K24 or KWSC
I'm still torn between a K24 swap and the high boost kit from KW. Right now I am negotiating a brand new TSX k24a2 motor with K20a Type R Tranny for 3750$. + mounts (250), + kpro (1000), axles (350), headers (300), and Labor I'm looking at around 6-7,000$

How much does the high boost kit run including extra parts, labor, and everything?

I came from selling my Lancer Evolution 8 that was running 22lbs boost, 350WHP, for the fit; with the original plan to do a K20 or K24 swap from the money I had selling the EVO parts.

So right now the fit is my DD, and just trying to find the best possible route to go, and finding the pro/cons for both situations. The only thing holding me back from SCKW is lets say I spend 4K on that kit alone for a max SOHC limited to <200HP I would either get bored with 170 WHP when I could spend the same amount on the motor and pay for extra for parts and labor that would start me off at 220HP/190 Torque stock.

Some feedback with your experience would be appreciated

David

 

buy a k24. there would be more room for improvement for the future.

the l15 is limited to around 240hp unless you start building the bottom and port the top but there is not much material to work with.

 

Always nice to see another 4G63 fan! Welcome!

In terms of $/hp and what either route would do to your Fits handling and balance, just boost the stock engine.

Then when you get bored sell the C15 rotrex and buy a C30 rotrex, fuel pump, injectors and an FIC or AFC. Even on the C15 compressor you are certainly not limited to <200whp, just pulley down. There are a couple KWSC guys on the High Boost kit reporting 11-12psi and 200whp which is a lot in a car this light and toss-able.

Or you could buy one of the used Greddy or HKS kits, which come with a T3 Manifold and swap the GT2554R for a GT2860RS, or get an adapter plate for an Evo 3 16G.

Either of these on your L15A would be a blast.

Then just use the money you would have to throw on the axles/mounts/fab work for a K-series, pull the pan, and get yourself some rods and pistons for your 1.5L. You will have money left over doing it this way and you will have a monster that still gets 30+ mpg out of boost.

Remember you are FWD now

A K-series will compromise what most like about driving the car except if you plan to only go in straight lines. This is unless you intend to spend several thousand more on chassis bracing and revised suspension as well. As opposed to just bolting some struts, springs and sway bar.

Any way you go, the tuning is what will make or break the project for you.

Just my 2psi!

A K24 Fit on 26" slicks would be a sight though! There is no going back once you have modified everything to accept the K series. Just food for thought.

Let us know what you decide.. and take pictures!

 

Always nice to run into someone with 4g63 Turbo Knowledge!
I had a lot of experience with turbo/tuning, as I was really close with Road Race Engineering tuning my car, and knew a few of the guys there.

Is it really that simple with the KWSC kit? Just a few bolt ons, injectors, and tune + Air fuel controller or hondata is still needed? The evo was such a dream to tune with a bullet proof stock motor, turbo back exahust, FMI, 272 hks camshafts, BC, and Apexi AFC and doneBoy do I miss All Wheel drive Turbo.. not the gas mileage/maintance though

I see the high boost kit on their website running for roughly $4000.
How much other labor/tuning work should be done? Also, how reliable is boosting on this economy inspired motor?

If I could get the kit or similar used setup somewhere between 2-3k$ and be able to bolt everything on myself, then get a reputable tune from a shop, this would be much more preferable; rather than waiting a few weeks from a shop to fab, swap, and tune the K-series.

Just don't want to spend all my money into something, and end up stuck with a 1.5L.

 

how do u get 240hp without building the bottom on L15 ?

Ditch the L15...there's no potential unless u take the thing apart and build it from ground up.
K24 is much more bang for the buck !!!

 

boost in L15 comes very early....2000rpm or so...it is very hard to stay out of boost, so what your saying 30+MPG isn't really realistic.

 

the k24 requires a lot of cooling and support to be used in the fit. be prepared for the cost of plumbing the exhaust as well.

 

Yes....u need custom exhaust as there are no bolt on units as of yet....
but then again..if cost is what ur concerns are....forget about Kswap.

u want a quick DD 190whp then MT L15 with turbo
u want a COOL/FAST DD then Kswap is the way to go.

 

What are you talking about... on a GT2554R in a tiny .48A/R turbine housing you might see full song at 2k rpm..

A GT2860RS in a .63A/R open T3 or a 7cm2 TDO5H 16G will be spooling around 3500rpm.

You have a ~60mm turbo on your skyline.. would it spool by 2k on a L15? Of course not.

Also, it is really not that hard to swap the rotating assembly vs. hacking and re-fabbing the front of the car to fit a K series. You should know this of all people.


A good tune and some methanol sprayed on top of pump gas would see you 240 at the crank for sure. 240whp is a possibility as well. This also depends on what turbo/supercharger you are using.

On a GT2554R like you get form Greddy or HKS? No chance in hell, IMHO.

On a MHI 14B 16G or larger? Certainly.

I personally would at least replace the Rods, Pistons, Rod Bolts and both rod and main bearings if you are aiming for 250whp or more... like I am in my GD.


I agree there is certainly more potential to a K series if we are talking about going to kill mode.

But remember he is coming from a 350whp >3000lb AWD, 200whp in a FWD Fit is plenty considering it weighs at least 700lbs less.

A 250whp 5MT Fit with nice tires, on a decent track and with a decent driver would be a High to mid 13 sec car in the 1320'

 

The guys at RRE don't mess around! Lucky you!

I do everything at home or in friends garages. Occasionally my friends at the Honda Dealership or the Pep Boys a town over will let me use the lifts at night, but that isn't needed often fortunately.. I am actually looking at a two post 6000lb lift to remedy this.

You Evo sounds like a lot of fun, and if you can live with AFC tuning an Evo, you should have no problem with the Fit.

Now here is something you should keep in mind if you go for the KW supercharger from an Evo with a 16G at 22psi... Full boost is at redline on a Rotrex supercharger since they are pulley drive centrifugal compressors, power is linear.

There is no "hit" like you get from the turbo, and you definitely don't get the power under the curve like you do from any turbo, especially the infamous 16Gs... Your Evo had a twinscroll TDO5HR 16G if you were using the stock turbo..

You can find new HKS kits for less than $4k, then just sell the dinky GT25 that comes with, find some real injectors, add a Bosch or Walbro fuel pump and an AEM FIC or similar.

 

i was sharing my experience with my T1R turbo kit which came with AR48 turbo, and i was seeing boost at 2k.
i don't think anyone would get boosted ...and still be concern of MPG ... ? that just doesn't make sense to me.


A normal KSwap does not require all the remaking of the frame, i had to cut alot out because my car was originaly AUTO and i had jdm conversion so the rad support needed to be remade to fit everything again..
on a MT USDM fit...it is pretty much direct fit......i am sure many here can share, how easy it is to do K-swap on the FIT...
my car is just different...cuz i have alot more going on...turbo, ductings, intercooler, etcc...

btw: i am offended by the term HACKED UP.....my shops fabrication skills are very good !!

and Yes swabbing rotating assembly is very easy...just a few bolts and nuts...but can some shop on the street build a motor as good as HONDA ??

what i am trying to say is a stock OEM K motor would make 200hp, and prob last 200000kms ++ ........... taking in prospective that your L15 is properly build, at 200hp how long do you think it would last?.....not over 100000kms.
OEM Quality is always best, that's a fact.

thanks

 

I have never done a swap before, and the only experience of motor work was with my Lancer evolution with bolt on parts such as intake, turbo back exhaust, front mount intercooler, piping, boost control, afc etc. I had camshafts, clutch, tuning, and other engine work done at a shop.

I have a 2008 5MT Sports. If you say its as easy as it sounds...
Lets say I do manage to get all parts required for the K24a2 (ITR tranny, k20z1 intake mani, custom tsx exhaust, ep3 ac lines, ep3 gas pedals, hasport axles, mounts, kpro, etc) I'm not sure who (which shop) would do the swap for me, how long it would take (daily driver), and how much it would cost in labor. The turbo set up would definitely be easier to do, but not sure if it would be as bang for buck in the long run, and how long it would hold up.

 

to the op of this thread, ive done 3 k swaps in other chasis, ive done one b series turbo and 2 single cam turbo. i can say by far the k series have been the most reliable and fun experenices yet. there are alot more that come into play when making decisions like these, hp numbers are not everything, put a 200hp turbo L15 vs a k swap fit at the track and see who wins. iam currently k swaping my 07 nhbp sport fit,k24a2. and oh, iam doing most of it in the yard! it is the harder route, but once you gotten kpro, mounts, etc. everything else is down hill in the future, id rather drop another k24a2 in a few years, than have to put another L15 in with all the turbo stuff, retune, turbo parts fail,etc. so my question to you is what is your long term goal? mine is i will be rolling to alot of east coast meets this year and be the only k swap fit, and when i wax on local v8 head, he cant say, " oh but your turboed", ill reply,"nope, oem stock 4 banger"

 

Hit up Pit Crew in san Gabriel. They quoted me $1400 for the labor. I'm planning to do this swap soon as well.

 

.... Also, from what my mechanic told me (he's already swapped a k20 into a Fit) a straight K20 type-s would be more dependable then a Frankenstein'd TSX/CRV block with the high comp RSX head. He said after tuning with just boltons and kpro the motor made 282whp.

 

For now its my daily driver, going to work mon-fri. After further thought I love this car, and Plan to keep it for as long as possible (low payments, low maintence, cost me almost nothing to own). If I ever plan to buy another car in the future (370z, 335i, M3, G37) or similar weekend car, I would still keep this car, have it as a reliable daily driver, grocery go-getter, and maybe some track use. Then again I could spend the 7-8K on a down payment for one of the cars above, keep my fit stock and still have fun both ways. Quite a few choices...

If I could find a reputable shop or person with experience around socal area, who could do the swap for me within a desired amount of time and price, I would definately lean towards investing in this swap. I only thought about boost because its something I could do at home over the weekend for a mild performance increase.

 

Nice.. Just exactly what I was looking for. I probably wouldn't do a frankenstein build. I would just keep the TSX motor with the stock head, and have an ITR transmission with stock LSD. However, California does have some emissions laws on motor swaps, such as the motor has to be the same year as the vehicle or newer, am I correct? So the only motors that would be "legal" for me would be 2008 K24a2 from TSX, or 2008+ K20z3 from Si. Then again if you were going to go turbo it wouldn't be carb legal either, or any engine modifications, theres always risk factors in everything when getting into the fast car game. I doubt my Evo 8 was "carb" legal for all that matter. There were probably countless fix it tickets that I got away with by just paying some fees. But imagine if you spent the time and money to sucessfully do lets say a 2004 k20A swap from ITR with 220HP stock... you get your hood pop by a cop and have to see a state ref. How would you go about that now?

 

First I am sorry if I offended you when I said hacked I meant as in literally cut the front of the car off, which they did do for yours it looks like.

I have enjoyed reading up on your build and I think it has been done exceptionally well.

However, some of us don't have a shop at our disposal or the money to pay for all that labor. So we do it at home by ourselves.

Your T1R turbo IS a GT2554R in a .48A/R turbine housing. That is all I was saying.

That same GT2554R in a .63A/R would spool slightly slower yet it would make a ton more power on the top end. When I was talking about a GT2860RS that is a turbo that will support more than 300whp efficiently. And a GT2860 in a .48A/R is not the same as a GT2554R in a .48A/R

A/R is just a ratio. that is why there are no units attached. It is the open area leading into the turbine volute.

A GT40R in a .48A/R and a GT25R in a .48A/R are not comparable because of this. There is far more to it than that.

What is wrong with having a >200whp L15A?

With proper rotating assembly and tune there is no reason it cannot be "reliable," and reliable is a subjective term anyways.

I insisted on methanol injection to further longevity and provide a more conservative, safer tune even at higher boost. Like you would need to push >20lbs/min through an L15A.

There are people like JDMChris, Texas Coyote and others who have countless thousands of hard miles on their KW high boost kits with no issues.

So yes a K-series would be a great platform if you are aiming for 350-500whp in a Fit, but it doesnt sound like that is what the OP really has in mind. Considering his Evo by comparison was "only" putting out 350awhp and that car is almost half a ton heavier.

Some of us do our own work, and I will guarantee you for the headaches a K-swap causes you might as well sink 75% (or less) of that time and money into an L15 if you are not aiming for 300whp+ in a Fit. This way you have only added maybe 30-40lbs between the turbo (which sits aft of the steering axle, mind you) and the IC and piping. Versus how much for the K-series and an ITR trans? 150? more? How much of that CoG is sitting high, and sitting over or in front of the steering axle?

There is no way that a k-series doesn't screw up the handling of the car. Its like having a fat chick sit on the hood.

 

If you are worried about CARB you can register the car in AZ, where some counties do not have emissions testing.

I have swapped engines and everything from my own cam swap to an AWD conversion out of my garage. On a wide array of different vehicles for myself and others.

A K-swap, if you can do it and tune it for less than $5-6k I would jump on it. But you are still going to have to dump far more into suspension and drive train to get it even remotely neutral in handling vs. a turbo L15A.

As that is exceedingly unlikely, especially when a good labor quote alone is going to be minimum $1400-1500 at even the most generous shop, before parts... just turbo what you got or as you said, save up and just buy a faster car

Or do what I am doing... Buy a good L15 from a wreck or salvage, (there is no demand for these motors) I found one for $700 and a few others under $1000.

Build that motor and keep your unmolested OE engine on a stand or a crate for if you do need to drop the old engine back in. You can get a 3000lb hoist for less than $125 and you can get a 2000lb engine stand for $50, if you don't already have either of these things.

 

if you do decide to go boosted L15, iam selling my motor and tranny from 07 sport fit mt, asking 1,200 shipped obo, lmk and you can have a backup setup, mine only has 41,000miles, no problems just pulled it out to do k swap, lmk.