crvtectim

What's up, H-T. This is my 1st time browsing the RSX forum. You can normally find me on the CRX or F.I. forums. My name's Tim and I drive a CRX with a boosted B20V. On to the point of this thread:

My niece purchased an 05 Type S with a 6-spd. Shortly after, she wrecked it causing about $9K in damage but her insurance covered the repair. Now Idk when her motor was swapped (either already swapped when she bought the car or swapped at the body shop that repaired the car after her wreck) but it's my understanding that her car should have the K20Z1 engine. Correct? Her motor is stamped K20A3. That's base model engine, right?

On top of that, her motor is done. I just need help confirming what engine the car should have, appropriate ecu, wiring harness compatibilities, and what are other swap alternatives? I need to begin shopping for what's needed. Any suggestions there? I would like to put everything back to stock specs so she'll end up with some resale value if she ever decides to get rid of the car. Also, the car retains the 6-spd transmission.

Btw, I looked through the FAQs already. I'd really appreciate you guys shedding some light on this. It's a screwed up situation and my bro in law just wants the car fixed right and tight. Thanks,

Tim

Let me know if I need to provide more info.

kyden

yes it should have a k20z1. she got boned.

prelude_h22vtec

Bet they put the cheapest salvage engine they could find... and of course the A3 is way cheaper.

crvtectim

Thanks, fellas!

So in order to run the A3 motor it would have to have the A3 ecu, right? Or would the Z1 ecu run it? Is that possible since she has a 6-spd and all base models have 5-spds? Not to mention, the A3 is only having ivtec fun with the intake side whereas the Z1 has fun on both cams?

Edit: Lol @ getting boned! Indeed, she did.

kyden

i doubt it would even notice what transmission you have in it. check to see what ecu is in the car. should be a prb.

crvtectim

Will do, man. So prb is the Z1's ecu code?

nahonda04

thats correct, she only has vtec with the intake side on the a3, technically she doesnt have i-vtec anymore since its an a3...she should have the 3 lobe vtec with the z1 motor..base models do come with 5 spd or auto only...i would look into the shop that the repairs were done at, there may be some sort of legality issues..its odd they would use the a3 motor since they are able to look up parts for the type-s.

crvtectim

Thanks for the confirmations! So with the differences in the cams, one ecu shouldn't run the other? Or at least not without setting codes for cam sensors or something, huh?

crvtectim

Confirmed last night that it's an A3 ecu. But we all knew it would have to be in order to run the car correctly with no codes. Just wishful thinking on my part that it had the prb.

In regards to the shop, I contacted my sis yesterday to have her review the invoice. She reminded me that as part of the repair, the tb had to be replaced. Well, that took forever because they kept getting the wrong one. Makes sense now, order tb for Type S, try to install on A3 intake, f#ck me it doesn't fit. So now I'm certain that my niece purchased the car from a douchecanoefu$ktard who swapped the motor and ecu, sold her the car "as is" for top dollar as a Type S, and kept the sweet *** Z1 for himself or to sell for more profit.

Oh well, Karma's a bitch you dickbag! /rant

Bare with me guys... it's my 1st day on the NicoDerm CQ patch!

I got some prices yesterday along with a bit of misinformation I feel from tigerjapan. Please confirm? The guy, Jay, told me he didn't have a Z1 engine. He tried to sell me what he said is a JDM Honda Civic motor K20A2, which I'm pretty sure is the 02-04 Type S engine, claiming it makes around 220hp and offered it to me with ecu and harness shipped for $1450. Their site list a K20A that sells for $990, but that would have to be the equivalent of the A3 for that price, am I right? Jay then proceeds to tell me he can sell me a Type R for $2000 and explains to me that it's a 2.4L block with an A2 head! Lol, I didn't wanna be a dick and school this guy but I was thinking, "WTF are you talking about, guy?!" So I proceed with, "Oh so you mean it's the K24A2 motor that comes in the TSX?" He's like, "No, it's the 2 Leeter Type R from the Type R with the A2 head." I reply, "Thanks, have a nice day." Then he tells me before I hang up that I should just put an A3 motor back in the car because that's the easiest thing to do since it already has one in it. LMFAO!

On to hmotors, who I should have called in the 1st place. No complaints here except the price haha! Holy$3350Z1motorandecushippedBatman! Lol, but talking to Steve was good because he never once tried to feed me some bs. Thanks for that, man.

So, what advice do you guys have for me? Are there any other reputable businesses I can source a good Z1 motor from?

If you read my post in its entirety, thank you! You're either bored, really wanna help me out, or somehow I roped you in and you found it entertaining. Thanks again to those posting,

Tim

turboteg2nv

Are you certain you have a Type S to begin with and not just Type S badging? What size are the front brake rotors? You probably have some kind of legal recourse against the original seller if he sold it under the premise of a Type S when clearly it's not.

I guess I don't understand why you're trying to fix this yourself without exploring your legal options first. And what girl really cares if it's the A2 or A3 motor anyway?

crvtectim

It's definitely a Type S according to the dash vin that my buddy at the Honda stealership punched in. Not sure about the rotors, but the car has a 6-spd, tach redlines at 8K, Bose stereo, leather interior, Acura alloy wheels, oem spoiler, and sunroof. The only one of those I'm sure isn't an option for a base model would be the 6-spd. If it's a base model, someone did a lot of work to produce a clone of the S.

Not sure what she can do legally. She bought it from an individual "as is" a couple years back. She's the 3rd owner now, so it's not impossible to say the original owner didn't do the swap or have it done by a shop and opted for the cheapest way out. Or you never know, may have had a n00b at Walmart changing the oil who "WHOOPS!" forgot to tighten the drain plug. Z1 motor seizes. Then Walmart was spared from eating crow by having it repaired at BillyJoeBob's Garage for the tune of one year's supply of Nasty Light for the toothless tech.

At any rate, this would be a civil suit that she'd have to pursue with a lawyer out of her own pocket. I'm leaving all that up to her and her parents. I just want to transform her car back into what it's meant to be.

The thing about all this is as much as she loves the car, having purchased it for its performance advantage over the base model (she's a ricer ), she has never experienced what it's like to drive a true S.

prelude_h22vtec

I know a girl who drives an 07 Si. She said she has never revved it past 4000rpm. So I says "Why in the hell did you buy an Si if you have never even hit VTEC!?!"

My point is, the engine has probably been like that, and she would've never known if you didn't notice the engine code.

crvtectim

Lol! ^

Not my niece, she loves mashing vtec! Thinking back, I drove her car one time because she complained her brakes were making noise. I was so disappointed after beating the **** out of it to redline that I basically swore off K-Series motors and thought the fan boys were delusional! Hahaha, sweet car with turd motor equals turd car.

So now I need to know if the engine harness will plug and play. I'm assuming her car with A3 motor and ecu is running an A3 engine harness too. Do you guys recommend I get an engine harness with the Z1 motor and ecu? I don't want it looking like a hack job of wiring under the hood. I want everything to look factory and plug and play as it should.

Mr. Spade

I think you could try to bring it up to insurance.

crvtectim

I really don't see her insurance covering a motor swap. Maybe if she had purchased some kind of warranty they would help her out.

So unless anyone disagrees, I'm moving ahead with sourcing a Z1 motor, harness, and ecu.

nahonda04

this all sounds right withe exception of the tachometer...the type-s tachometer goes til 9K. im curious as to what this car looks like, do you have any pics outside and inside, i realize that it is your nieces car but can she provide you with some pictures.. this car sounds interesting, not to make that sound bad but its weird that someone would make a type-s clone and not have all the right parts...its also odd that the vin # matches a type-s.

nahonda04

this all sounds right with the exception of the tachometer...the type-s tachometer goes til 9K. im curious as to what this car looks like, do you have any pics outside and inside, i realize that it is your nieces car but can she provide you with some pictures.. this car sounds interesting, not to make that sound bad but its weird that someone would make a type-s clone and not have all the right parts...its also odd that the vin # matches a type-s.

back_woods

Wow that's crazy. I hope everything works out for yall.

crvtectim

Iirc, the tach reads to 9K but begins redline at 8K. I'll try to get some pics.

Appreciate it.

kyden

that sucks. did she not take it to redline on the test drive? the k20a3 hits fuel cut well before 8000.

crvtectim

Interesting, is it possible the A3 ecu was flashed or chipped? Forgive my n00bness. I'm OBD1 converted and clueless about OBDII Honda tuning. I believe you're right though because I could have sworn when I drove my buddy's 02 Civic SI Hatch (also having the K20A3) that it redlined at 6800 - 7000 rpms.

turboteg2nv

The ECU can definitely be re-flashed by Hondata to redline higher. If someone purposefully did a motor swap, I highly doubt they would've left you with an upgraded ECU though.

The k20a3 motor redlines at 7200rpm.

crvtectim

Doesn't Hondata make a hand held that connects through the OBDII connector that gives you the ability to make some changes in the ecu?

kyden

no. k pro map changes is done by a usb cable at the ecu.

turboteg2nv

That's for the next generation Civic. Hondata makes Kpro for 02-06 year models and it's tunable through a laptop.

C'mon man search for like 2 seconds and you can find this info.

http://hondata.com/kpro.html