K24-Swapped Mazda Miata on Track!
This ‘KMiata’ just goes to show that everything is better when you add a little bit of Honda to it.
The K20/24 is easily becoming the premier Honda engine for swaps across a variety of platforms. Back in the day, people who did K-swaps were outliers. Not a lot of people did them. The B-series engines were so popular and had so much development nobody felt the necessity to try to get a K-series in their Civic. However, times have without a changed. Why? People began seeing the potential that the platform had to offer.
Nowadays, you see K-swaps in just about anything. 240sxs, MR2s, even S2000s. With K-engines being readily available in a variety of vehicles, the market has a saturation of these engines waiting to be swapped. The K-series is without a doubt one of the best 4-cylinder engines in production and they respond incredibly well to modification. This is why it is becoming one of the premier engine platforms for any vehicle. How does a K24 fair in a second-generation NB Mazda Miata? Thanks to Speed Academy on YouTube, we get to find out.
The owner of this car is Instagram user Lander917. He is using the KMiata swap kit for his build. According to him, the kit is near “plug and play” . He says that he installed the engine, transmission, and adapter plate all by himself. With the help of a few friends, he sorted the wiring and other little customs bits and pieces like the intake piping and catch can. The K24A2 powering this Miata came out of a 2004 TSX. As far as modifications go, he decided to keep it simple. Just an intake, cam gear, and headers from KMiata.
Considering the purpose of this Miata is to be a track car, we think that keeping the engine stock is a safe and smart decision. However, this engine is no slouch. With a Hondata KPro dyno-tune, this healthy K-series made 223 WHP and 178 WTQ. That is over twice the power the little 1.8L made powering the Miata in its stock form. The Miata is also well setup from a chassis perspective as well. Big brakes, sticky tires, upgraded sway bars, and coilovers. With the interior gutted, the car was weighed in at 2060 pounds. That is incredibly light.
How does the car drive, you ask? Considering the fact that host Dave Pratte spent more time giggling and laughing behind the wheel than talking about the drive, we think that speaks louder than words ever could. Is it fast? Well, if you watch the video, this Miata is neck and neck with a Porsche GT3 RS during a couple of laps. That’s a $200,000 Porsche designed for racing. Do we need to say more?
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