I was talking with someone today about turboing my D17a2 in my EM2. They said that it was a waste of money and time because the front suspension will not hold up to the power that it will produce. And then i got to thinking what about putting a K20 in the car instead.

I know that with the D17 i would have to build the motor and whatnot, but how would i improve the front suspension on it other than Coilovers? Any ideas?

I would like to do a K20 or K24 in the future but i dont know where i can get the money in order to do so in time for Import Alliance in July.

I guess what im trying to ask is : what is smarter to do BEFORE Import Alliance gets here in July. I would like to have my car be able to keep up with my buddys 63 trim Sedan on the highway.

(sorry to the mods if this is an opinion thread, but i would like some more input from people who have done these sorts of things to their cars.)

Thanks in advance.
James.

 

Well, personally, I wouldn't go with a turbo setup. It's just something that I'm not fond of, for longevity's sake (I know I would end up breaking something). But, whomever said that the front suspension wouldn't handle it, is not correct. We have quite a few members on H-T that drive boosted 7th gen.'s and I have yet to see any catastrophic failures posted. I would recommend getting some harder compliance bushings and beefier ball joints, but that's about it.

And, your buddy's 63 trim sedan was slow. (sarcasm) Although, I wouldn't say we were going all that fast to really display it's speed. It was a more casual cruise, and that's how I intend it to be this year as well.

As for a K-swap: to me, it's the better option. You can get a K20a3 or K24a1/4 swapped in for just a little more than what it'd cost to do a proper boosted setup. To me, the torque is worth it.

 

our d17's can put out some impressive torque numbers when boosted matt. you know that too

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Curiouz_G &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">our d17's can put out some impressive torque numbers when boosted matt. you know that too </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, but not even close to a K-series, and you know that.

 

Along whats been said aleady Id roll with a K-series setup, mabey a little more time and money but its better in the long run(basing off of what my friends run)

g.l on what u choose to do, and thanx for askin this question i was sittin here thinkin bout the same thing

 

One of the things that im worried about is weight. I would like to have a FULL interior and still be able to maybe pull off a good number at the track. I know that with this i would have to do some fine tuning to it, but the shop/person who would be doing the swap did an impressive K20 in an EK hatch and still ran good numbers.

 

About how fast do you want to be? 13s, 12s, etc? Brunson's boosted D is going to be a monster when it's done. Hell you'd probably need some mods to a K-series to really hang with him. I agree with Matt and others that a k24 is in your best interest but there's good a bad sides to both ventures.

 

my fastest time N/A with just bolt ons and on a drag radial was 13.56@102.32

k20a i/h/e + mugen n1 ecu

full interior.

 

My unsureness about swapping is, what if something break, and it's not a part from your car, and it requires a shop to fix it. I'm afraid of a nightmare that may turn into.

 

Do i know you? I have a feeling that i do but i cant put my finger on it...


Anyway, I want to GO fast, not LOOK like im going fast. Im thinking that a mid-13/high-13 would do the trick for me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ajgrosch716 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My unsureness about swapping is, what if something break, and it's not a part from your car, and it requires a shop to fix it. I'm afraid of a nightmare that may turn into.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Most parts that would break from wear and tear could be replaced by any reliable certified mechanic.

If the part wasn't from the civic it would be from an rsx. Plus there is tons of support for kswaps on HT and k20a.org to help you through the process of fixing any issues.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by toyomatt84 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yes, but not even close to a K-series, and you know that. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Its comparable when theyre stock or mildly modded

man, where are all my turbo'd D brethren!?!? lol. mid-high 13's are doable in a turbo D. Just do whatever your comfortable with. In all honesty, I chose to go boost because Ive got 3 Turbo'd D's within a 20-30 min drive from my place. Theyve been through all the headaches of turboing a D so I can rub off on their wisdom

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H0ndas g0 Vr00m &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do i know you? I have a feeling that i do but i cant put my finger on it...


Anyway, I want to GO fast, not LOOK like im going fast. Im thinking that a mid-13/high-13 would do the trick for me.</TD></TR></TABLE>
haha no we don't know each other but I've been a lucker on xceedspeed for a few years. I followed Brunson's k-swapped ek and now his boosted sedan in the project logs.

Mid to high 13s is achievable either way. If money really wasn't a factor I'd still go K just because it leaves you more room to expand.

 

Well i dont really have anyone other than Brunson to do any of my trouble shooting with me. I mean i would probably/hoping to install everything with him, but i cant guarantee that. Right now it looks like im going to have to reevaluate everything and try to save every nickel, dime, and penny i can find!

 

nothing beats the pull of a turbo car. period. na + vtec = loud and boring. boost + vtec = boring, stock sounding, then OH ****. Id rather blow my motor once a year on boost than to drop G's on a k20a or k24 frank and have to build it to get where i want it. i hate ricey sounding exhausts and the typical honda dohc vtec with i/h/e that you hear everywhere you go.
-boosted em2, 3rd year, 2nd bottom end and loving every moment of it.

 

the potential with a kswap is higher than a turbo d. you simply start off with a better powerplant to gain power from.

There are alot of quick turbo Ds out there.

The question really is how much power is enough...

 

Well i also got to thinking "what if i would turbo the K20?"
I mean it has stronger internals and everything STOCK, and im sure that it wouldnt be a problem to buy things for the lower half of the block.

I am leaning more toward a k20, but i just have to save up enough for the swap and then have money for other things too...

 

i find that for daily city and mild highway driving, 220ish is perfect for me. but put 300 whp in any honda and it turns into a really fun car. the d17 has a surprisingly solid bottom end. the crank is bullet proof. stock k24's are OK, but i wouldnt trust it anymore than a d17 under similar circumstances. can't speak for a k20 though.

 

the man with the *** for an avatar has spoken

 

Go boost... cheaper and more fun.. not everyone is looking to get a 400whp car so sticking with the D is very do-able.