This may sound stupid, so it probably is, but I have had this thought in the back of my mind for years: What about swapping in a motorcycle engine. I know there would be many engineering issues, not the least of which would be either mating the engine output shaft with the car tranny. I just received the latest Motorcylist. The new Kawasaki ZX-14 has 196 hp, and the engine is most likely a lot lighter than the Fit's. Imagine almost 200hp, and better weight distribution! Hondasaki, anyone?

 

Even if you could make it work, your power curve is still going to be poor for the amount of weight you are moving.

I think the best plan for a Fit swap would be a built B16A. It would suit the car well.

 

I thought 196hp was 196hp, irrespective of what it is hauling around. The article didn't give a torque number, but I know that would be pretty poor. BUT, you would still have that 11,000rpm redline to play with!

It's basically a 44 year old's adolescent wet dream, but thanks for the response.

 

Well, yes it is 196hp. That's why I said power curve and not just peak output. With more weight you'll need more torque down low.

 

Ya it might be 196 peak HP but thats where the relation to car HP ends. Motorcycles peak HP is very high in the RPM band unlike car's which usually peak anywhere from mid 5k's to high 6k's and in the most extreme of cases, 8k for the new Si K20. Most motorcycles even ones as high powered as the new ZX14 dont usually come alive till about 5k-6k and up and peak HP is usually achieve past 10k in 99% of street bike motor's on the market now.

Lets put all that to the side for hypothetical purposes and say all that wasnt an issue, then you have all the technical differences and obstacles to overcome to make something like that work. Afterall this isnt a typical Honda DOHC motor like the B16, B18 or the newer K series motor's so everything would have to be fabbed from scratch, motor mounts, custom half shafts would probably be the biggest technical obstacle, everything else will be little things but still cant be overlooked.

 

http://www.advanceautoparts.com/engl...0030201fh.html




You could do it, but it'd be nuts.

What are the options for Frankenstein work on the Fit's 1.5L? Are there any chances of fitting a B-series head to the block with a little bit of work? I'm relatively new to this Honda thing, so excuse me if I don't know wtf I'm talking about.

Otherwise, yeah, I think I'd want a B16.

 

could you seriously swap a B-Series motor into a Fit? I know anything is possible with money, but you'd be going from OBD2 to OBD1, Drive By Wire to Throttle Cable, let alone all the mount issues.

 

I would say you will see more R18's in the Fit than K Series ever

 

what would you use for a transmission ???
That is the biggest problem of all

 

R18 Transmission.... Complete change over.... I mean unless you are talking about the K Series then it would be which ever you would want out of the K Series for gearing...

 

I am sorry was referring to the post regarding the Kwasaki ZX-14 engine.

 

Anyway you slice it, you are talking about an engineering nightmare. I know it's probably possible, given the proper amount of money (and lot's of it), and probable several people a whole lot smarter than I am. In fact, modern bike engines, with water-cooling, EFI, and some with catalysts, are probably better suited for this than when I originally thought of it 26 or so years ago.

As far as transmissions go, I have no idea. You would need at least six cogs to be able to keep it in the power band, so that would rule out the stock Fit tranny. Sequential shifting would be nice, but the motorcycle tranny has no reverse. Honda Gold Wings have had a reverse-assist using the starter motor for a couple of years, hmmmm...

Anyway, like I said, it was just a 44 year old's adolescent wet dream, but thanks to everyone for the thoughful discussion. Due to the upcoming bank-account rocking divorce, I might be able to afford a couple nice keyrings or something...

 

How about a 350whp K20 swapped in?

Your wet dream needs to take into acount that the Fit weighs 2300+lbs and needs the torque for daily driving while still being fun

Mugen has swapped in a K20 and there is an outfit in SoCal working on it as we speak ---- $20 says the K20 swap happens before the motorcycyle engine swap does

Honda Power

 

k20 in a fit is a nice idea,but unrealistic $$$...You will also need a LSD,Brake/Suspension upgrade too...Although it would be an AWESOME HOOT RIDE...!!!!!!

 

You are obviously a gambling man . No way I take that bet, because any car engine is always a better swap than a motorcycle one. Don't slam me on size restrictions of the engine bay, because I am just using hyperbole to agree with you, but I would imagine somebody would try to squeeze in a small-block chevy v-8 before they would try to use an engine from a bike. It would be fun to have an 11,000rpm redline to play with, though. It would just scream!

ksaito2k3 seems to think your k20 swap would be a lot of work, but I am still not taking the bet

 

If you want a high redline, but also want to keep the dream plausable without thousands of dollars invested with trail and error... Have you considered using a B16b or B16c? Just a thought.

 

or, instead of swapping the whole engine, can we use only some parts of other type of engines, to gain better performance ?

 

Don't know enough yet about the fit's motor in terms of ability like that, but i seriously doubt it. You can just build up the motor and not swap, it would be the same concept.

 

Hmmmm, I wuz just thinkin', if you wanna do a really radical, but more practical (?) swap, how about a nice Honda V-6 engine, and put it where the back seat is now in the Fit. I did see a swap some years ago where they put a Ford V-6 in a Ford Festiva, and it was the engine basically in the back seat. They installed a rear end and all that stuff (was a front drive car) and had to put additional rear fenders to cover the rear tires, which stuck out from the body. The Festiva was a little car, kinda Fit size, so you can imagine what the power to weight ratio was, and how fast that little car was. I'm thinking of the engine out of the NSX into the Fit. Now that would be a nice little street machine.....

 

Street machine? With a C32B or older C30? I don't think so. A rear end collision, something you the driver couldn't controll, and a 95% chance of not avoiding, would absolutely destroy atleast parts of the motor, tranny, and all the custom fabrication put into it. Thats just as practical as a crotch rocket motor. lol. I get what your saying, and that would be definitely one of the fastest fit's around but nothing practical or streetable about it.

A practical swap, with a nice redline, and tons of aftermarket availability would be a B series. Especially the jdm swap(s) i mentioned above. It would be the best swap in terms of practical use, and less custom work involved than a K series or v-6 stuffed in the rear. Not to mention, the Fit isn't made for a rear motor, so although power to weight would be insanely nice, handling would suffer more than anyone could imagine. Only someone that wants a full blown drag car should look into that. I would suggest using a older C30 (since its smaller than the 32) and putting it in the front and just going fwd with it, you still have the large displacement issue and just as much custom work involved than a rear motor set up. 5mph roll fender bender could be priceless to fix, unless you are rich.