I have a 04 ep3, I have been burning oil whenever I hit vtec, so I believe it is the valve guides. I also have a cross threaded spark plug due to a shitty compression tester, I have someone who wants to sell me a k20a2 head for 450$ with 98k on it, Does this sound like a good deal to you guys? would I need to do anything to modify the head to work? would this give me intake and exhaust vtec? will my stock ecu run it?
I am sorry for all the questions,

thanks!

 

If your EP3 is stock, then "vtec" engages around 2200 rpms so unless you drive like a senior citizen on tranquilizers you should always be in "vtec". Burning oil is a common problem for these cars. I change the oil on my EP3 every 6k with 5w-30 synthetic and I always have to add 1 or 2 quarts between changes but I have no other problems with my motor. 180k miles, stock except for short ram and I hit the redline at least a few times a day. Unless you're burning a quart or more every 500 to 1500 miles I would say don't worry about it. If you live somewhere where it's hot all year round switch to a heavier oil to slow the burn, maybe 10w-30. As far as the K20A2 head swap, don't waste your money. The K20A3 block is nothing like the K20A2 block so don't think you can just bolt the head on and be good to go. Sorry, but no LS/Vtec here. Save up your money and buy a complete swap or buy a K24A1 block and swap the K20A2 head onto that. And you WILL need k-pro for any swap or head swap unless you want the motor to run like s**t or not run at all.

 

thank you very much

 

The head bolts right up. As far as the ecu, NO you cant run the stock ecu without Kpro. So you car would never run as efficient. You couldnt even use the type s ecu because the k20a2 has different compression then the a3 block. So either way you look at it, you would need a tune to put that head on. I know a guy that uses a k20a3 block with an k20a2 head. His car is turbo and runs 9 seconds in 1/4 mile. So it can be done, you just need kpro to do it.

 

Obviously the k20a3 block is not stock in your friends 9 second car I've been looking into ep3's lately and really want one but the a3 is the big downside and also the mac struts instead of wishbone. If i were you i would save your money and buy a swap or pull one out of a junkyard and build the motor, even if your not going for crazy power but just so you can have peace of mind.

 

Nothing wrong with mac struts, most BMW's and porsche's have mac struts. It's all about how you tune your suspension, you obviously can't treat it the same way as a double-wishbone. As far as the K20A3, yea it sucks but the EP3/RSX is the easiest chassis to swap a K20 or K24 into. It's all pretty much plug and play once you have k-pro. But back to topic....

 

Its far from stock... sleeved and full built bottom end. I was just saying for instense. A3 bottom ends dont have oil squirters. I suggest that you find yourself a k24 bottom end either Tsx, Accord , Element, or CRv engine and build it. Slap the head on there and get a Kpro. done... You will be more than happy with this setup.