Hey guys im new to the thread and to the piston engine in general. Ive owned 4 RX-7s, i picked the 7th gen civic with the d17 as my first piston engine and i think i messed up bc the d17a2 motor sucks. well i hear great things about honda-tech and decided to ask for the users famous wisdom. i want to drop a b20b into my 7th gen, for what i hear it can be done pretty easily, well i heard that b series motors share a lot with the d series so a swap should be plausible, right? well there are no swap kits, no mounts or anything i can find, are there any good fabricators around that have them made. i know there are some b series 7th gens around so there has to be a kit or something. another question, what tranny can i use(year/model of car). thanks for any incoming info.

 

1 word, Don't

For the money in an EM2, your best and safest bet is a K series swap. Cheaper in the long run, better engineered, more of an aftermarket, emissions compliance, and more tuning capabilities.

Plus a K-Swap is a direct bolt in in an EM2, as the b20, or any B or H series for that matter, would take CUSTOM FAB mounts, custom wiring, custom axles and so on. As with a K, there are pre fab parts out there for a swap into an EM.

So your best bet for a new motor would be a K, its been proven time and time again to be the best choice for EM's.

Check out the Official EM2 k series swap page at the top of this forum for some photos, and info on people that have already done the swap.

 

thanks red.

I was about to lose it, to many newbs keep posting about B swaps in here, and they just dont search. we need to sticky something at the top... NO UR B SWAP WONT WORK!

to the poster, 3 options

#1. AKA THe best option, SELL THE 7thgen GET A 1988-2000 civic!
#2 get A k20.
#3 DO A SEARCH!

 

Well yeah, that too, but we need to post some rules and sticky them, with rule #1 being see the SEARCH link at the top? Utilize it. Chances are, your question has been asked before.

 

i have researched plenty and yes i know a k series swap isnt very difficult, but there is no way a k series swap will be cheaper than a b20....bc the b20 is only like 500 bucks and the k20 is like 5k right off the bat. i was askin to see if it were possible to do period and i can do most of the work myself. i was just curious if anybody made custom mounts. so for the people who can do the actual transplant theirself, it is gonna be way cheaper.

 

Were not knocking you wanting to do a b swap out in your EM.

Were just letting you know theres going to be A LOT of custom fab involved.

You can do it, anything can be done with the right amount of money.

Theres a late 90's Prelude on here getting an ls1 in it here before too long last time I checked.

So it IS possible, it would just be more cost effecient in both the short and long term to go K.

 

actually, b swaps into 7thgens HAVE been done in the past. but it just isnt worth the hassle since k series swaps have a much more predictable outcome.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondahoodlum &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have researched plenty and yes i know a k series swap isnt very difficult, but there is no way a k series swap will be cheaper than a b20....bc the b20 is only like 500 bucks and the k20 is like 5k right off the bat. i was askin to see if it were possible to do period and i can do most of the work myself. i was just curious if anybody made custom mounts. so for the people who can do the actual transplant theirself, it is gonna be way cheaper. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Just to let you know, there's been 2 recorded existances of B-series engines put into 7th generation Civics. One was a landspeed car, and the other was a show-only car. Just to give you an idea of what kind of problems you're looking at when swapping an older generation engine into the 7th gen.:

1. You'll need a custom ECU, or other sort of engine management system requiring tons of hours on the dyno to tune properly. *unless you're planning on swapping in custom gauges and pretty much gutting the interior of amenities.
2. You'll need custom axles, because nobody makes them for this swap.
3. You'll need custom engine mounts, capable of handling whatever power range you're into, because nobody makes them.
4. You'll never pass emissions in California, unless you got a guy on the inside who'll give you a statement of approval.
5. You'll never pass as an ordinary car, and that will cause registration issues in pretty much every state.
6. The transmission and shifterbox are completely different, so cutting up the body panels will be necessary.
7. You'll never see the amount of hp a K-series can produce.
8. K24's are about the same price as B20's.
9. Your resale value will go to 0, because not many people want an unregisterable vehicle.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondahoodlum &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have researched plenty and yes i know a k series swap isnt very difficult, but there is no way a k series swap will be cheaper than a b20....bc the b20 is only like 500 bucks and the k20 is like 5k right off the bat. i was askin to see if it were possible to do period and i can do most of the work myself. i was just curious if anybody made custom mounts. so for the people who can do the actual transplant theirself, it is gonna be way cheaper. </TD></TR></TABLE>

If u can rewire EVERYTHING on your engine, create mounts for engine and tranny, then by all means go for it, u will be one of a handful of B-series swapped em2's. But since 98% of swapped em2's have K20's, theres a good reason.

As for b20's costing $500 i think thats a little low, i could see $1000 including tranny, but a k20a3 is only $1000-1500 with a tranny, and a k24a1/3/4 is only $1500-2000.

The k20a2 is TOTALLY worth the pricetag tho. They can be had for around $3500-$4000 and will BLOW a b20 out of the water.

Anyone who thinks B series engines are on the same level as a k20 is very outa the loop. K's respond INSANELY well to mod's, I believe DC/AEM was seeing 54whp gain from i/h/e and EMS. lets see your b18c do that:p.

 

you can do it yourself, all you need is to make your own mounts .

 

i really dont want a b20, but theyre cheap and i was gonna put low boost on it and call it a day bc it will have pretty high torque. and yes we all know that the k series is by far the best inline 4 platform in all the free world, its just that the swap can hit your pockets really hard, until i found that the k24 out of the crv was pretty cheap. so do any of you guys know if you can use the subframe from the crv or do you have to get the rsx one. im trying to get the cheapest parts i can.....and is the hasport wiring harness worth it or is the wiring easy to do yourself. as for the tranny which one will be better.....my bonus checks from work will cover the engine, tranny, ecu and the mounts so a little saving on my part and it will be on.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondahoodlum &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i really dont want a b20, but theyre cheap and i was gonna put low boost on it and call it a day bc it will have pretty high torque. and yes we all know that the k series is by far the best inline 4 platform in all the free world, its just that the swap can hit your pockets really hard, until i found that the k24 out of the crv was pretty cheap. so do any of you guys know if you can use the subframe from the crv or do you have to get the rsx one. im trying to get the cheapest parts i can.....and is the hasport wiring harness worth it or is the wiring easy to do yourself. as for the tranny which one will be better.....my bonus checks from work will cover the engine, tranny, ecu and the mounts so a little saving on my part and it will be on.</TD></TR></TABLE>

RSX-S Tranny and subframe, with K24 longblock. Also, if you can, get the K20 head for the better Vtec and higher compression. I'd say the wiring harness is something I'd get, because I suck at wiring. But, I guess it's up to the builder.

 

K20a2 head will be expensive, i know people have swapped the cams from a k20a2 head into a k20a3 head ( similar to k24a1 head) and found HUGE gains. Ull have to search for it, but i believe they made near 200whp with the mods on a k20a3 block.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B18a_CRX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">K20a2 head will be expensive, i know people have swapped the cams from a k20a2 head into a k20a3 head ( similar to k24a1 head) and found HUGE gains. Ull have to search for it, but i believe they made near 200whp with the mods on a k20a3 block.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The Vtec actuator is in different locations on the A3, when compared to the A2. A2 heads aren't rediculous in price, it's still cheaper to buy an A2 head with a K24 longblock, than a complete K20A2.

 

k24a4 (accord) is about 600-900 if you search good enough

k20a2 head - 900
mounts - 600
you can use any rsx subframe, or an ep3 subframe - 200
kpro is a must - 1000
small stuff - 1500-2000

there you go. simple swap.

 

if you want to do a frank w/k24a4, search. you'll need tsx (k24a2) rods/pistons and some other stuff for the head to bolt up

 

so i do have to have the rsx subframe? no frankenstein for me.......i hear the head swaps are unreliable. i believe you keep the components that are made for your engine to stay reliable. the pistons in the k24 are not made to handle higher compression. i really like the k24 out of the crv and element bc it has lower compression which will be great for low boost. im thinking a regrind of the stock cams a little port and polish of the head and a t3/t4 hybrid turbo running 8 psi should give me great gains.....i found a k24 for 800, im trying to get my hands on it before its gone. i was searching earlier and i found that even lotus guys are taking all the k series engines for swaps....those bastards, lets kill them, hehe.