Hi,

Has this been done ; changing a GD L15 to an L13?

Been searching for information and have not been able to source.

Thanks,
Chris

 

Why would you want to do that?

 

Fuel econ. My L15 has 216km on it and is starting to be noisyer

 

So you want to put a smaller engine into your car for fuel econ?

 

I might need to have the one in my fit rebuilt or swap in another L15A VTEC shortly. I've got more than 120k miles on it and it's noisier than it was...


My understanding of the L13 I-DSI is that it has about 20-25% better Fuel economy esp in city driving conditions so by my calculations I would offset the cost of the repair in about 100 weeks of driving.

 

from reading further all I would need is ECU and Engine. Would have been fun for me to see some documentation of someones switching from L15 to L13

 

Have you been keeping up with normal maintenance? i only ask because my truck has 223,000 miles on it and still going. It is louder then it probable once was but the engine is still good. Of course I don't know the history of your car or the sounds it making. As for the swap I have not seen it done or documented on this site. It probable wouldn't be to difficult seeing as the engine was an option for the car

 

Yeah I've been changing the oil as recommended on the dashboard.

 

Have you ever done routine maintenance like valve adjustments or spark plug replacement yet?

Over time and usage, the engine's valve clearance will throughout its life (its common, nothing wrong with that in our Over Head Cam engine configuration). You'll hear the valves become louder over time due to them loosening over time and usage. Other valves often begin to tighten during that time as well. I'd recommend having this done first before trying to do some thing major such as an engine swap.

Swapping an engine because it is becoming noisy and less fuel efficient doesn't make sense unless there is a major fault at hand. Swapping to an even smaller engine makes even less sense to be honest. :/

 

I've recently done sparkplugs all coil packs have been replaced and there has been some EGR work done at 150k.

How much would a valve adjustment cost ? I believe this maybe the solution to the noise I have.

Back to the replacing to an L13A1 I-DSI would net like a 25% increase in fuel efficiency. Saving me 750$ per year. I'm not sure how much the engine would be worth though. JDM RSX base K20s here are like 500$ so I guess the FIT engine would be arround that aswell. If it's only ecu and engine replacement it must not be such a big job. 4 hours ?

Thanks !

 

Just so you guys know I prefered my Toyota ECHO to this Honda Fit because of the fuel economy. I know the ECHO is lighter and faster than the fit but idc if the fit will be even slower I'd just like to pay less at the pump. It's a city car right ? I should be doing what a DD does best save cash at the pump.

 

If your needs for a car changes, it's easier to just buy a new car that fits the bill better.

In your case sell both cars and get an EV vehicle or at lease a 2nd gen Prius.

 

Well I'd change it for an L13A1 I-DSI. They aren't available in my market though

 

Get a scooter or a motorcycle if you're that serious about saving gas, lol.

 

you can just take the cylinder head, you don't have to change all the engine,

although the piston dome is different, but, you have to change the wiring and

ECU too, here in indonesia many tuners done the other way, since the GD

that sold in indonesia is a 1.5L VTEC and 1.5L i-DSI, sooo many people done

the head swap from i-DSI to VTEC but, for i-DSI to VTEC it is harder to do

(but still to swap the wiring and ECU), since the piston dome must be a bit

modified to accommodate another valve seat on the piston, but from what i

saw VTEC piston dome is deeper, since there is a little difference too in the

compression ratio, so i think it will work, but the other problem is the ECU

program which in i-DSI it must accommodate timing for 8 spark plug.. instead

of 4.. so base on that you have to swap the wiring and ECU too..

Please Correct me if i'm wrong..

 

A head swap wouldn't really make it a 1.3L like the L13 though, right? + the stroke on the L13 is shorter, so even if you do the L13 head conversion - and it works, it still wouldn't be a true L13.

 

What kind of sounds and vibrations is accompanied with this?

 

Thanks Jazz_Pinkz that sounds like a good option too