spoke cast alloy wheels
Tires	P205/55R16 Michelin MXM4 all-season high-performance
Braking System	Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS

Front Discs	Ventilated, 10.3 in. (262 mm) diameter; .82 in. (21 mm) rotor thickness	Ventilated, 11.8 in. (300 mm) diameter; .98 in. (25mm) rotor thickness
Rear Discs	Solid, 10.2 in. (260 mm) diameter; .35 in (9 mm) rotor thickness
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)	3-channel system with four wheel sensors
CAPACITIES	RSX		RSX TYPE-S
Crankcase	4.2 US qt. (4.0 L)		4.7 U.S. qt. (4.5 L)
Cooling System	M/T 5.6 US qt. (5.3 L) A/T 5.9 US qt. (5.6 L)		5.6 US qt. (5.3 L)
Fuel Tank	13.2 US gal. (50 L)
Volumes Passenger	79.2 cu. ft.
Cargo	17.8 cu. ft.
Total	97.0 cu. ft.
FUEL ECONOMY	RSX		RSX TYPE-S
EPA Fuel Mileage–City / Highway	M/T 27 / 33 A/T 24 / 33		24 / 31
EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS	RSX		RSX TYPE-S
Wheelbase	101.2 in. (2570 mm)
Track, front	58.4 in. (1483 mm)
Track, rear	58.4 in (1483 mm)
Overall Length	172.2 in. (4375 mm)
Overall Width	67.9 in. (1725 mm)
Overall Height	54.7 in. (1389 mm)
Minimum Ground Clearance	6.0 in. (152 mm)	5.9 in. (149 mm)
Curb Weight	M/T 2721 lbs. (1234 kg) A/T 2789 lbs. (1256 kg)	2778 lbs. (1260 kg)

EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS	RSX		RSX TYPE-S
Weight Distribution (% front / rear)	5-speed Manual Transmission 64/36 Automatic Transmission 60/40		6-speed Manual Transmission 63/37
INTERIOR DIMENSIONS		RSX	RSX TYPE-S
Front Head Room		37.8 in. (960 mm)
Leg Room		43.1 in. (1094 mm)
Hip Room		51.1 in. (1297 mm)
Shoulder Room		52.6 in. (1337 mm)
Rear Head Room		30.1 in. (866 mm)
Leg Room		29.2 in. (742 mm)
Hip Room		46.7 in. (1185 mm)
Shoulder Room		51.3 in. (1303 mm)
WARRANTIES		RSX	RSX TYPE-S
Vehicle		4-year / 50,000-mile limited warranty
Outer Body Rust-Through		5-year / unlimited-mile limited warranty
Acura Total Luxury Care (TLC) with roadside assistance		4-year / 50,000-mile

TSX Specs in Detail

POWERTRAIN
Engine Type	16-valve, DOHC, 2.4-liter, i-VTECTM 4-cylinder
Horsepower, SAE Net	200 hp @ 6800 rpm
Torque, SAE Net	166 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm
Redline	7100 rpm
Bore & Stroke	87 mm x 99 mm
Displacement	143.6 cu. in. (2354 cc)
Compression Ratio	10.5:1
Induction System	Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI)
Valvetrain	i-VTEC intelligent Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTECTM), DOHC, 4-valves-per-cylinder, chain-driven camshafts and variable timing control
Engine Block	Aluminum alloy with cast-in iron liners
Cylinder Head	Aluminum alloy with 4 valves-per-cylinder and pent-roof combustion chambers
Emission Control	LEV-2 (Low Emissions Vehicle-II)
Ignition System	Direct ignition system
Alternator	105 amp. max
Battery	12V, maintenance free
Recommended Fuel	Premium Unleaded
Layout	Transverse-mounted, front engine, front-wheel-drive

POWERTRAIN
Transmission 6-speed manual Ratios (:1) 1st 3.267 2nd 1.880 3rd 1.355 4th 1.028 5th 0.825 6th 0.659 Reverse 3.583 Final 4.7	5-speed Sequential SportShiftTM automatic Ratios (:1) 1st 2.652 2nd 1.517 3rd 1.082 4th 0.773 5th 0.566 Reverse 2.000 Final 4.44
CHASSIS
Body Type	Steel unit body
Front Suspension	Independent, double-wishbone with coil springs and stabilizer bar
Rear Suspension	Independent multi-link double-wishbone with coil springs and stabilizer bar
Shock Absorbers	Telescopic, hydraulic nitrogen gas filled
Stabilizer Bars Front	25.4 mm x 4.5 mm wall thickness
Rear	15 mm solid
Steering Type	Torque-sensing, variable power assist rack-and-pinion
Steering Ratio	14.8:1
Steering Wheel Turns (lock to lock)	2.7
Turning Circle (curb to curb)	40.0 feet
Wheels	17×7JJ 7-spoke alloy wheels
Tires	Michelin P215/50R17 all-season high-performance

CHASSIS
Braking System	4-wheel disc brakes with 4-channel ABS
Front Discs	Ventilated, 11.8 in (300 mm) diameter x 28 mm thickness
Rear Discs	Solid 10.2 in (260 mm) diameter x 9 mm thickness
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)	4-channel
Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA)	Throttle control and brake control utilizing yaw, lateral g, speed and steering sensors for traction control and stability enhancement
Traction Control System (TCS)	Incorporated into VSA
CAPACITIES
Crankcase	5.3
Cooling System	MT 7.4 U.S. qt. AT 7.3 U.S. qt.
Fuel Tank	17.1 gallons
Volumes Passenger	91 cu. ft.
Cargo	13.0 cu. ft. without Navigation System 12.8 cu. ft. with Navigation System
Total	104 cu. ft. without Navigation System 103.8 cu. ft. with Navigation System
FUEL ECONOMY
EPA Fuel Mileage–City/ Highway	Manual: 21/29 Automatic: 22/31
EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase	105.1 inches (2670 mm)
Track, front	59.6 inches (1515 mm)
Track, rear	59.6 inches (1515 mm)
Overall Length	183.3 in (4657 mm)
Overall Width	69.4 in (1762 mm)
EXTERIOR DIMENSIONS
Overall Height	57.3 in (1456 mm)
Minimum Ground Clearance	4.7 in (Full-Load) 6.2 in (Unladen)
Curb Weight MT without Navigation System MT with Navigation System AT without Navigation System AT with Navigation System	3230 lbs 3241 lbs. 3318 lbs. 3329 lbs.
Weight Distribution (% front/rear) MT AT	60/40 61/39
INTERIOR DIMENSIONS
Front Head Room	37.8 in (960 mm)
Leg Room	42.4 in (1076 mm)
Hip Room	54.4 in (1381 mm)
Shoulder Room	55.4 in (1406 mm)
Rear Head Room	37.3 in (947 mm)
Leg Room	34.2 in (868 mm)
Hip Room	54.4 in (1382 mm)
Shoulder Room	53.5 in (1360 mm)

WARRANTIES
Vehicle	4-year/50,000-mile limited warranty
Outer Body Rust-Through	5-year/unlimited-mile limited warranty
Acura Total Luxury Care (TLC) with roadside assistance	4-year/50,000 mile

The K20A3 does not have a standard DOHC VTEC valvetrain as we know it from the B-series engines – the K20A3 should actually be called a “DOHC i-VTEC-E” engine, because it uses a VTEC-E cam setup. The K20A2 is the “real” DOHC i-VTEC engine, utilizing the standard DOHC VTEC cam setup we’re all familiar with. To help you understand the differences between the K20A2 and K20A3 engines, I’ve included the following information from a post I made elsewhere:

Allow me to evaluate. Let’s start out by defining some terms:
VTEC – Variable valve Timing and lift Electronic Control. At low RPM, a VTEC engine uses a normal cam profile to retain a smooth idle, good fuel economy, and good low-end power delivery. The VTEC mechanism engages a high-lift, long-duration “race” cam profile at a set RPM value (i.e., ~5500RPM on the B16A) to increase high-end power delivery.

VTEC-E – Variable valve Timing and lift Electronic Control for Efficiency. This system isn’t really VTEC as we know it. At low RPM, the VTEC-E mechanism effectively forces the engine to operate as a 12-valve engine – one of the intake valves does not open fully, thus decreasing fuel consumption. At a set RPM value (i.e., ~2500RPM in the D16Y5), the VTEC-E mechanism engages the 2nd intake valve, effectively resuming operation as a normal 16-valve engine. Note: in a VTEC-E engine, there are no high-RPM performance cam profiles; this engine is supposed to be tuned for fuel economy, right?

VTC – Variable Timing Control. This is a mechanism attached to the end of the intake camshaft only which acts as a continuously variable cam gear – it automatically adjusts the overlap between the intake and exhaust cams, effectively allowing the engine to have the most ideal amount of valve overlap in all RPM ranges. VTC is active at all RPMs.

i-VTEC – intelligent Variable valve Timing and lift Electronic Control. This is a combination of both the VTEC and the VTC technologies – in other words, i-VTEC = VTEC + VTC. Currently, the only engines that use the i-VTEC system are the DOHC K-series engines.

Now this is where things get tricky – Honda uses the term “DOHC i-VTEC” for two different systems: The first system is used in the K20A2 engine of the RSX Type-S. The second system is used in the K20A3 engine of the Civic Si.

The First System (K20A2):
This system is pretty close to the older DOHC VTEC engines. At low RPM, the K20A2 uses a normal cam profile to retain a smooth idle, good fuel economy, and good low-end power delivery. At 5800RPM, its VTEC mechanism engages a high-lift, long-duration “race” cam profile to increase high-end power delivery. The only difference between this i-VTEC engine and the older VTEC engines is the addition of the VTC system. The intake camshaft has the automatic self-adjusting cam gear which continuously optimizes valve overlap for all RPM ranges.

This system is used in engines powering the JDM Honda Integra Type-R, Civic Type-R, Accord Euro-R, and the USDM Acura RSX Type-S and TSX.

The Second System (K20A3):
This system does not really conform to the “DOHC i-VTEC” nomenclature, as Honda would like us to believe. As I mentioned in my previous post, it actually should be called “i-VTEC-E,” because it uses a VTEC-E mechanism rather than a standard VTEC mechanism. At low RPM, the VTEC-E system effectively forces the engine to operate as a 12-valve engine – one of the intake valves does not open fully, thus decreasing fuel consumption. At 2200RPM, the VTEC-E system engages the 2nd intake valve, effectively resuming operation as a normal 16-valve engine. There are no high-RPM performance cam profiles; this engine is tuned to balance fuel economy and power, rather than provide pure performance. On the intake cam, there is the VTC mechanism which basically is an automatic self-adjusting cam gear used to continuously optimize the valve overlap for all RPM ranges. This being a VTEC-E system – and not a true DOHC VTEC system – is the reason the K20A3 redlines at a measly 6800RPM, while the K20A2 is able to rev all the way to 7900RPM.

This system is used in engines powering the USDM Acura RSX base, Honda Civic Si, Accord 4-cylinder, CRV, and Element.

Special note: The K20A3 engine used in the Acura RSX base has a slightly different intake manifold design from the K20A3 engine used in the Civic Si. The RSX engine uses a dual-stage manifold, similar in concept to the manifold of the B18C1 in the old Integra GSR. It uses long intake runners at low-RPM to retain low end power, and switches at 4700RPM to a set of shorter intake runners to enhance high-end torque. This accounts for the extra 9 ft-lb of torque in the RSX (141 ft-lb, vs. 132 ft-lb in the Civic Si).

Myths:
1. The i-VTEC engine engages VTEC gradually, and not suddenly like in the old VTEC engines.

Wrong. The i-VTEC engine “engages VTEC” at a single set RPM, like always. Whoever started this rumor is a ****tard. Read the definitions above.

2. VTC engages at a set RPM.

Wrong. VTC is always activated. Read under “VTC” above.

3. The K20A3 engages VTEC at 5000+ RPM.

Wrong. Technically, there is no “VTEC” (as we think of it) in the K20A3 engine – it uses a VTEC-E technology, which engages at 2200RPM. Read under “The Second Sytem” above.

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ARTICLES

ALL IN THE FAMILY
By Keith Buglewicz

A sense of nervousness has seeped into the Honda performance community. It comes not from new anti-racing laws, or emissions regulations that will weld the hoods of new cars shut. No, this nervousness comes directly from Honda itself.

K. It’s just a letter, but in the coming years its significance to Honda enthusiasts will achieve the status that “B” has now. With the introduction of the Acura RSX, the new Honda Civic Si and CRV, Honda chucked more than 12 years of engine experience and aftermarket support out the window for a clean sheet of paper design. The new engine family is the K series, and on paper, it makes even the highest performance VTEC B series engine look like yesterday’s blue plate special.

Look at the specs. The K20A2 in the RSX Type-S churns out a solid 200 hp from its 2.0- liters. That’s 100 hp per liter, and you can thank i-VTEC for this specific output. The “VTEC” part of that acronym is already familiar to Honda enthusiasts. When the engine reaches a certain speed, rocker arms are locked together, linking them to a higher-lift cam, and allowing more fuel and air into the engine. In the world of variable valves, this is known as cam shifting right now, only Honda, Toyota, BMW and Porsche sell cam-shifting systems in the United States.

However, that little “i” means a lot. It means the K series engines are also equipped with VTC, or Variable Timing Control. This cam phasing system uses a spool gear, oil pressure and some fancy electronics to change the angle of the intake cam by plus or minus 30 degrees of timing.

The result is an engine with excellent power and especially torque, but one that still manages better fuel efficiency and lower emissions than its predecessor.

Now, this is all fine and good, but what does this mean for an aftermarket that has been centered on the B series engines? What can be done with it? Can it be turbocharged? Can it be swapped? Does it respond to the simplest bolt on mods? These are the questions on the minds of Honda enthusiasts, and we intend to answer as many as we can. First, let’s take a close-up look at the engines as they come from the factory.

THE ENGINES
The K series currently consists of four power plants. The K20A3 is found under the hood of the standard RSX. With 160 hp at 6500 rpm and 141 Ib-ft of torque at 4000 rpm, it churns out the same power as the B16A, 10 hp less than the B38C1, but much more torque than either one of them, all at a lower engine speed. The i-VTEC system works only on the intake cam on this engine, and it has a composite two-stage intake manifold.

Similar to the K20A3 is the K20A found under the hood of the new Civic Si. K20A-what? Well, we’re not sure. The cars we’ve seen have all been pre-production vehicles, without the requisite engine code stamp on the block. The best information we have so far is that it’s a K20A3, same as the RSX. But that sounds a little off to us. While it has the same i-VTEC system as the RSX, it boasts the fixed, single-stage aluminum intake manifold of the K20A2 under the hood of the RSX Type-S instead of the dual-stage manifold of the base RSX. Whatever the final engine code works out to being (we’ll just call it a K20A for now), this manifold swap actually works against the Si, reducing its torque. It weighs in with the same 160 hp, but with only 132 Ib-ft of torque at a higher 5000 rpm than its K20A3 sibling.

Following the logic of Honda’s engine codes, the K24A1 is a 2.4-liter version of the K series. Following a philosophy similar to the B20 found in the previous CR-V, it’s tuned to be a torque monster with a long, 99 mm stroke. That’s a full 13 mm (0.51-in.) longer than any of the K20 engines. The extreme stroke works. With 162 lb-ft available at a low 3600 rpm, the CR-V is a veritable stump puller among small four-cylinder SUVs. At the top of the enthusiast heap is the K20A2 that powers the RSX Type-S. With a lofty 7900-rpm redline, 200 hp and 142 lb-ft of torque, this engine really is as good as its hype. With the exception of the stroked K24, the engines are all very similar structurally. AII three of the 2.0-liter versions share the same 86 mm x 86 mm bore and stroke. This is known as a square design. An oversquare engine has a longer stroke than bore, like the K24. This generally results in more torque, but at the expense of peak power. Conversely an undersquare design (such as the S2000’s engine) has a bore larger than stroke, and generally produces more high-end horsepower at the expense of torque. Not surprisingly, a square design like the K20 is a compromise between these two extremes, offering good torque and good horsepower without sacrificing or optimizing either. Aside from the manifold change on the Si’s version of the K20, the main difference between these engines is the way they manipulate their valves.

VALVE DANCING
The K20A2 in the Type-S works the way you expect VTEC to work. The two camshafts are equipped with three cam lobes and rocker arms for each cylinder’s pair of intake and exhaust valves. At 5800 rpm, oil pressure activates pins that lock the outer rocker arms to the center arm. This forces both valves to use the higher lift, longer duration center camshaft profile. However, this is augmented by VTC on the intake side, which manipulates the timing of the cam itself. This can be used to augment torque, reduce emissions or a variety of different things depending on what the computer thinks is best at the time. The RSX’s K20A3, the Si’s K20A and the CR-V’s K24A1 use i-VTEC differently. First, it only operates on the intake valves. But even then, the philosophy is changed. Until the VTEC threshold is reached, the lesser K engines essentiality only use one intake valve per cylinder. The other is opened just a crack, enough to keep fuel from pooling behind the valve, but that’s about it. In addition, the VTC is tuned primarily to keep emissions as low as possible. All this weirdness results in excellent swirl inside the combustion chamber and very efficient combustion. It’s great for fuel efficiency and low emissions. However, it isn’t so great for driving fun, as the engine inhales less deeply and revs lower.

FRANKENSTEIN RETURNS?
The K24A is more closely related to the K20A3 and K20A. While it uses the same i-VTEC tuning as those engines, it’s the long stroke design that’s intriguing. The difference is in the block. The K24’s deck height is roughly 19 mm higher than its smaller siblings. It’s also slightly bored, with 1 mm larger cylinders. The compression ratio is also down slightly from the non-Type-S engines, 9.6.1 vs. 9.8:1. So what? Well, the natural temptation is to throw the K20A2’s efficient head onto the K24A1 block, raise the redline and have a torquey, ultra-powerful i-VTEC stroker Frankenstein monster engine.

The actual bolting on part wouldn’t be too difficult, as the heads should mount right up. However, you do run into an issue with piston speed. At its 7900-rpm redline, the K20A2 in the Type-S has a piston speed of 4464 feet per minute (fpm). Thanks to its long stroke, the K24A1 comes close to that, running at 4225 fpm at its much lower redline of 6500 rpm. By the time you’ve spun your K24 up to just 6900 rpm, you’re already at 4485 fpm, and at the 7900 rpm redline of the K20A2, you’re at a crazy 5135 fpm. For comparison, even the hyperkinetic S2000 with its 9000 rpm redline doesn’t exceed 5000 fpm (it maxes out at 49% fpm). And the Integra’s B18C1 only reached 4573 fpm. Translation: If you’re going to plunk a K20A2 head on a K24A1 block and redline the concoction to 7900 rpm without seriously building up the bottom end.. duck.

If you scan the chart on page 85, you’ll see that we’ve covered most of the cars there. The Integra is just for comparison, of course, and we’ve hit the RSX and CR-V engines. So what’s the S2000 doing there? That is the true wild-card in all this. It seems as though despite the different engine code (F20C1) and north-south orientation, the S2000’s engine block is a kissing cousin of the K series. In fact, according to engine developer Paulus Lee at Advanced Engine Breathing Systems in San Diego, the head gaskets are the same. This means the S2000’s standard VTEC head could, in theory, be put on the K series block.

HEAD GAMES
The head design of the different Ks are intriguing, beyond just valve manipulation. The K20A2 found in the Type-S is a wonderful design, according to just about everybody; Honda nailed it, putting even the very effective B series engines to shame. The valves are huge, noticeably bigger than the B series valves even without the use of a caliper. But measure them and the difference is that much more apparent. The intake valves on the K are 2 mm bigger than the B series intake valves, and the same goes for the exhaust valves. The intake port angle is also excellent, with a straighter shot into the combustion chamber than the B series. On the other side of the head, the improvements continue. While the B series heads force the exhaust gases through a strange humped path through the head, the K sends it straight out to the manifold.

There are other improvements. The K uses roller rocker arms. This not only reduces friction in the valvetrain, making more power possible it also frees up the aftermarket to offer durable billet cams for the Ks. Slipper followers like those in the B series put too much pressure on billet cams, wearing them down prematurely. Forged camshafts are better, but expensive to produce in small numbers. Note the difficulty Crane has gone to in creating roller followers for its new billet B series cams. But with roller followers built in, we expect to see some radical profiles for these engines in coming months.

The other K head is not quite as efficient. While the Type-S head boasts big, smooth, unobstructed ports, the regular head features a strange groove cut into the wall between the intake valves. Undoubtedly there to help improve the single-valve operation of the VTEG system these engines use, any head porter can tell you this kind of weirdness plays havoc with airflow into the engine. The result is pretty clear. The Type-S K20A2 is the engine to have. While the other two K20s are OK in their fuel-miserly, non-polluting way – and the K24 is the undisputed torque champ – they are less ambitious, and offer less potential for improvement compared with the mighty K20A2.

THE BOTTOM OF IT
Under the head is an all-new block. Made of aluminum alloy, it’s a beefy unit, heavily ribbed and gusseted for extra strength. However, it’s also an open deck design. An open deck means that at the top of the block (the deck), the water jackets around the cylinders are open to the head, and rely on the head gasket for sealing. This limits the amount of boost that an engine block can withstand, because the individual cylinders can actually wobble slightly under high pressures. This is why drag racers will seal the deck on their B series engines before pumping the pressure up to bone-crushing levels.

But for a naturally aspirated engine, this is pretty darn strong. Flip the engine over and you’re greeted with a bearing girdle that actually makes up the lower quarter of the block. Known as a split case, this design is much stronger than the internal bearing girdle used in the B engines. About the only drawback to this design is that it only uses two bolt mains, rather than the four bolt mains preferred by racers. No matter, considering the overwhelming beefiness of the design, this is still quite acceptable. Remove the lower part of the case, and you’ll see there’s a lot of room inside the block. This means that one could go pretty crazy with rod length before the block itself needed modification.

The crank is Honda’s typical overbuilt forged unit. The Type-S crank is, again, the better of the two, being fully counterweighted. The rods are similar in both designs, although the Type-S rods are stronger to cope with the higher piston speeds encountered in the engine. The pistons are another matter, however. The Type-S pistons are about what one would expect, and are in fact quite similar in design to the high domed structure that one finds in the B series engines. The piston itself accounts for the higher compression in this engine, as the bore and stroke are identical. On the other hand, the lower end K series piston looks, well, weird. Off center on the top of the piston is an odd, round dish that for all the world looks like a bellybutton. We can only speculate that this is another way the non-Type-S engines achieve good fuel economy and low emissions.

WHAT ABOUT SWAPS?
It goes without saying that the various K’s should swap into the RSX, Civic Si and CR-V engine bays without a problem. In fact, one of the first swaps we’re likely to see is the anemic K20A in the Si being ditched in favor of the more powerful K20A2. This is a drop-in replacement. In fact, the same hatchback is sold in Europe with the K20A2 and called the Civic Type R, and there’s some speculation that we’ll see this exact car in the United States sometime in the 2003 model year.

But the real question is will it fit in the standard, non-Si EM-chassis 2001-2002 Civic? Well, after analyzing the size of the engine bays and the way the engines bolt in, we’ll say that it’s possible, but it won’t be the drop-in replacement we’ve become accustomed to with the EJ Civics and the B series engines.

The EM Civic, the Civic Si, RSX and CR-V are all cousins under the skin. However, that EM Civic is the redheaded stepchild of the group. In an effort to save some RBD bucks, Honda opted to further revise the venerable D series engine which powered Civics since the late ’80s, rather than plunk the new K engines in them. At 1.7- liters and 127 hp (in the EX), it runs well enough, and is still a solid economy car engine. Of course, EM Civic owners want more.

One major obstacle is the D series engine spins the wrong way. For a very long time, Honda engines all spun counterclockwise, backwards from almost every other engine on the market. Why? Well, it put the engine on the left side of the engine bay, which is the passenger side in Japan. This made the steering mechanism easier to route. But with Honda being an international company for several decades, it mainly was a case of corporate culture sticking around for no good reason.

The K series engines spin clockwise, like most other engines, and as a result they sit on the right side of the engine bay. In order to make one basic engine bay that would fit both a left-side and a right-side engine, Honda had to do a little bit of clever engineering. The transmission side of the engine in each car attaches directly to the frame using a beefy engine mount, which bolts to the tranny case. The pulley-side mount bolts to a “box” that is welded to the frame. The problem is that the “box” is on the right side of the engine bay in the RSX, Type-S, Si and CR-V, and on the left side in the EM Civics. Dimensionally, there isn’t much of a problem. The K engines should fit into the Civic engine bay just fine without any clearance issues. Getting it to bolt in place, however, will require some tricky mounts. To top it all off, you’ll have to drop in the K20 transmission and driveshafts as well. Even if the engine mount situation is solved, the cost of this engine swap (at least until K20A2 engines become more readily available) will be so much that one might as well just buy an RSX Type-S.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that somebody won’t try it. As for earlier EJ Civics or earlier Integras, we’d just leave that whole can of worms unopened until K20A2-powered EM Civics are commonplace.

WHAT DO TUNERS THINK?
The reaction to the Type-S engine has been overwhelmingly positive. Despite a few reservations about VTC, the engine has been greeted with open, loving arms. Many tuners have delved deep into the guts of the K engines, and are coming back with some interesting findings. The non-Type-S engine has received a more lukewarm response. Although it is a decent engine, it isn’t really the best choice for an enthusiast. We can expect to see intake and exhaust systems for this engine, maybe supercharger kits later down the road. But this is not like the B18A “LS” engine, which is a pretty good powerplant by itself. It’s best left alone.

You’re probably wondering what tuners have discovered about the engines, though. For example, how easy is it to turbocharge the K series’? What kind of internal mods have they made? Can you really put an S2000 head on a K block? The answers to these and other questions will be found in Part 2, in the next issue of HT.

Don’t you just love cliffhangers’?

Part2: The Tuners’ Perspective

In the April/May issue of Honda Tuning, we took an up-close look at Honda’s new K series engine, the motivational power behind the RSX, new Civic Si and CR-V sport utility. We compared it to the B series powerplants, far and away the mainstay of the Honda tuning market, and discovered Honda really did its homework on this engine. With robust construction, bigger ports, extremely trick valvetrain, and a number of other goodies, we were positively giddy with excitement.

However, we’re just a bunch of magazine schlubs, so we talked to some of the top tuners to discover what they thought of the K, what they have planned, and what obstacles they’ve had to overcome to achieve their goals. Although we wanted to give the tuners a little more time to develop their various K series projects.

RECAP
The K20A2 found under the hood of the RSX Type-S obviously king of the hill. While the A3 in the standard RSX and new Civic Si, and the A1 in the CRV, have been tuned with an eye toward fuel efficiency and low emissions, the A2 has been tuned for power.

The big difference between the A2 and the other K series engines is how the cam-switching part of iVTEC works. The A2 uses a cam-switching technique familiar to the most Honda fans. Extra rocker arms are slaved to one of two cams, increasing lift and duration at higher revs for better high-end power. The other engines use a version tuned for fuel efficiency. One intake valve is essentially closed when “off-cam,” and when the switch happens, the closed valve is just slaved to the same cam the opening one does. No higher lift or duration, but some pretty good fuel economy and emissions figures.

The K20A2 is a gem of a powerplant, and is already making serious power in the Type R versions of the Integra (Yes, it’s still called that in Japan.) and Civic. It’s clear it has plenty of potential for performance, but how will it react to intake and exhaust modifications? What about nitrous oxide and forced induction? Can the engine be turbocharged or supercharged with all that cam-phasing wackiness?

BASIC TUNING
If you’re looking for basic, bolt-on power you’re in luck. The K20A2 responds beautifully to intake systems, some systems making a solid 10 hp at the wheels. Manufactures, such as AEM and Injen, are coming up with short ram and cold-air systems. Short ram systems bold right in, while the location of the windshield washer bottle requires a bit more work form cold-air systems. The bottle must be relocated or removed, and a small portion of the fender liner needs to be trimmed, as well.

For the skinny on exhaust systems, we turned to DC Sports of Corona, Calif. These guys have been in the Honda exhaust market longer then just about anyone in the United States and are the first to have both an effective cat-back system and header for the Type-S.

The engineer in charge of the K series engines, Jehan Tetangco, told us the RSX proved to be a tricky customer. Naturally, DC fell back on its prior knowledge of Honda engines, fitting a 2.25-inch B-pipe to the car. It promptly lost power. A 2-3/8-inch pipe lost even more power. After going backwards and fitting a 2-inch pipe, which pushed power back up to just less then stock levels, he finally reached for the B series power handbook and threw it away. Clearly, this K was a completely different animal.

After much experimentation, Tetangco finally discovered a combination that worked. According to DC Sports, its Twin Canister System axle-back system and a 2.5-inch B-pipe resulted in a solid 6 hp gain and an average 3 hp gain from 3000 rpm to redline.

Headers are even more difficult proposition. The good news is the catalytic converter is still separate form the exhaust manifold. However, it is shoved so close to the head that there is very little room for long exhaust runners. In fact, Tetangco discovered Honda’s engineers did such a good job on runner size that he, instead, focused attention on the collector. After trying numerous designs, he discovered one that worked, again adding a nice 6 hp and 3 hp, average. Together, the header and cat back are good for 8.6 hp, according to DC Sports. However, add DC’s cold-air intake system and the power gain shoots up to over 22 horses, with almost a 10 hp average from 3000 to redline. Clearly, intake, not exhaust, is the K20A2’s biggest shortcoming from the factory.

NITROUS OXIDE AND FORCED INDUCTION
Traditionally, one of the quickest and easiest ways to get power form an engine is a shot of good ol’ nitrous oxide. With more power just the push of a button (and a few hundred dollars) away, many vehicles fine themselves with nitrous bottles in the trunk for a little added oomph. Simple, single-fogger systems are commonplace, but multiple fogger systems with ports drilled directly into the intake manifold are not unusual.

W spoke to Eric Vargas of Advanced Engine Management in Torrance, Calif. Eric is the brain behind AEM’s burgundy, nitrous-charged RSX you might have seen in our sister publication, “Sport Compact Car.” The car has been through a lot, including a blown engine caused by an unforeseen problem with the fuel delivery system.

The Integra (and previous Hondas) used a fairly conventional fuel and ignition system. The fuel routed to the rail where a regulator controlled pressure, and excess fuel was returned to the fuel tank. Even in the high-tech Integra, a mechanically activated distributor controlled the ignition.

The K series has a “headerless” fuel system, meaning the regulator and return line are actually in the tank. There is no fuel return from under the hood. This gives Honda the advantage of building the pump, regulator, return and fuel level sensor all in one unit. It also helps reduce evaporative emissions.

Vargas tells us the down side to this type of system is it becomes very difficult to build extra fuel pressure. It used to be that adding a fuel pressure regulator would build enough additional pressure from the stock pump to make forced induction or big nitrous applications relatively simple. The way the K series’ fuel is supplied make building adequate pressure much more difficult.

Unfortunately, there is no simple workaround for this problem. The stock fuel pump is capable of about 55 lbs of pressure, adequate for low-horsepower (40 hp or so) nitrous system or very low-pressure turbo or supercharger. Any higher and the system will run very lean-a dangerous condition that could result in a blown engine.

For higher horsepower application, a return line will have to be run, meaning the single-piece fuel pump/regulator/return/level sender assembly in the tank will have to be separated into individual components. This is an expensive and time-consuming process that would make a bolt-in kit a more diffcult proposition. Of course, that hasn’t kept HKS, Greddy and Jackson Racing from continuing to develop kits. Racing applications that need more than just a few pounds of boost are still in the future.

The ignition system is also very different. The B and H series engine use distributors, despite all the high-tech valve gizmos. The K uses a computer-controlled ignition without a distributor. While this is great for precisely retarding and advancing spark to meet different conditions, it makes it very difficult to alter the spark curve using external devices. Simply put, the engine freaks out and switches into limp mode until the computer itself is allowed to manipulate spark again.

ENGINE COMPUTER
It’s easy to see the K’s computer is the dominant force in the engine, and nobody knows Honda computers better than Doug Macmillan of Hondata in Torrance, Calif. After digging into the stock computer, his excavations have unearthed some surprising-and hopeful-answers.

First, the programming is extensive. The fuel maps alone take up more memory then all of the programming for the B series put together. Macmillan told us there are six non-VTEC and six high-lift cam tables. There are also another 24 that, as of press time, he was still working on. He also discovered the ignition tables and the tables governing VTC cam advance.

Additionally, he discovered something tuners are going to love about the stock ECU: Flash programmability. Unlike the previous car, this would make reprogramming of the computer far simpler. And with the hurdles surrounding ignition and cam timing for forced-induction engines, being able to directly manipulate these factors is crucial.

Macmillan also told us a possible trouble spot doesn’t seem to affect the engine’s performance potential. The RSX’s compute is multi-plexed, meaning it sends multiple signals to different systems down the same line. This would have the potential to play havoc with aftermarket tuning but it seems the multi-plexing is confined to systems outside the engine compartment.

FRANKENSTEINS AND SWAPS
One of the greatest performance features of the B series engines is the interchangeability of the parts. With some modification, you can put a VTEC head with a Type R intake manifold on a B20 block and make yourself a monster of an engine.

Is the same true for the K? Skunk2 thinks so. It’s in the process of building a naturally aspirated race engine based on the Frankenstein concept. With the K20A2’s high-powered VTEC head mated to the CR-V’s long-stoke K24A1, Michael Choi of Skunk2 told us he hopes to create a high-revving, high-power, high-torque monster that will rip the wheels off the shop’s racecar. The biggest obstacle will be the lack of off-the-shelf, high-performance parts. Anybody wishing to build up the internals of their K engine will simply have to wait for those parts to fill the pipeline.

Engine swaps are a different story. We spoke to Brian Gillespie of Hasport, based in Phoenix, Ariz. Known throughout the tuning industry for its engine mount kits, Hasport has already been working on stuffing the K into its chassis mates.

The easy part is swapping the K series engines between car that were originally equipped with them. So, if you want more bang out of your Civic Si, it’s relatively simple to drop in an RSX Type-S engine and be on your way. The only snag might be with swapping a K24 engine into the RSX or Civic, owing to its slightly taller block.

The non-Si Civics are a different matter. The current-model EM Civics are built on the same basic chassis as the RSX and CR-V. This means that, theoretically, the K series engines should fit in the Civic chassis. However, the engines mount differently in their respective bays-the D series engines used in the Civics on the driver’s side, the K on the passenger side. This is a more complicated proposition for potential swappers.

According to Gillespie, the trick is using the RSX subframe. This subframe simply bolts in place of the standard Civic subframe, and ahs the rear engine and transmission mount in the proper place for the K series engine. After that, it’s a matter of developing the proper engine mount on the sides of the engine. Gillespie is confident the swap will be complete soon, and that before long he’ll have a K20A2-powered Civic coupe up and running. This is great news for owners of current-model Civics who have been stymied by the D17’s lack of tuning options.

FINAL WORD
The future is bright for the K series but, compared to what the aftermarket is use to, the K series is a whole new ball game. From the most basic tuning to the most advanced, it’s going to take time for the RSX and its counterparts to get up to speed. But it will. Whether you like it or not, Honda is not making the B anymore. Smart tuners are going to get cracking on the new K as soon as they can. Those that don’t, will undoubtedly be left behind.

source: http://www.xproductionz.com

Popularity: 35% [?]

Ok so theres a couple of writeups but i had some questions about them. hopefully this will answer some. FORGIVE ME FOR NOT TAKING PICTURES OF EVERYTHING!!! This isnt a guide for dum-dums its a guide for people who can figure the easy stuff out themselfs!!
What you need:
-Drill
-Screwdriver
-Toothbrush?? (i used an old one to clean out some parts better… namely EGR valve bottom side)

-Some type of pipe cleaning device (metal center with brushes on outside? i used something i found at home depot but no one was any help. they suck)
-Screw that can go through plugs
-Hammer
-Towel
-AIR!!! (compressed and ready to blow out HARD)
-New Plugs
-Caruburator or Brake Cleaner (OIL BASED CLEANERS)
-10 and 12 socket… i believe? don’t remember which ones go where… but thats the easy part.

-*TIME

Lots of time. Don’t plan on doing this at 1pm if u wanna go out with ur buddies at 2 or have lunch scheduled with ur gf at 3. If you start at 1pm you’ll be done by like 5pm if you take ur time to clean everything right and let dry.

STEP 1: Identify the parts!!!
That is a picture of where you’ll be dealing with. just between the intake manifold and the fuel rail is your EGR Ports. To the left is the Valve and on your intake manifold is the IACV.

Those are the Ports. (Pic shows the plugs out already… just to show u where they are.)

That is your Fuel Pressure Regulator. Before unbolting this – open your gas cap to relieve pressure so you don’t sputter gas everywhere. It’ll prolly still spill some.

That’s your EGR Valve. It’s found to the left of the plugs and held on by 2 bolts. they’re kinda tricky and try not to strip them (they use 10mm socket i believe..)

that’s the bottom of the EGR valve. spray like you’ve never sprayed before and clean it well.

New plug.

Old plugs. (dirty bitches)

IACV – Intake air control valve.

Ok that’s enough. Anywhos lets get started.

Step 2: Get outta the way IACV and FPR
Unbolt your EGR Valve, IACV, Fuel pressure regulator… Get EVERYTHING out of the way.

-Get that FPR outta the way using a 10mm socket (again i believe) on it after you opened your gas cap to reduce the gas geyser.
*i forgot to do this and i spilled enough gas to drown in.

-Your IACV is bolted on by 2 bolts to your intake manifold. It has 2 lines under it. one will leek radiator coolant like crazy. the other i believe is just a vaccum air hose. or return hose. either way.
-Unbolt it with a size 10 socket (i believe) and move the hoses out of the way.
-Unscrew the 2 screws holding the little gold bottom on. There’s a gasket in there!
-Then Place your IACV on a piece of newspaper or whatever on the floor with its bolts. Don’t lose it.
-*You may wanna see if you can buy a gasket at honda its prolly cheap and if you get carb cleaner on your gasket it will expand like nuts and won’t go back in. (it was either that or the hot weather… prolly the 1st cuz i put it in the freezer and it didnt shrink… it was HELL getting it back in!!)

-Ok now that’s the IACV out of the way.

Step 3: Removing your EGR Valve.

The hole on the left (first pic) next to the hose is where your EGR valve goes. You can see where it is in reference to the port plugs and holes where the IACV used to plug in.
-Unplug the connector

-Unclamp the hose
-Have fun trying to get the bolts off with a 10mm socket (or 12? Maybe its an 11?) When i say have fun i mean theres shit all up in the way. it sucks! unless u have some decent nifty tools which i lack.
-Set it aside with the nuts on a different sheet of newspaper than the IACV (or wherever you wanna put it..)

Step 4: PLUGS!
*WARNING* – If you are not nifty, crafty, an/or both with a drill and screw, please get some help from someone who is.

i bent it
-Drill through the plugs as best you can. make a hole big enough for your screw to go in each plug as you’ll use the screw to remove them. (at least i did cuz no one in the world has or knows what a slide hammer is)

-Place your screw in the hole and Drill through it so its nice and in there and tight yet you have enough room to stick the back end of a hammer under it to pull the plug out.
-What i did was put a towel under the front of the hammer (folded several times) to not scratch or bend anything there… and i used the back of the hammer to pry the plugs off.
-Remove plugs as best you can. all 6!! (the 2 on the inside are such BITCHES… hard to get to cuz of the fuel rail)

*note: this will take quite some time*

Step 5: Cleaning part 1
-Spray away with brake cleaner or carb cleaner at all the pieces you want. Namely the bottom of the EGR valve (fill that sucker with carb cleaner and let it sit for a while) and the bottom of the IACV… where the holes are.
-Spray some more
-Rub some

-Spray some more
-Go buy new can of carb cleaner (i didn’t have to cuz i bought 2 but i’m an over-sprayer. i over-do everything. you can prolly do the whole clean with 1)
-Spray and rub more
-Soak and let it sit there for a while to loosen shit up

-Go to your ports that are now open and spray a lot of air in there. (i have a compressor so i sprayed the shit outta them.) Try not to do this in the garage cuz shit flies EVERYWHERE!!!
-CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!
*i put newspaper on top of my hand covering the other ports so all the shit that flew up didnt go everywhere.
-Spray air through each hole for about 10-15 secs and then back again and again. clean as best you can before using carb cleaner.

-Now use the little straw atached to the carb can and soak the shit outta the holes. Don’t be afraid to spray it everywhere… it’ll come out! trust me…
-Soak soak soak
-Spray some more air if you like (put newspaper up to block the ports because you WILL spray carb cleaner and dirt everywhere)
-Use your pipe cleaning device to clean the ports as best you can. My ports were almost completely clogged. there was alotta shit in there.

Step 6: Cleaning Part 2
-Repeat step 5… OVER AND OVER like 2-3 times. i did it like 3.
I’m an overacheiver. I went and cleaned everything all over and brushed and cleaned the ports REALLY well and brushed some mroe and sprayed carb cleaner till my car almost drowned. I made sure i cleaned very well…

Step 7: Waiting

-Select the best movie film (i watched like half of borat)
to enjoy while your parts dry out. I waited about an hour to be safe.

Step 8: AIR!!!
Now that everythings pretty clean… SPRAY AIRRR allll over everything you drenched in carb cleaner. inside the IACV, the EGR Ports… the EGR valve… everywhere!!!
AIRRRR and more AIRRR to ensure a nice dry finish.
I sprayed a lot and a lot

- Wait a couple mins and spray more air. make sure EVERYTHING is dry and back the way it was

Step 9: Reconstruction
-Find a way to put the new plugs in!!! alotta people say use loctite but if you know some physics… the plugs are PLUGS for a reason… they PLUG the hole and are very hard to actually fit in they are exact fits so…. i didn’t even bother with sealant as they ARE the sealant.
*What i did was i got a HUGE screw that had a flat head on it slightly bigger than the plugs… and placed the plugs in… put the flat end on top of the plugs and gently hammered them in…
**Note: if you know any type of plugs physics you’ll know that you should apply pressure to the entire top equally to ensure the plug goes in straight. i bought 12 plugs to make sure i had enough to fuck up once for every plug or 5 times on one. but i didn’t fuck any up so i have 6 extras. just enough to do my gfs car.
-Have fun. this is gonna be a pain in the ass. Bring a funny friend to entertain you while you’re pissed

-Put your IACV back together (hopefully the gasket still fits) make sure u put the gasket and the gold piece back on. screw everything nice and snugly not overtightened!
-Put your EGR Valve back on
-Put your IACV back on

-Put your FPR back on
-Plug the connector to the EGR valve and the hose to the top
-Plug the hoses to the IACV (they are pretty much bent how they go in. if you mess them up you’re an idiot)
-Plug and screw
-Plug and screw some more
-Tighten but not too much
-Have some fun

Step 10: wtf is wrong with my car??

-After everything is placed rightfully so…
-Turn your car on and let it sit there idling for about 10-15 mins.
IT WILL RUN LIKE SHIT!!! and puff little clouds of white smoke out the back. it’ll sound like shit, run like shit… etc.
-Let it run a while then take it out nice and slow
-Drive around nice and slow… it’ll still drive shitty for like 30 mins.
-After that everythings clear and clean enjoy!!!

Popularity: 15% [?]

Popularity: 4% [?]

What do I need to know about a Honda / Acura Turbo Kit?

Q: What are the differences between the FMAX kit and DRAG, or any other turbo system on the market for that matter?

A: Fabrication:

The FMAX turbo system comes as a complete bolt-on, that requires no cutting or welding or modification, the downpipe bolts directly to the catalytic converter. All Metal components are fabricated using TIG welding for excellent penetration that will not crack. Fabrication is warranted against any defects.

Fuel Management:

The additional injector controllers (included in the kit), read and deliver fuel accurately up to 30 psi of boost, and accurately indexes both boost and RPM instead of just boost like a fuel pressure regulator does (more detail can be found on our Honda/Acura page).

Detonation Management:

Unlike DRAG our kit includes components to eliminate detonation with either a head gasket to lower your compression ratio, or an MSD timing control to retard the timing per pound of boost. The DRAG kit has no component included to eliminate detonation.

Q: There is no such thing as a daily driven turbo Honda?

A: Try telling that to those that own FMAX kits and run 10-15 psi daily, on the stock bottom end for years, trouble free. If detonation is eliminated there is nothing to say that your engine will not survive higher than intended cylinder pressures. Whether it is turbocharged, normally aspirated or supercharged, a given torque number, for a given engine, usually translates into the same cylinder pressure, the horsepower may vary. Cylinder pressure is cylinder pressure, detonate the same engine, when turbocharged, supercharged or normally aspirated, and the result will be the same. Don’t let someone in sales tell you otherwise, ask an engineer or a professor.

Q: When driving a turbo Honda, you cannot downshift b/c it will hurt the engine?

A: Wrong again. 3000 RPM is 3000 RPM, in any gear engine speed is engine speed, but what does change is the load, the load is entirely different based on the gearing and the velocity of the car, aerodynamic load increases in factor as velocity increases. The load is actually harder on the engine at 2000 RPM 5th gear 30 MPH than at 6000 RPM 2nd gear 30 MPH. Try these combinations some time, and listen to how hard an engine is working. Given that you don’t over rev the engine, have the proper air/fuel ratio and the abscence of detonation, there’s no reason why the engine will grenade, unless the load and cylinder pressure exceed the mechanical limits of the engines components.

Also, is a 12, 13, or 14 psi daily driven Honda possible or is that too much boost to drive on street tires around town.

Why not on a built engine with the proper compression ratio? Especially when a stock engine can take it.

Q: Turbo Hondas run extremely hot b/c the intercooler blocks air to the radiator.

A: Pseudo correct. Yes the intercooler blocks the air to the radiator, and the radiator is not designed to handle this much load. Turbocharge a car with a healthy radiator you don’t experience overheating with no other modifications. It’s the radiant heat that can’t be transferred from the coolant adequately per unit time that increases heat. Do Normally aspirated cars overheat? Should your radiator have significant mileage on it, you may want to flush or replace the radiator entirely. A couple of tricks that have been used to eliminate overheating:

Switch both factory fans on whenever the car is on, run a colder thermostat, drill holes around thermostat so that coolant is always bypassing the thermostat, even when closed.

Q: Turbo Hondas are very fast cars for only 15 second spurts (1/4 mile) and then have to cool until the next run?

A: Another fallacy. If the system is properly designed there shouldn’t be any problems that only allow you to run 15 second spurts. The phenomenon described here is an inadequate cooling system that cannot dissipate the heat produced by sustained high peak cylinder pressures. Try the tricks in #1. Maybe the cooling system has too many miles on it. But the other likely scenario is that a lean condition that produces Higher Than Allowable EGT, coupled with high BMEP (Brake Mean Effective Pressure) in the cylinder overwhelm the system. If the Air/Fuel ratio is correct for the application, turbo stochiometric, then perhaps there wouldn’t be excessively high EGT’s. w\ the air/fuel ratio correct and a stable EGT, there should be no problems with a properly working cooling system.

Popularity: 5% [?]

7G (2001+)
n/a 1.7L USDM All 2-door DX/LX
n/a 1.7L USDM All 4-door DX/LX
n/a 1.7L USDM All 2-door HX
EM2 D17A1 USDM All 2-door/4-door EX
EP3 K20A3 USDM 2002 3-door Si
n/a K20C1 JDM All 3-door Type-R

6G (1996-2000)
EG1 D15B8 USDM 1996-1997 del Sol (8-valve)
EG1 D15B7 USDM 1996-1997 del Sol S (SOHC)
EG1 D15Z1 USDM 1996-1997 del Sol VTEC-E (SOHC)
EG2 B16A2 USDM 1996-1997 del Sol VTEC (DOHC)
EH6 D16Z6 USDM 1993-1995 del Sol Si (SOHC)
EJ1 D16A JDM All 2-door
EJ3 n/a JDM All 2-door / 4WD
EJ6 D16Y7 CANADA All 2-door DX/Si
EJ6 D16Y7 CANADA 2000 2-door DX-G
EJ6 D16Y7 CANADA 1996-1998 3-door CX/CX-G
EJ6 D16Y7 CANADA 1999-2000 3-door CX/DX
EJ6 D16Y7 CANADA 2000 3-door SE
EJ6 D16Y7 CANADA All 4-door LX/EX
EJ6 D16Y7 USDM All 3-door CX/DX
EJ6 D16Y7 USDM All 4-door DX/LX
EJ6 D16Y7 USDM 1999 4-door DX-V
EJ7 D16Y5 USDM All 2-door HX (VTEC-E)
EJ8 D16Y8 CANADA All 2-door EX
EJ8 D16Y8 USDM All 2-door/4-door EX
EK2 D13B JDM All 3-door/4-door
EK3 D15B JDM All 3-door/4-door
EK4 B16A JDM All 3-door/4-door
EK5 D16A JDM All 4-door 4WD/LEV
EK8 D16A JDM All 4-door 4WD/LEV
EK9 B16B JDM All 3-door Type-R
EM1 B16A2 CANADA 1999-2000 2-door SiR
EM1 B16A2 USDM 1999-2000 2-door Si

5G (1992-1995)
EG1 D15B JDM All 3-door/4-door/CR-X
EG1 D15B8 USDM 1993-1995 del Sol (8-valve)
EG1 D15B7 USDM 1993-1995 del Sol S (SOHC)
EG1 D15Z1 USDM 1993-1995 del Sol VTEC-E (SOHC)
EG2 B16A JDM All 3-door/4-door/CR-X
EG2 B16A3 USDM 1994-1995 del Sol VTEC (DOHC)
EG3 D13B JDM All 3-door/4-door
EG4 D15B JDM All 3-door/4-door/CR-X
EG5 n/a JDM All ? (ZC DOHC)
EG6 B16A JDM All 3-door/4-door/CR-X
EG7 D13B JDM All 3-door/4-door
EG8 D15B JDM All 3-door/4-door/CR-X
EG8 D15B7 USDM All 4-door DX/LX
EG9 B16A JDM All 3-door/4-door/del Sol CR-X
EH1 n/a JDM All 4-door/4WD (ZC DOHC)
EH2 1.5L USDM All 3-door CX/VX/DX
EH3 D16Z6 USDM 1993-1995 3-door Si
EH6 D16Z6 USDM 1993-1995 del Sol Si (SOHC)
EH9 D16Z6 USDM All 4-door EX
EJ1 D16Z6 USDM All 2-door EX
EJ2 1.5L USDM All 2-door DX

4G (1988-1991)
ED3 1.5L USDM All 4-door DX/LX
ED4 1.6L USDM All 4-door EX
ED6 1.5L USDM All 3-door Standard
ED7 1.6L USDM All 3-door Si
ED8 1.5L USDM All CRX standard / HF
ED9 1.6L USDM All CRX Si
EE2 1.5L USDM All Wagon
EE4 1.6L USDM All Wagon 4WD
EF1 D13B JDM All Civic ?
EF2 D15B JDM All Civic ? / CR-X
EF3 n/a JDM All Civic ? / CR-X Si (ZC DOHC)
EF6 D15B JDM All Civic ? / CR-X
EF7 n/a JDM All Civic ? / CR-X Si (ZC DOHC)
EF8 B16A JDM All Civic ? / CR-X
EF9 B16A JDM All Civic ? / CR-X

Popularity: 5% [?]

Step 1. Intake

This must be one of the most common and easiest upgrades. There is a huge market for filters and intakes. The intake does not really add any horsepower it just quits restricting the engine from freely breathing. Intakes are available in two versions. CAI(cold air intake) and normal under hood mounted intake. The most common intakes are Iceman and AEM. Both have there advantages. The AEM is made of metal which means that it heats slower but also cools slower but I think that the metal looks better. The Iceman is made of plastic and some people say that it will melt. The Iceman can be changed at will from CAI to under hood intake. The plastic heats faster but also cools faster. It’s your car and your decision.

HP Gain: 3-6 (depends on temperature and type of filter you are running)
Companies: AEM, Iceman, Injen, HKS, Greddy, K&N, Apexi.

Step 2. Exhaust

This has got to be one of the biggest and most competitive aftermarket products. Anyone who is Anyone makes an exhaust. This is also an extremely easy bolt on option. There are pretty much four possible upgrades here. I will start with headers. These come in two options. 4-2-1 and 4 into 1. I am not sure how they differ but I have heard that the 4-2-1 headers give the most torque. next there is the muffler. That just depends on what you are going for. Looks or Loudness. The cat converter is usually the next upgrade. I think it is best to buy an aftermarket one because I have heard that you can actually get more power like that rather than just taking it off. Not to mention the huge ticket you can get from taking it off. And the last option is to just replace the whole pipe and make the diameter larger. You can buy hundreds of different variations of this but all pretty much do the same thing. Make your car a little faster and a lot louder. Apexi World Sport is a good option for a quieter exhaust.
HP Gain(Muffler):1-5
HP Gain(Headers):1-5
HP Gain(Pipeing):1-3
Companies: HKS, Greddy, Apexi, Bosal, Tanabe, DC Sports.

Step 3. Suspension

Some people overlook the suspension of a car and just think of it as a way to lower the car. Suspension is just as important as almost any other performance feature. Ask any car racing team I don’t care if it is NASCAR or BTCC or NHRA any team will tell you that the suspension is one of the most important things on the car performance wise. Bad weight transfer can result in loss after loss. Ok so now u know that u need to chunk the stock suspension what are you going to replace it with? well there are tons of aftermarket suspension components that can be purchased. I do not want to be bias for a company so I will leave it up to you on who’s suspension to purchase. And before you slam your car to the ground always think about where you will need to be driving. The lowest I would go would be about 2\” off the ground but I got a speed bump on the entrance to my neighborhood so 2\” is out of the question.
HP Gain:N/A
Companies: Koni, Skunk2, Eibach, Neuspeed, Tokico, KYB, Suspension Techniques, JIC Magic, HKS, Greddy.

Step 4. Pully’s Sprockets’s and Cam’s

These options are good for quick acceleration and deceleration. They all offer good Hp gains. The cams allow for real high revving if you buy spoon sports cams your screaming Honda can reach 9k. The type R’s reach about 8.4k. The sprockets allow for retard and advance in the timings and need a dyno to be tuned but the outcome can be very pleasing. And the ultra light pulley’s allow for better acceleration and more HP.  These mods take a little more skill and confusion but I would suggest doing all of these mods.
HP Gain:7-20
Companies: AEM, Unorthodox, Greddy, Vortech, Apexi.

Step 5. Bottom End Build Up

This consist of Boring out the cylinders and buying new pistons and piston rod’s. You can buy all kinds of pistons like dome pistons that offer more compression and concave pistons that lower compression. If you are going to run higher compression I would suggest not buying a Turbo or a nitrous system. Sometimes bigger pistons do not mean more power but can actually lower power.
HP Gain:0-5

Companies: Usually done in a garage.

Step 6. Electronics

If you want my suggestion then there are only two companies that I would buy from for this mod, Field and Apexi. Field has been making VTEC and fuel controllers for a while and I would really trust them. I am not sure but someone told me that there manual was in Japanese. If so I hope you have allot of rice boy friends. On the other hand you can buy Apexi’s v-tec and fuel controller.
Apexi has a very good controller also, very reliable, and accurate if you set it up right.
HP Gain: 0-15
Companies: Apexi, Field, Blitz, Greddy.

Step 7. Super or Turbocharger

If you are serious about making your car fast boost is the next option. Jackson Racing is making a supercharger for the Accord, which is available now and is pretty reliable. The turbo can be annoying because you have to wait for the power to come as the turbo spools up. The large the turbo the more lag. Thus being the reason for twin turbos which over come this problem to an extent by using turbos where one is large and the other is small and variations on that concept. The supercharger is belt driven compression so it always has power from the start. The turbo\’s do offer a huge possible gain but superchargers are a good alternative boost option. This way you don’t have to wait till your turbo spools up and when it finally does the car switches gears. Before you make this mod you really need to do steps 1-6 first because otherwise you will run into a lot of problems.
Hp Gain: 50-200+
Companies: Garrett, Greddy, HKS, Blitz, Turbonetics, Rev Hard, Star Performance.

Step 8. Brakes

Now you got you little pocket rocket rolling you need to stop all of that power. There are three basic things you need to do when performing this mod. You need Bigger Brake Rotors,  New and better Calipers and Brake Pads.
HP Gains:N/A

Companies: Brembo, AEM, Baer, PowerSlot, Wilwood, Stoptech, RacingBrake.

Step 9. Nitrous

The all known power of N20 its not NOS, that is a company. The movie the Fast and The Furious made NOS so popular but here is the truth to how it works and why it does.

When you heat nitrous oxide to about 570 degrees F, it splits into oxygen and nitrogen. The injection of nitrous oxide into an engine therefore means that more oxygen is available during combustion. Because you have more oxygen you can also inject more fuel, and that means the same engine can produce more power. This added 02 can let the engine burn a lot more fuel thus increasing power. Nitrous oxide is one of the simplest ways to provide a significant horsepower boost to any gasoline engine.

Nitrous oxide has another effect that improves performance even more. When it vaporizes, nitrous oxide provides a significant cooling effect on the intake air. When you reduce the intake air temperature you increase the air’s density, and this provides even more oxygen inside the cylinder.
A property of nitrous oxide is that at about 565 degrees F., it breaks down into nitrogen and oxygen. When it is introduced into the intake tract of an internal combustion engine, it is sucked into the combustion chamber and, on the compression stroke, when the charge air temperature reaches 565 deg., a very oxygen-rich mixture results. If we add extra fuel during nitrous oxide injection, the effect is like a super charger or increasing the compression ratio of the engine. Automotive nitrous systems work like the automotive equivalent of a jet’s “afterburner” and is used for short duration extra bursts of power.

Nitrous oxide has this effect because it has a higher percentage of oxygen content than does the air in the atmosphere. Nitrous has 36% oxygen by weight and the atmosphere has 23%. Additionally, nitrous oxide is 50% more dense than air at the same pressure. Thus, a cubic foot of nitrous oxide contains 2.3 times as much oxygen as a cubic foot of air. Just do a bit of math in your head and you can see if we substitute some nitrous oxide for some of the air going into an engine than add the appropriate amount of additional fuel, the engine is going to put out more power.
Simply stated, nitrous oxide injection is very much like a supercharger or a compression ratio increase in that, during combustion, it can dramatically increase the dynamic cylinder pressure in the engine.

The only problem with nitrous oxide is that it is fairly bulky and the engine needs a lot of it. Like any gas it takes up a fair amount of space even when compressed into a liquid. A 5-liter engine running at 4,000 RPM consumes about 10,000 liters of air every minute (compared to about 0.2 liters of gasoline), so it would take a tremendous amount of nitrous oxide to run a car continuously. Therefore a car normally carries only a few minutes of nitrous oxide and the driver uses it very selectively by pushing a button. Small doses of nitrous oxide can be used in stock engines to gain 25-35% more power. In my opinion, any more than nitrous than that with a stock engine compromises durability too much. This is not only true of nitrous but any modification. Take a stock 82 or 84 engine, up the horsepower to 300hp and do nothing to improve durability and your engine will eventually suffer. Once you pass the 35% power increase mark with nitrous oxide you need to look at things like forged pistons, better connecting rods, better bearings, etc.
HP Gains: 50-400+ (dependant on many variables)
Companies: NOS, Nitrous Express (NX), Venom, Zex.

Popularity: 8% [?]

So you want to swap out that puny 91 cubic inch weed whacker engine of yours and replace it with a fire-breathing DOHC? That’s cool. But which engine should you go for? The 5th and 6th generation civic owners are lucky in the fact that its bigger brothers were designed very similar to the civic in many ways. This allows the ability to transplant various other engines from other H-cars without too much fuss. Integra, Prelude, other civics, even the sport Ute CRV engines can be considered. In addition you can do more than just swap out the whole engine, you could take a Vtec cylinder head and put it on your existing engine or swap out the whole engine and THEN swap the head on that. The possibilities are many. To help you wade through this mess, First I’ll talk about the different engine choices, and then I’ll talk about head swapping choices and its benefits. I’ll get into the pros and cons of each to help YOU decide which choice is wise for you according to your courage, budget and power needs.

First off I need to mention a few things. When looking for your possible swap candidate, have a plan and research EVERYTHING. Find out as much info from as many sources as you can find. Now when putting $$$ aside for the swap, put aside as much as the components costs (Engine, transmission, etc), add shipping if necessary, then add at least $1000 for small extra parts you might need and/or broken parts on the engine (PCV valves, distributor core, AC bracket, axles, shift linkage, new polyurethane mounts, etc), and finally calculate how much you’ll need to replace all the high wear components: Timing belt, plugs, oil pump, clutch, etc. Believe me, it’ll cost ALOT less to replace them now than if they break after you’ve installed the engine. You should buy the helms manual for the engine you plan to get to get a complete run down of all the technical stuff. AND before I forget, remember that your stock cooling system will most likely need to be upgraded in one way or the other to cool the new bigger engine. And plan on the safe side to be without the car for at least 2 weeks. It shouldn’t take more than a weekend of work but something ALWAYS goes wrong. As we Hispanics say: “Dress yourself in patience” and expect the worst and you’ll be fine.

As for exactly what you need to complete the entire swap, unfortunately it changes slightly with each engine considered, which is why it’s extremely important to research exactly what you need, but here’s the general list:

1. Engine and all components attached to the engine. Cylinder head, alternator, distributor, AC pump if necessary, P/S pump if necessary, etc.
   
2. Transmission: It doesn’t necessarily have to be the tranny that came with the engine but you need to get atleast a transmission that will bolt up to the block. All transmissions of the same letter series tranny’s should bolt up like stock. At this point it would an excellent time to decide if you’d like to change your transmission from automatic to stickshift or vise versa. There are other threads available in the Civic FAQ that could help you with that.
   
3. ECU: It’s a vital link in the whole project and most of the times completely looked over. If you plan to swap the head of your engine, you need the ECU of the head you’re swapping in.
   
4. Shift Linkage: These rods connect the shifter knob to the transmission. Without them you couldn’t shift the tranny. They aren’t necessary with every swap but most of them do need them.
   
5. Axles: Makes sense that you need the axles that fit the transmission. They’re all different for each swap unfortunately. The axles that came with the engine aren’t going to necessarily work with your civic suspension. Research.
   
6. Mounts: Most of the swaps don’t need fabricated mounts but they do need the mounts that came with the engine. The H22 and F22 engines are different in that they need custom mounts from places like HASport or Place Racing.
   
7. Optional, Performance exhaust: Your stock exhaust, particularly your stock catalytic converter will act as a cork to your newfound power. Replacing it with a high performance exhaust will let the engine breathe at the very least to stock specs. In some cases however, the down pipe on the engine won’t match up perfectly with your catalytic converter. In which taking a trip down to the local muffler shop and making a custom exhaust system would be in order.
8. Fuel Pump: For some of the larger swaps, particularly the 2.2 liter series, the stock civic fuel pump will not be enough to meet the needs of the new engine. At the very least you need the pump of the engine you’re getting. If not get an upgraded aftermarket pump.

Two things that are very important that I need to discuss before we get into each engine are the Rod to Stroke ratio and OBD.

The Rod to Stroke ratio: This topic gets very complicated very quickly. Basically it’s the ratio of how long the rod is compared to the length of the entire rod stroke. The perfect ratio is 1.75. If the ratio is off, it means that the rod is not using 100% of it’s momentum to compress the air and gas mixture. It’s using more energy to push against the sides of the cylinder walls than to compress the fuel mixture. This is normally not too bad because things are very well lubricated in your engine. But when you change certain aspects of the engine, in particular increasing the ECU fuel cutoff point or going forced induction, the imperfect R/S ratio will cause more stress on the engine block and could eventually destroy it. A good R/S ratio also ensures long engine life. For a more in-depth look into the R/S ratio check out the following site: http://victorylibrary.com/tech/crod-c.htm

OBD stands for On Board Diagnostics. Most every modern car has a version of OBD and it’s basically an engine monitoring system. It consists of many different sensors in strategic locations that monitor various aspects of the engine’s performance. Some examples of the sensors are O2 sensors that monitor the air to fuel mixture, the throttle position sensor that senses how open the throttle plate is at any given moment, and intake temperature sensor that monitors the temperature of the intake air. All of these sensors are monitored by the ECU, the car’s brain monitors the OBD system and changes variables according to pre-programmed specifications. There are currently 3 versions of OBD and each version gets progressively more complex and stricter on the amount flexibility it will allow before taking action to prevent what it sees as a potentially engine damaging situation. OBD1 started with the 5th generation civic 1992-1995. OBD2 continued with the 6th generation 1996-2000 and the latest version is OBD3 and can be found on the 7th gen. civic 2001-???.

NOW, Let’s get to the engines starting with the smallest and cheapest candidates:

D16Z6, D16Y8, D15B7: If you have one of the lower and cheaper civic models, IE The Cx, Dx, Lx and If you’re looking for a cheap power increase while still maintaining stock gas mileage then the possibility of swapping in one of the higher model civic engines is right up your alley. The D16Z6 is the SOHC 5th Gen. Si and Ex engine pushing 125hp @ 6600 rpm and 106 lb.-ft of torque @ 5200 rpm. The D16Y8 is the 6th gen. SOHC Ex engine pushing 127hp @ 6600 rpm and 107 lb.-ft of torque @ 5500 rpm. These are extremely easy to find since allot ppl swap them out in favor for more expensive engines. They bolt in like stock and the whole package could be had for hundreds (You might even find someone who’s recently swapped who would basically give away their engine). Let’s say you want something cheap but you could work on for possibly turbo or nitrous? The D16Y8 is cheap and the pistons are the exact size of TT Supra pistons. They could substitute for forged versions and work just as well for a turbo upgrade. Be warned though as the D16Y8 has a particularly bad Rod to Stroke ratio at 1.52. I also suggest the B15B7 which is the 5th gen. Dx and Lx engine pushing 102hp @ 5900 rpm and 98 lb.-ft of torque @ 5000 rpm. If you have a 5th gen. Cx and you’re in need of the cheapest upgrade, this motor could be for you. Again you could probably find it for less than $500.

B16A1, B16A2, B16A3: If you need a little more power and have the money, the Civic Si and the del Sol VTEC engine are possibilities. They are all DOHC 1.6 liter engines pushing 160 hp @ 7600 rpm and 111lb.-ft of torque @ 7000 rpm. The A1 is the pre-obd engine that came with a cable transmission and various other pre 5th gen. items that need to be dealt with when considering the swap. The reason I point this out is because all 5th and 6th gen. civics came with hydraulic tranny’s so think twice about this one. The upside is the cheap price. The A3 is the OBD1 engine out of the del Sol Vtec. These older models can be had for cheaper than OBD2 models and have upgraded various things such as hydro trannies. These are a perfect choice for the 5th genners. The A2 is the 99-00 Si engine. Same as the A3 only this one came with an upgraded OBD2 emissions system that is mandatory for all 96+ civic swappers. The B16A1 could be had for around $1200. The B16A3 could be found for about $2000-$2500 and the newer B16A2 could be found for around $2500-$3000.

They all lack a sufficient amount of torque due to their small displacement but their small mass and a bad ass R/S ratio of 1.74 allows them to rev to astronomical proportions. They also all have a HUGE aftermarket support. The only thing I don’t like about this particular swap is that this seems to be only one people think of. Whenever they want to swap engines, they all go for the B16. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great engine but there are other engines out there to consider. I’ve even known people to be disappointed because they expected more. That’s what this article if for

B16B: Often regarded as the best 1.6 liter engine in the world, the JDM Civic Type R engine is the rarest of them all. Producing a whopping 185hp @ 8200 rpm and a reasonable 120 lb.-ft of torque @ 7600 rpm and being naturally aspirated, it is technical marvel. It was only available on the 1999-2000 Civic Type R and having one imported will run you easily into the $6000+ range. But you will be WELL respected and large thief magnet when ppl find out. If you have the money and like spending it on high octane gas for your 4 banger, why not?

B17A, B18B1: The B17A could be found on the 92-93 GSR producing 160hp @ 7600 rpm and 117 lb.-ft @ 7000 rpm. The B18B1 is the later model Integra LS, RS, and GS engines. They don’t offer huge power outputs at 142hp @ 6300 rpm and 127 lb.-ft @ 5200 rpm, But they can be had for very cheap as they are plentiful and not really sought after by many people. The exception being for the B17A as it did have greater power output but they can still be had for cheap as they are generally older and in worse shape compared to the newer B18’s. Anyone of these should still offer a cheap, reliable power upgrade for your small civic. Anyone of these engines could be found for under $2000. The downside to these cheaper engines is their Rod to Stroke ratio. The B17 isn’t that bad but the B18B1 has a R/S ratio of 1.54. This does considerably reduce the maximum possible power output from these engines. But if you don’t plan on turbocharging this engine past 15 psi or letting it rev to 11,000 rpm, then it should meet your modest power needs.

B18C1: Probably the most highly sought after swap candidate, this powerful little engine came on the late model Integra GSR and produced a hefty 170hp @ 7600 rpm and 128lbs-ft @ 6200 rpm. It is rather expensive at around $3000-$3500 and they are a little on the rare side considering everyone wants one, but a simple swap and your pocket rocket will be pushing high 14’s with a stock engine. Even more by adding the small bolt-ons. And greddy has a bolt on intercooled turbocharger kit that’ll give around 240 wheel hp. Which should put you deep into the 13 second range, possibly high 12’s. This is the most desired swap candidate.

B18C5: This naturally aspirated wonder came on the late model Integra Type R and produced an even greater 195 hp @ 8100 rpm and about 130 lb.-ft of torque @ 7500 rpm. This is even more highly sought after than the GSR engine. And would in fact be more popular if it wasn’t for its $5000+ price tag. But if you could afford it, there are few engines that would be as painless and give you the fastest performance available for the civic. This regarded as the naturally aspirated wonder because it does well producing large amounts of power without the need for snailshell’s. Although a turbocharger can be bolted on to this bad-boy, it’s generally not recommended, as this is a very high compression engine. If you were to used forced induction on such a high compression engine, you would either have to build it accordingly, have a REALLY good engine management system ($$$) or watch it blow up on the first run. The C1 is better suited for forced induction and would cost less in the long run.

B20B, B20Z: The B20 engine is the newcomer in the game and is highly acclaimed by its supporters. It has several key characteristics that give this engine real potential no matter what route you decide to persue. The B20B came on the 1996-1998 CRV and the B20Z came on 1999-2000 CRV. The B20B made 126 hp but the real jewel was the 133lbs of torque that was easily achieved almost anywhere in the RPM band. It is a small displacement engine that has flat torque line!!! Additionally it was a comparatively low compression engine which means that turbocharging to decent levels is possible without the need to spend hundreds on rods or pistons. The B20Z was more or less the same as the B20B but they changed several head characteristics and the compression was bumped up to increase the horsepower to 146.

There are really two choices for dealing the B20 as far as power goes. You could leave it as is and simply swap the head for B16 model. The cylinder head on the B20B model (particularly the tall intake manifold) doesn’t clear the hoodline of the civic, which is ok since the B16 head swap will add Vtec abilities and increased power. OR you could go about what is called a CR-VTEC conversion. This is what I consider to be the ultimate engine build-up for civics’. You can check out www.crvtec.com for details. The first thing you need to know about B-series engine (B18, B16, B20) is that they all have, for the most part, interchangeable engine parts. So the CRVTEC buildup basically consists of taking the best parts of all the engines and making an unprecedented Frankenstein of motor that has a perfect Rod to Stroke ratio of near 1.75 which allows for great naturally aspirated performance (A HUGE redline) or the ability to turbocharge the engine to very large proportions without worrying about engine stability. It is unfortunately rather expensive but this setup will take you anywhere you want to go. The simple B20/B16 swap costs as follows: $1000-$1500 for the B20 short block, +/- $600 for the B16 head, +/- $300 for the B16 ECU + tranny and other small parts. The price for the CR/VTEC could be calculated on the aforementioned site.

Unless you’re simply happy with the stock B20 swap, the only reasons it should be considered are CRVTEC conversions or Forced Induction. The aftermarket support isn’t as plentiful for the B20 as it is for the other engine mentioned so any engine upgrades usually come from other B series or upgraded aftermarket parts for other B series. Which is more less slowly building a CRVTEC engine. But I still highly recommend this engine for the best bang for the buck power adder.

H22A1, H23A1, H22A4: The H23A1 came on the lude Si’s, the highly acclaimed H22A1 came on the 4th gen Si VTEC models and H22A4 came on the 5th generation Si VTEC’s.. And all three engines are MONSTERS compared to what we’re used to. The H22A1 produces a nice 190 hp while the H22A4 produces an even greater 195hp and the H23A1 produces 160hp but they all produce a THICK ASS 160 lb.-ft of torque at relatively low rpm. Giving your 2500lb civic wheel spinning capabilities comparable to a V8 F-body. The whole engine should cost about the same as a GSR swap, $3000-$3500. The down side is the fact that the engine also weighs about 200 lbs. more than the engine you have in your bay now. This effectively makes your weight distribution even worse than what it was before. This causes all types of havoc with your other systems, including suspension, braking and cooling. The engine is also of course very large in size so it’s a tight fit into the tiny civic engine bay providing that you make space by removing both air-conditioning and power steering systems.

From talks with several veteran H22 swappers I can give you the overall driving opinion. To make the swap work, first off the springs and shocks in the front need to be stiffened to appropriately handle the extra weight. The overall suspension tuning should concentrate on trying to create heavy oversteer to offset the natural understeer problem the extra weight will create. There is another way to offset the understeer problem but most ppl don’t want to go through with it. It involves placing a few hundred pounds of weight in the trunk to even out the weight distribution. But most ppl want to go the other way by stripping everything out of the interior, effectively making it worse. The cooling system will amazingly enough be fine for about 75% of the time. However, on hot days or with spirited driving, the engine can start to overheat itself. For the financially strapped, an extra wide Integra radiator can be swapped in for about $100 that will provide all the extra cooling you need. You can learn about it here: http://www.hybrid.honda-perf.org/tech/jsrad/jsrad.html. If you have the extra money, you could swap in an all aluminum thick ass racing radiator with a smaller and more efficient fan and for extra insurance, a low temperature thermostat (160 degree rather than 180) could be replaced. Considering you no longer have air-conditioning the extra space that was once used by the AC condenser could be put to good use and it could be used for an external oil cooler. With this setup you could go uphill mountain racing without fear overheating. The braking system for the most part could work but if you really want to trust your life to stock system, be my guest. If you’d like to upgrade it, the cheap way is to replace the rotors for better heat dissipation (You could either get stock sized cross-drilled or slotted rotors, or you could opt for a bigger rotor kit that uses a relocated bracket so you can use the stock calipers) better brake pads and rear brake disk swap if not already equipped (Instructions HERE). If you have some money, you could get a 4-piston caliper upgrade with extra large rotors with great pads. Just the thing to stop you at 150 mph. If you do opt for the bigger rotor upgrade, remember that the stock wheels will no longer fit over the larger brakes. Some systems suggest 16” or larger.

Let me remind you that this is all extra $$$. The basic swap still includes about $1000 worth of junkyard parts just to make it work, which includes axles, linkages, ECU, HASport mounts, etc. PLUS the cost of the engine itself. This is definitely not the cheap swap.

F20B: This 2.0 liter engine is the rarest of all the swaps. It’s the JDM Accord Si-R engine and it produced a healthy 200hp. The reason I leave this for last is because finding one is like trying to find an unlit cigarette from the 70’s and finding parts for them are even harder. Although not impossible to swap though, it falls under the same category as the H22 swaps. In fact the mounts for swapping the H22 will also work on the F20B. I’ve never personally seen or even heard of this swap done so there has to be a reason for it. I would advise to consider other options.

Ok, So far we’ve covered the D16Z6, D16Y8, D15B7, B16A1, B16A2, B16A3, B16B, B17A, B18B1, B18C1, B18C5, H22A1 H23A1, H22A4 and the F20B. Talk about choices!!! But we’re only half way through. Now we go to the second part of the swapping experience, which is cylinder head swapping. Sometimes called a Frankenstein, engine hybrid, mini-me or LS/VTEC swaps. Head swapping usually includes getting a Non-Vtec block (B18B, D15B) and taking the entire cylinder head assembly from a Vtec enabled block (B18C1, D16Z6) and swapping it onto the Non-Vtec block. Effectively giving the non-Vtec block Vtec capabilities just like his older brothers. Hence the name LS/VTEC. LS for Non-Vtec and Vtec for…Vtec . It isn’t easy though. The Vtec assemblies use oil to activate the system so oil lines will need to be tapped, the block and head need small preparations to flawlessly mate the two and the ECU from the Vtec enabled block will also be needed. So the grocery list includes the ENTIRE cylinder head set and everything attached to it, The intake manifold, throttle body, throttle cable, distributor, Vtec solenoid, EVERYTHING. You will also need the ECU, Vtec oil pump and various other lines and fittings and someone who’s done this before. Here’s a great site that gets to the nitty gritty of the procedure: http://www.geocities.com/thelsvtec/

Now this opens up a whole new world of possibilities. But first you need to know the rules before continuing. These are:

1. A SOHC block cannot accept or be modified to accept a DOHC head. It just does not work. Block surface and the bottom of the head are totally different.
2. Only engines with the same letter association have compatible part. IE B-series with B-series and D-series with D-Series.
3. Don’t do go cheap with this. This needs to be done right or you’re left with an engine that leaks oil, has Vtec engagement problems and possibly valves that smash into pistons.
   Head Swapping Cons:

There are of course downsides to mating two engine parts that were not designed to be together and expecting to work together. One of the main problems is that Vtec enabled blocks were designed to rev allot higher than their non-Vtec counterparts. Of the things Honda designed into the Vtec blocks to help them survive high rpm use are oil squirters. Oil squirters serve dual functions both as piston coolers and piston lubricators. Both of which are very important when revving to 9000 rpm. The lack of which could result in damage from prolonged high-rpm usage. Another aspect is that non-Vtec blocks usually have worse R/S ratios making the situation that much worse. The stock oil pump will also need to be replaced as it might not have enough pressure to satisfy both the block lubricating needs and the oil-activated Vtec assemblies. Valve clearance is another issue that needs to be addressed before you not only mate the head and block but also play with cam timing. The valve relief’s in the stock pistons are usually deep enough to accommodate the new longer travel of the Vtec valves but if they aren’t, they need to professionally widened or aftermarket pistons need to be used. And when using camshaft gears to tune cam shaft timing, each setting both 2 and 4 degrees advance and retard need to be tested for valve clearance as well. Failure to do so may cause the valve to crash into the piston when it arrives at TDC (Top Dead Center) which could bend it or chip it which may cause even more damage. Either way the head needs to pulled and repaired.

Head Swapping Pros:

One of the points of swapping in a Vtec head is they usually flow allot better than their non Vtec counter parts. And this can even be improved further with a port and polish. So with that in mind, the best flowing DOHC heads can be rated in this order:

1. B16B
2. B18C5
3. B16A
4. B18C1

The B16B head is by far the best head but it’s rather expensive and rare. It’s basically a B16A head with a factory P&P and lighter valvetrain assemblies among other things. This goes as well for the Integra Type R head. It’s basically a GSR head with a factory port and polish, slighter better and lighter cams, valves, springs, etc. The best compromise for price and availability is the B16 head and the last one the list would be the GSR head. Of course it needs to be said that simply swapping the head onto your engine won’t give you all the HP from the engine the head came from. Like swapping an GSR head onto an LS block won’t automatically give you 170hp. There were more changes to the engines than just the head like displacement, compression and air flow tracts. But it’s still better than your stock head.

In reality, the majority of your engines power capabilities come from head design. This goes especially for naturally aspirated engines. With each one of these head swaps, you could completely redo all the components in the head to make the HP jump even greater. The exact changes of course depend on if you want to stay naturally aspirated or decide to take the plunge into forced induction. The details of both will be covered on another article. Also between the generations, small changes were made in an effort to produce more power and better mileage. Example, the SOHC head changed from the 5th generation to the 6th gen. In particular the quench area, the area where the compressed air and fuel collect when the piston reaches TDC, was changed to a more squared area. Rather than the circular area on the 5th gens, this new square quench area forces more of the A/F mixture closer to the spark plug which results in a cleaner and more powerful burn. These subtleties can greatly affect the overall power production of your new engine design.

So now, what are your greatest bang for the buck options? Let’s break them down by what engine you have:

D15’s: Say you have a Dx or Cx engine, then you could go ahead and swap out the head for a D16Z6 head. You could probably get the whole swap for $300. The 6th geners with Cx’s or Dx’s can swap for a D16Y8 and build that for greater NA or FI power.

B16: Swapping the head on this engine isn’t really necessary since the head is already a top-notch design. What could be done is a head redesign (P&P, Cams, valves) or you could swap it for a B18C5 head, which is better, but not by much. This swap would be more for the WOW affect. Although a turbocharger or supercharger can both easily be installed on this engine and its air flow characteristics let it achieve more than 200 wheel hp.

B18B’s: The GSR or B16 head swap would be ideal in these situations. Can also be turbocharged by using the kit designed for the head you swap in. But as mentioned before, the R/S ratio would still be a limiting factor in maximum power output.

B20B, B20Z: Now HERE’S where the real deal is. Since the giraffe intake on the B20B doesn’t clear the hood, the head has to be swapped anyways, so you could use any of the choices above as well for the B20Z. My personal favorite, you swap in a B20 with lots of usable torque, then you swap in a modded B16 head and make a few ECU changes, like rev limiter and now you have lots of torque with Vtec high end and an 8000 redline. Or the low compression rate allows for decent turbocharging and you can achieve great heights with the B16 head flow.

H23A1: Generally the swap here is an H23 block with an H22 head swap. It makes for great Vtec high end and the larger displacement block makes for the biggest torque of all the engines listed here.

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