Turbo D-series vs Turbo B-series vs N/A K-series

Meh. K series is too much. We want cheap, durable speed. We want the D! That came out wrong...

You can get a k20 for like $500, it seems

mazdeuce - Seth said:

In reply to Run_Away :

If I can hijack this for juuuuuust a second......

Is there a good place online that sorts out the differences between all the k20-k24 blocks and heads? Also wondering about the different transmissions, their use on track, LSD's all that jazz. I'm trying to work my way through the Honda sites but sorting the wheat from the chaff is a bit overwhelming. This would be in a car that came with a K20 so a lot of things would be technically easier. 

I did my swap in 2013 and haven't looking into it too much since then, but honestly I use Wikipedia/Google for the basics. I used k20a.org a lot back then, but that was 5 years ago and forums are much less used now than they were. The Photobucket crash has crippled a lot of good info threads as well. The basics are that you want a head with the triple lobe cams (RSX-S, 8th gen Si, TSX) and the 50 deg VTC gear (can be swapped). The bottom ends don't matter as much, as they're mostly interchangeable. This is off the top of my head, please double check my info. I'm not familiar with all the newer stuff that has the heads with the integrated exhaust manifolds, but I assume they're not worth it. I would assume the bottom ends are good to use, but that's a total WAG.

For transmissions, this is a handy chart

I like to couple that with a calculator such as this one.

Good for figuring out top speed in 2nd based on tire size, redline, and such. Mix and matching gear ratios and final drives is fun and a bit challenging because you have to keep in mind the intended engine use (K20 will typically always rev higher than a K24 if you want it to last) and also things like how certain gears sets are machined into the mainshaft/countershafts so if you change one gear, that means you must change the other....the calculator above doesn't account for that so it's possible to build a theoretically perfect trans on paper only to find it's not possible in real life. I haven't spent any time a K series trans but did a bunch with my B series build, I've taken a hiatus from autox the past couple of years but hoping to devellop my car further this summer. The trans is one area I need to improve the most, as my car tops out at 57mph in 2nd at 8300rpm.

yupididit said:

You can get a k20 for like $500, it seems

You can get a base RSX/EP3 K20A3 for less than that even, but that's the 160hp version. You can build a pretty cheap 200whp engine with them if you're willing to do a "VTEC killer" setup that basically swaps in the VTEC cams and removes the low cam function of VTEC. The engines with the "good" heads are worth a bunch more. If you're already starting with a K series car, it's quite cheap to make power. Swapping the K into the older double wishbone chassis is where you end up nickle and diming your way up into real money as you need mounts, header, fuel system, shifting setup, better cooling system, wiring, management, etc.

In reply to Run_Away :

Thanks for that. I need to read and digest it for a bit. I'll eventually be building a motor that with a target of something like 250whp. K24 bottom, K20 head, and whatever else common sense and $ dictates. The idea is to collect parts through time. 

Thanks again.