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K Series Engine Swap Research

6.8M views 2.3K replies 159 participants last post by  mcmcmc  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Last Update: 3/12/2014

"Getting closer and closer, Thanks to all who are helping make this a more manageable task for others"
Mounts: Solved
Shifting Mechanism: Solved
Axles: Solved, Updated 3/12/2014
Wiring: Researching, Updated 3/12/2014
Radiator Hoses: Solved
Heater Hoses: Solved
A/C: Pending Updated 3/12/2014
Throttle Cable: Pending Updated 3/12/2014
Fuel System: Solved
Exhaust System: Solved, Updated 3/12/2014
Anti-Lock Brakes: Solved
Power Steering: Solved


General Info: Always Read First...!
Well, I have been gone for a long time and will try to keep this updated. Sorry about the delay as I am in a transition period and can't work on the swap.
Also some really big information the innovative mounts put the engine so far forward that only the PRB intake manifold off of an RSX type S will fit.

BottledFedMR2 has confirmed this and it's been verified. So anything else will require the firewall to be cut or the manifold to be shortened. This sucks but at the same time it's nice to have the engine weight as far forward as possible as it puts it more centered.

I will have CONFIRMED next to everything I know for 100% is correct information.

Mounts: CONFIRMED
Recommends 75 was told by innovative that it's the same as a 65a poly used by
other companies. Theirs is pure poly so 65a could sag over time.
http://www.innovativemounts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=90551

Shifting Mechanism: CONFIRMED
Use the Factory MR2 cables and this bracket will make them interface with no other mods.
http://www.innovativemounts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=50507
**Note: 2006+ Civic SI transmission will require the shift "Arms" off of an RSX type S transmission. You will then be able to
hook up the innovative shift Mechanism as it would be on a normal RSX-type s Transmission.


Axles: CONFIRMED
Axles can be ordered through Drive Shaft Shop they now have part numbers on file though they are not on their website.
Part Number: RA9040x2 and RA9041X2

Wiring:
There is much debate about the wiring so far it's every man for himself. I haven't actually started the physical wiring so I can't confirm anything or have a proven design. There are a few that have completed their swaps and have them running and driving but they all sort of do wiring differently. Monkeywrench racing is working on a full swap kit and will be selling the parts all separately. I talked to them and they will be offering a wiring solution. Right now this is known for a fact!

If you want the car to fully function like a stock spyder you will need to shotgun the ECUs (Factory Toyota ECU and Honda ECU) if you don't care and want to replace your cluster then you can run a straight Honda ECU but don't expect it to be very easy and you will need to know wiring to do it. You will also find it a lot harder to get the A/C running correctly without redesigning the whole A/C wiring system.

Now if you just run the Honda ECU by itself and keep your factory cluster you will lose your TEMP gauge and a few other idiot lights.


Old Info 3/12/2014

ABS:

I have found in theory that the ABS is almost completely independent of the engine control unit there is one wire going to the ECU and from talks with people its a input to tell ecu that ABS is active.

P/S:
The P/S system isn't too much of an issue in my eyes as it will keep running if you don't give it any signal from ECU. So at the basic level, you have P/S no matter what. Now if you want to operate factory style then you need to configure Kpro to see the signal from the pump to IDLE UP on the current draw which is PIN E3-25.

There is also a pin on the ECU for turning the pump on and off while the engine is running/off. This pin is E3-19 on the ECU. From what I understand if the Power Steering ECU doesn't see any input on this pin it will just stay on all the time with the car in ACC/ON position. As for any speed variance to Pump pressure adjustments, this is all done between the P/S ECU and the ABS ECU (as the ABS ECU supplies the speed signal).

A/C:
I am working with innovative and when I start my swap will be using a prototype A/C adapter plate. You will want to keep your 1zz compressor as it will be the easiest by far to adapt to work. The K-series compressors are bigger and right now the 1zz one will barely fit.

I will be running wiring straight to the HVAC controls so that I can bypass the Toyota multiplex system and in essence just hard wiring the functions like Honda has in its cars all the way up to 2002. I will be recreating the same system they used in the earlier model civics that did not require any type of digital electronics.

At the back of the Toyota Hvac controls the A/C switch comes out as an analog +12 or Grounded signal that goes to the combo meter where it is processed and sent to the ECU on a multiplex. I will just be wiring straight to this output on the HVAC control and cutting the meter and associated multiplex functions out of the circuit. I will then create a patch harness for the A/C compressor that contains the High/Low switch relays to cut the clutch and also figure out a way to wire a freeze-out switch into this same harness.


Unless I am missing something and by all means correct me. I see that if you completely remove the factory Toyota ECU the only things that will not work are the A/C, Temp gauge, and Some idiot lights and that is it. Everything else can be wired/jumped to function like normal.

The Temp gauge is on multiplex along with some of the idiot lights and A/C. You could make these work using the factory ECU as a multiplex conversion box and feed it the K-swaps sensor signals and hope they are in the same range as factory Toyota's or hook up factory Toyota sensors in addition to the Honda ones on the engine. IE: two oil pressure switches, two temp sensors ETC...

My goal is to make it as streamlined and simple as possible (Wiring/Electronics). That is why I want the Toyota ECU to be completely gone and all functions controlled by the Honda ECU.

Overall I am getting more and more done day by day and hope to start buying parts soon. I wanted to figure out most of the wiring before I even took the first bolt off the car. I'm hoping to have some of the conversion harness already made before I even start working on the car. "


Throttle Cable:
Was informed that if you buy a Cruise Control delete it will allow the factory cable to bolt in no major mods are needed. Getting verification but should be for a 00-04 RSX.

Radiator Hoses: CONFIRMED
He also said that the K-series and the 2zz are very similar in where all the hoses route. Since this is true He has confirmed the fact that in the swap in the lotus all the hoses fit up 99% perfectly.

He said cutting one hose 2 inches is all that is required on the lotus. Since the engine is what determines the placement of hoses then the spyder should be no different than what's required for a 2zz swap.

Heater Hoses: CONFIRMED
Read Radiator Hoses Same applies.

A/C System:
Again BottledFedMR2 is the guy to see, he is working on bringing an A/C bracket to production. He is close to having it ready and I myself will be buying one.
It will use the 1zz compressor, he says it will be a little lower than he would like but it doesn't seem to be a big issue.

Tim said they are in the works to make a bracket for the Lotus with Kswap. So He says he doesn't see why the spyder wouldn't be able to use it. Again like the throttle cable he would need someone to test fit it and confirm or send it back to have it modified till they get it right. But it is doable and not a big issue.

The Lotus has issues with A/C line clearance and he said that is one of the problems they are working on. When I asked him if the Lotus and spyder have very similar bay layouts I didn't know for sure but he said the way the firewalls are the spyder might actually have more room for the lines. Like everything though he can't say for sure.

Exhaust System: CONFIRMED
PPE makes a Header now for MR-2 Spyder with Kswap and is also available through MWR.
The collector size is 2.5" and the overall header is longer than the stock one so will stick out further than the factory.
Still waiting to get info on if you can use a downpipe to make it line up with the rest of the factory system.

Fuel System: CONFIRMED
You will need to run a return of some sort. You will need to also get a fuel regulator. I am still a little iffy on this from a basic swap standpoint because Honda uses a returnless system factory so you might not need to do this if you're just going to OEM performance.

Extra Notes:
I will update this a little more in a few days. I wanted to get something new on here as I have been away from the forums for a while and people might like to see a summary of the events going on with the Kswap. The main thing that is missing is the wiring. Once there is an agreed-upon design that everyone thinks works and is simple as it can be will the swap gets easy enough for everyone.
 
#1,236 ·
I haven't tried it. We estimate that the OEM pump is running when at 4000-6000 rpms at 35-40 GPM, at idle maybe 10 GPM. The Stewart runs at 55 GPM all the time. Theoretically it just might work. Doing this would raise your cost even more. You need the block off plate, new lines, the Ktune idler pulley setup that's works with a removed water pump housing. If you were to remove the OEM water pump the cost of running just a electric pump would be near $800-1000. If you run both the GPM rate should be around 80-90 and the cost is around $500.00 The Stewart pump is $399, but it is the only "inline" pump out there, it is light and it works very well for the spyder.
 
#1,244 ·
Im making over 950whp and I drive my car all the time for over an hour at times. Shit I even sat in traffic for 1.5 hours the other day and my water temp went to 208 coming out of the head which isn't that big of a deal, it's coming OUT of the head.

If you guys are running a the Ktuned water pump T stat housing that's your first problem, second problem is if your trying to run the bypass hose on the exit of the head to the t stat with the K tuned housing you're just gonna overheat the car. My car has a functional heater and never gets hot I even done 20min road race sessions in it. There's something Brandon Wilbur's car has never done.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#1,248 ·
Here is the pump, I have a light bulb there for size reference.

Image

Image


The control module mounts to the power steering pump.

Image


Installed pump and configuration...

Image

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After install, the car was street tested for a hour, just constantly beating on it, the temp never went above 180 (Fan's set at 190). I must say its even easier to bleed the system with this thing. We went to the track with the car on Sunday. Last year the car was barely able to complete 1 lap. Now the car held great temp's at 180 until about the 6.5-7th lap then the temp hit 200, but we were able to complete the entire session. I suspect we still have a little bit of air in the system as I tried burping it after a session and I was getting a couple of gulps of air still. We are going to try and bleed it some more this week and add wetter wet, we might be able to get 10 more degrees off the temperatures. We are hoping to keep the temps to 190 degrees on track. So in the end the pump works without question. At this point we are continuing to tweek it to our preference. Installation take's about 1.5 hours with bleeding. It was money well spent. We also though or running another pump in parallel after a discussion with a engineer at the Stewarts facility. He stated even though the pump is rated 55 GPM, based on using the 1.25 inch stock size water hoses, the pump is most likely only pumping out at about 33-35GPM. If we run a second in parallel I'm sure we can get temps on the track down to 175-180. Also all the plastics fit with this installed
 
#1,250 ·
http://youtu.be/QyJ-FYLnz4k

Oil temps were about 230 if I remember right, they weren't hot. Coolant temps were normal, like low 200's, high 190's. Just distilled water and redline water wetter

That motor was just a K20z3 Manley H beams, Wiseco 11.7:1's, stock port head, with a big cam, HG is like .030", Mishimoto radiator, everything else is either factory Honda or Toyota cooling components.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#1,252 ·
http://youtu.be/QyJ-FYLnz4k

Oil temps were about 230 if I remember right, they weren't hot. Coolant temps were normal, like low 200's, high 190's. Just distilled water and redline water wetter

That motor was just a K20z3 Manley H beams, Wiseco 11.7:1's, stock port head, with a big cam, HG is like .030", Mishimoto radiator, everything else is either factory Honda or Toyota cooling components.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What was your mixture of water wetter?
 
#1,258 ·
How do you do math? I tell you my car takes 2 gallons + a water wetter. That's roughly 2.25-2.5 gallons. Your saying your car takes 4 then you go back to saying that it takes 2.5 if you have a aftermarket radiator? There the very minimal different between a K24 and K20 water volume wise. I would know I've had both. A k24 is identical EXCEPT it has a 19mm taller deck height multiply that buy the area of the water jackets and you get like 2-3 CUP more water not gallons more.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#1,262 ·
4 quarts to a gallon, 32 ounces to a quart, water wetter is 16 oz, so its a 1/8 of a gallon = 2.125 gallons. You said yours it took 2 gallons, mine took like 3.55 gallons. I'm trying to figure out how you got 2 gallons when the OEM setup need 2 gallons but you put a oversize radiator that's 3x the size of the OEM one in your car and still required the same amount of coolant.
 
#1,285 ·
Well guys my first post in this thread was the first page 3 years ago and life just kept throwing curve balls at me and never had the correct oppurtunity to do the swap. But tonight the MR2 just kind of forced my hand. Clutch/transmission is now undriveable in my ol trusty 1ZZ, I guess the turbo stressed it out more than i expected haha. I'm not keen to replace a trans, I'm already on my second 1ZZ and second turbo kit.....its time for change.

I still have my fully built K25 laying around with an 08 LSD Si trans and the first run innovative motor mounts haha. I'd rather spend the money to finish the K swap than on rebuilding a trans for a 1ZZ with ~60K and two turbos in its past....

That being said I think I'm going to go for a stock K20 bottom end instead, 160 whp was plenty so a stock K20 will suit my needs perfectly and easier to maintain than a sleeved and forged high compression frankenbeast. I guess I'm just not about the full race mode life anymore haha

Wish me luck guys! I'll start a build thread in the next month or so and be as thorough as I can with my trials and tribulations. Hope my 96 Jeep doesn't fail me as a daily in the meantime haha
 
#1,295 · (Edited)
Calling on my wiring gurus here. I have had a battery drain in my car since I did my swap and I have just discovered that it is my primary o2 12v/heater wire. The power wire doesn't shut off after I turn the car off so I'm wondering if I have a stuck relay, or possibly miswired harness? I know there was a k swap wiring how-to floating around at one time, but I have been unable to find it.

Ps the car has run flawlessly since Dec other than the battery drain. :bi_polo:

Edit the wire on the top left is the power source to the o2 and traces back to the a1 pin
 
#1,298 ·
The wire in the last picture is the one you have wired directly to the relay. You can wired that to another relayed wire or a switched 12v off the ignition that would switch it off. The relay you are wired to is in the dash. I would suggest running it off the ignition. We had a similar issue with a fuel pump relay. There were two relays for the fuel pump. When we bypassed one of them and just switched it to a switched power source everything worked fine.
 
#1,307 ·
Hey Slowpok3 - I notice on your thread you wired everything up yourself and retained the mr2 ecu for dash/ac functions. Would you mind drawing a wiring diagram of how you did that? I really want my AC to work once Bottlefed finally releases that ac bracket. Thanks in advance.
 
#1,313 ·
Alright, dyno results guys!

Dyno album with descriptions

Quick build run-down:

OEM '05 TSX bottom end
PRC head (Pro 156)
Skunk2 Ultra intake manifold (Pro 156)
Skunk2 Stage 3 V3 cams
80mm K-Tuned throttle body
4" diameter intake (25" long w/Velocity stack)
R-Crew Header
3" exhaust
91 Octane pump gas :icon_cry:

As the car sits now, this is it's output:
Image




I also experimented with 50" long intake tubing (still 4" dia):
Image




I also was able to test the PPE swap/exhaust system against a 'usual suspect' solution (the R-Crew) and found it was respectably close below 6k, but really struggled after. Here is the same build/conditions/intake etc. R-Crew was run through my old Integras 3" exhaust bolted on to the back (LOL). PPE was the test pipe variety. Look how similar their idiosyncratic behaviors are.
Image




Here is the same comparison. Instead, I substituted the 50" Intake onto the R-Crew. Now look at the drastic difference in curve behavior. Interesting how much is dictated by the length of an intake.
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Finally, here's a comparison between the the two intake lengths (both using the R-Crew).
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So, I am mollified with the build as it is now. However, the power-band is just too damned high
Image
. It is a good platform to keep trying things.
  • That Skunk2 Ultra IM really isn't doing me any favors at this compression/RPM limit (I'm going to dial the redline back down to 8100).
  • Love to try E85(gained 12whp last time). I have the injectors for it, but haven't researched the Spyders fuel system yet.
  • May build myself a custom header/exhaust system. 4-1 with megaphone/reverse cone instead of 4-2-1
  • I swear on my ancestors I'm going to take advantage of that driver side scoop for my intake. Need to figure out filter/velocity stack packaging.
  • Sending exhaust system to JetHot for coating.
  • Cams! Going to try some different cams. Prayoonto 4's probably. I'm just not taking advantage of the Pro 156 yet.
 
#1,315 ·
So, I am mollified with the build as it is now. However, the power-band is just too damned high
Image
. It is a good platform to keep trying things.
  • That Skunk2 Ultra IM really isn't doing me any favors at this compression/RPM limit (I'm going to dial the redline back down to 8100).
  • Love to try E85(gained 12whp last time). I have the injectors for it, but haven't researched the Spyders fuel system yet.
  • May build myself a custom header/exhaust system. 4-1 with megaphone/reverse cone instead of 4-2-1
  • I swear on my ancestors I'm going to take advantage of that driver side scoop for my intake. Need to figure out filter/velocity stack packaging.
  • Sending exhaust system to JetHot for coating.
  • Cams! Going to try some different cams. Prayoonto 4's probably. I'm just not taking advantage of the Pro 156 yet.
I'm wondering if it is in fact the megaphone that helps or that it has a 3 inch dump on it. The PPE system has a 2.5" dump. The other header has a 3 inch if I am correct. We are going to redesign the PPE system with a 3 inch exhaust. It would be worth while compare the two then. I am glad to see the PPE perform as well as it did considering we took the same design from the 2zz swap and just adapted it for the k swap.
 
#1,319 ·
I know the first swaps were all done with z3 head's, so that why I followed suit. We have a few more things to try but its on the list off possibilities. We haven't seen anyone with a engine as built as like ours. Our next step is to remove the factory oil cooler setup. It wasn't factory to have a oil cooler on the k24. The cold water pumps directly into the oil cooler and the oil warms the water and then dump's it into the engine. I know this is giving us some sore of increased water temps. But what I do not know is how much flow there is through the oil pump with respect to the overall flow going into the engine and how much it is contributing. The oil temp is at a steady 240 degrees, so the factory cooler is pretty efficient but its also makes it a contributing factor to over all water temps. We are going to remove it with plugs and drive it around and see what temps we get, we will then know how much heat is being put into the water from the cooler.