Kswap questions


civicx3

Drop a gear & disappear!
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When kswapping a eg civic is it better to buy a ep3 and use what you need and sell the rest? wondering if it might work out better price wise. What is used from the ep3 exactly?

Ive seen so many ep3s and k20 engines for sale with the bottom end knocking and whats the reason for this? Dont think ive ever seen it with a standard b series engine so whats causing this?

If anyone has a link to building one on a budget post up some links

:nice:
 
I completed a Kswap on my DC2, so for a quick answer to your questions:

Using a complete EP3 will let you know the history of the engine and it should work out more cost effective if you can find a good one at good money
Downside is that you have an EP3 shell taking up space that you have to sell bits off

I chose to buy an EP3 engine with box, loom, ECU and shafts from a breaker before it was taken out of a 70k facelift EP3

As for shafts I didn't end up using the EP3 shafts as they are slightly too short. Instead Ordered a pair of RSX Type-S shafts from eBay US and you need to swap the inner CV joints to run them on opposite sides of the car. Honda shafts are better than most aftermarket shafts and I have been running mine on track for 2 years on full slicks and plated diff and they are like new


Buying the K20 engine, loom and box isn't that expensive it's all the other parts that quickly add up like the mounts, conv harness, swap manifold, possibly bigger exhaust, swap radiator (though you can use EP3 rad)

Then if you do what most people tend to and start tuning the K20 then it gets even more expensive, Kpro and tuning, LSD, RBC/RRC, possibly cams and throttle body

Tuning the k20 gives a lot better gains than a standard internal B18 for example



As for the bottom end knocking, B-series engines can knock as well if they are not looked after properly. I believe that because the EP3 is a more mass produced and owned car than the likes of a rarer DC2/EK9 that people tend to abuse the EP3 more and have no idea how to look after the engine. Oil starvation is probably the main cause of bearing failure
 
Space isnt a issue with breaking the car but it seems if you want a low mileage car your looking at about 3k so it might work out cheaper to buy the engine box and loom if thats all that is used from the ep3, will have to price up the parts i dont use

Yeah could be down to being poorly maintained but its still a big difference between the amount of knocking k20's ive seen compared to b series and b series have been around a lot longer, makes me wonder if b series are built better

Not including engine, box and loom what did your swap cost? and whats a average cost these days when there seems to be quite a lot of second hand parts about
 
IMO K-series are built just as well as B-series, there must be other factors making it appear that there are more bearing problems with the K20

A friend of mine had a rod bearing go on track with his B18 due to running low on oil. Myself and a few mates have been running k20's on track for a few year and they get serious abuse, we keep oil just over the max and never had a bearing failure


Costs depend on what mods your adding to the build. Because I spend money on a diff, breathing bolt-ons, kpro, cams, exhaust etc I probably spent 3k extra that you don't necessarily need to. Best thing to do is work out what mods and swap parts you plan to use, make a list then price them up online through tegiwa, Htune etc
There is no one answer to how much a Kswap will cost as there is a choice between many different parts
 
Just get what you need to get the k20 into the eg ,
You can add to it over time , like diff , rbc ,
Cams , and what not ,
Remember a stock k20 in a eg is already one hell of a change , so you my not want to up grade to all out track beast right away .
 
yeah if i do it il want to start as standard as possible and build it up over time which is why i need to price up the basic parts, im still not decided between boosted b18 and k20

keeping the oil over the max, i read that last night on another site, you running a baffled sump?
 
yeah if i do it il want to start as standard as possible and build it up over time which is why i need to price up the basic parts, im still not decided between boosted b18 and k20

keeping the oil over the max, i read that last night on another site, you running a baffled sump?


If you want to run boost then IMO go B18turbo

If you want to stay NA then K20 swap then you can develop it from there

Yes I run a Mugen sump same as what my mate runs in his K20 EK racecar, it's baffled around the timing chain which is where the chain tends throw all of the oil up the timing chain case at high revs and away from the oil pickup on hard turns
 
I actually bought a full driving ep3 that had been park because someone was going to build it as a rally car, they had stripped the interior and that was it.

The reason I went that route was so I could properly test the engine, compression test/leak down test.

In the end all I kept was the bare engine, I was luck to sell the rest of the ep3 in one lump to a friend who has an ep3 rally car and basically got the engine for about 300 euro. But I was lucky!

As for the bearing chat, I'm pretty sure the b series and k series engines use the same crank bearings bearings and similar rod bearings. There are a lot things that could cause knocking bottom end on any engine! I have seen a few k series engines suffer from thrust washer bearing failure from heavy clutchs and poorly set clutch travel!
 
And just to ad I'd have a k20 over a b series any day just because of age! Next time you have a valve out of a b series head see how much wear is in the valve guides, you might get a shock!!
 
IMO boosted b ftw! :lol:
But I'm bias.
These chaps above are experienced in Kswaps so i'd take their advice if you want to k swap.
More bang for your buck I'd imagine with a k-swap for sure.
 
Youll regret not going either way anyway. Before the last round of upgrades i was wishing id built a k24 on itbs(still want one) but since i put the gtx on and run more power im a paid up member of boost town. Boosted bseries is pretty crazy once you throw enough boost at them!
 
i was running k20a2 in my eg, i bought swap and thats it. before that i had b18c6, and i can promise you, that k series is much more fun to drive, plus much easier to increase N/A power ;)
6spd gearbox WINS over 5 :)

ps: I have for sale genuine (slightly used) HASPORT EGK2 engine swap mounts and also i can offer to you to try what now im using right now in my dc2 - HardMetal engine mounts,
both are great quality, but HM is ONLY 250euro for a set of NEW engine mounts, plus they offer race set up which allows to put an engine higher, that allows better ground clearance which is important in racing :) also they has another (usual) version of engine mounts, which will put an engine into same position as hasport does.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EG-DC-K-S...649115?hash=item25cb1fcddb:g:88IAAOSwEzxYNooD
 
cheers for the info, i wouldnt turbo the k20, would go the b18 boost or k20 n/a route, decisions!
 
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