K20A - A few home truths.


Ideal thanks. I know what you mean about the diff and no PS, drove my mates K20 EG with no PS and Cusco diff and its wild.

The sump thing is the only thing still putting the fear in me really. Think id greet if it cracked/leaked. Id thought about having stiffer springs/suspension to stop the front end travelling.

What are the problems?
 
After Brands I left the car for four days, went to start and the car was hyper ventilating, from 1.5k to 2.5 very fast, earlier I was applying some heat wrap so I thought I had knocked the throttle cable or something worse was happening, a quick call, idle control valve was stuck, took it for a good thrashing, sorted, a common problem I didnt know of.

Big issue was today, started it up and I could smell fuel, lots of it, got out quick, checked the cap & underneath, nothing, popped the hood to find a fountain of fuel splashing everywhere, the large grub screw on the fuel pressure regulator was loose, lucky I hadnt lost it yesterday, tightened it all ok now. Probably from the vibration, something I will have to monitor.
 
My car is not that low, so I shouldnt get any problems, unless I go off road, or Paddock in the dry, going to be mounting a bar across both the tow eyes at some point, I have seen some using the K24 sump on k20a.org, it sits higher.
 
On track its great with no PS, but on the road there are so many tight turns/roundabouts that its hard to drive it as quick as I would like, not to mention parking. MR2 kit going on soon though, got a controller to set the weight of the steering.
 
Great answers thanks! good to hear honest UK K20 evaluation. Yeh iv seen the k24 sumps being used on there also.

What pressure regulator are you using? AEM?

Have you had this mapped yet?
 
Another question for you: Is the MR2 kit an off-the-shelf item? I looked into it a while back for my brother's rally-car but all the DIY bits I read were beyond my ken.
 
dean85 said:
from the track evening at Brands Hatch over taking some Porkers in the wet few weeks back id say he's happy with it ;)
Click to expand...

That was real fun :D

Hope Donny is dry though so I can give it a proper beasting at the end of the month.

Aeromotive FPR. Mapped by Romain, 227bhp/189atw, (and about 152 torques I think).

The MR2 'kit' was from drmikeys old car so he got all the bits together, over my head as well mate.
 
Shot of the offending FPR (gold grub screw), wouldnt know how 'good' it is compared to others, if it comes loose again I will have to shop.

DSC_0607.jpg
 
I'd whip the grub screw out chris and put some locktite on the dam thing! glad you got it all sorted mate.
 
Hasport EKK1™ :

This is the first of two performance mount kits for K-series engine swaps into the 96-00 Honda Civic. This mount kit designed to work with the stock front suspension subframe and makes swapping the K-series engine into the EK Civic a bolt in procedure.

Hasport EKK2™ :
This is the second of two performance mount kits for K-series engine swaps into the 96-00 Honda Civic. This mount kit designed to work with an EG/DC rear cross member, lower control arms and steering rack. Using this mount kit the engine is moved back resulting in better axle angle, protection from contact with the ground and better weight distribution. This kit has dual height mounting points so the engine can be mounted for better power steering pump clearance to the hood.
 
fairplay haitch this is a great informative thread:nice:

I always thought aeromotive were top notch products , definately locktite it!
 
DavidCivicSi said:
Hasport EKK1™ :

This is the first of two performance mount kits for K-series engine swaps into the 96-00 Honda Civic. This mount kit designed to work with the stock front suspension subframe and makes swapping the K-series engine into the EK Civic a bolt in procedure.

Hasport EKK2™ :
This is the second of two performance mount kits for K-series engine swaps into the 96-00 Honda Civic. This mount kit designed to work with an EG/DC rear cross member, lower control arms and steering rack. Using this mount kit the engine is moved back resulting in better axle angle, protection from contact with the ground and better weight distribution. This kit has dual height mounting points so the engine can be mounted for better power steering pump clearance to the hood.
Click to expand...

Not sure of what you are trying to say here? :((
 
mounts - 450
integra subframe - 150
kpro/k100 - 600
exhaust manifold - 500
ep3 radiator - 100
dc5 shifter box - 100
shifter cables - 200
tegiwa adapter plate - 70
clutch line - 25
aem fuel line - 100
aem fuel pressure reg - 100
aem swap intake - 170
driveshafts - 400
rbc - 220
70mm - 220
mapping - 300
flywheel - 220


what you think of that list man? unrealistic?
 
Some are a touch out, Im guessing you are 'looking' at EP3 lump as you have flywheel in there. My RBC/70mm does not require an adapter plate (not yet fitted). Which mounts? When you say DC5 shifter box, you mean gearbox? Not for £100 if it is. Some things are missing off the list. Used shifter cables are like rocking horse sh*te, new from Honda, and this is preferred (mine are used and 'loose') they are nearly £300 I believe, or 'IntegraStella' on ebay.

Off to work will post tonight.
 
haitch said:
Some are a touch out, Im guessing you are 'looking' at EP3 lump as you have flywheel in there. My RBC/70mm does not require an adapter plate (not yet fitted). Which mounts? When you say DC5 shifter box, you mean gearbox? Not for £100 if it is. Some things are missing off the list. Used shifter cables are like rocking horse sh*te, new from Honda, and this is preferred (mine are used and 'loose') they are nearly £300 I believe, or 'IntegraStella' on ebay.

Off to work will post tonight.
Click to expand...

Yeh EP3 lump man. Yeh teamed with 70mm no adapter is needed.

EKK2 mounts man, just went by the price on r-motion.

Nah like the actual shifter box like
http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=e...=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=608
that first picture.

I think im missing out some of the fuel setup too, aswell as temp sensors for the EP3 radiator.
 
There are several makes to choose from when it comes to each item, there are some items that I didnt have and my tuner sourced - not 100% on all of these. That shifter box is correct.

Here is my list and approximate cost:

DC5 Engine/box/ecu on 36k - £3000. (personally the oem ecu was a waste of time as I needed more sensors and work to use it, meaning more money & mincing around, aftermarket ecu makes more sense from the getgo).
Hasport EKK2 mounts - £550.
DSS 2.9 driveshafts - £780 (this spec is proven for track work, there are cheaper for road only)
Golden Eagle fuel rail - £130.
Aeromotive FPR - £165.
Hybrid Racing ECU conversion harness - £150.
DC5 shifter box - £100. (You may want to factor in the cost of a mounting kit here, I just stuck mine on the transmission tunnel, some 10mm alluminium plate was needed for this - same size as the box.
DC5 Shifter cables - £180.
Fuel line kit (filter to rail) - £50.
AEM Swap Intake - £180.
Kpro/tune - £1000.
New oem clutch - £200.
Alluminium radiator (full width) - £240 (Full width rad is not needed and does cause more issues)
DC2 Donor parts: Forks/LCA/Subframe/Rack - £150. (MAKE SURE YOU GET THE DC2 BOLTS WITH THESE!)
Fuel filter/Rad hoses/braided hoses - £100.
Bearing kit/bits & bobs (gearbox) - £not sure.
Various sensors/fan switch etc - £not sure.
Washer bottle replace bag - £15.

SSR Header - £500. (See early in the thread for my issues here, no matter what else was up with it, it could only go in one postion on the actual engine - this was hard against the ABS pump - so whichever header you buy you may need to lose the ABS or move it pipes and all.)

DC Sports Header - £350 (Perfect fit but apparently only has a 2.25" collector (which later failed on flexi) - I never checked this as I assumed all Kswap headers had a 2.5" collector, better headers out there if you are chasing figures).
You may need to modify your exhaust to match up a heade, the DC matched straight up to my fujitsubo Legalis R system though. Note the cabin gets pretty HOT as the header is the opposite to the BSeries! It seems all the swap headers require that you lose your swaybar - I didnt notice any difference on track.

Custom header £450 - £1200, make sure you use a fabricator who has proven to build consistent work, when once tuned, gives a smooth map with decent power.

'Extra parts' - depending on your usage these can quickly escalate the cost:
Kaaz LSD - £600.
BCUK 5TH/6TH Close gearset - £540.
Portmatched RBC/70mm TB - £400.
Kswap Karcepts RBC Intake (3" tubing) - £117.

Labour - £Not going to disclose this, but I had a nice rate from my tuner.

Do not forget to add on delivery costs from the US and also the import tax - this is all a substantial amount.

If you have a prefacelift EP3 lump then it is worth upgrading the flywheel, but for the facelift/DC5 this is not 'needed' imo.

Some other things that can add up if somebody else is doing it - inspecting the box/replacing parts. The engine was fully checked over and all clearances sorted etc. Other things I will add as I remember them.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top