K-Swap project journey
#22
May Update on my K-Swap journey:
My initial tune I had done with Steve at Divulge Motorsports turned out to be a massive disaster. After some extended time driving and having taken the car to the track, I noticed the car didn't seem 100% and was no where near the claimed 250whp. It's a long story, and I will note the details possibly later if I can be bothered to, but I ended up having to file for a chargeback that ended up being successful which I was quite surprised I had won in all honesty. I ended up going with Jeff Evans at Evans Tuning which I highly recommend (He also tuned a buddy's supercharged s2000 which I was doing the datalogging and revisions for). My final numbers for the car ended up being disappointing at 204 peak hp & 159 peak torque.
If I had been on a stock k24 motor I would have been perfectly happy. However, I had opted for some camshafts which were supposed to have netted me ~220 peak hp & ~170 peak torque. After speaking with a few friends and other k-swap folks, the conclusion was that the engine was limited on how much air it could flow. The cable-throttle s2000 OEM throttle body is only ~62mm and the K&N FIPK intake tubing is largely similar in diameter. At the time, I was also running a 63mm test pipe into a 70mm exhaust system. I looked into finding options on expanding the oem intake manifold, and even had a fabrication shop looking to do the work. Long story short (again) it didn't work out and in anger/desperation I purchased a brand new K Power Industries RWD intake manifold.The KPI intake manifold is a direct fit for K-series engines. This meant I ended up having to need to replace my fueling system with RDX injectors, new fuel rail, new fuel pressure regulator, and other various fuel fittings to be compatible. I also upgraded to a 74mm throttle body and fabricated a matching sized intake. On the exhaust side, I opted for a 70mm test pipe and a 76mm catback exhaust.
After explaining to Jeff that I would be doing some upgrades, we worked on more revisions to account for the breather mods. As of writing this update, Jeff sent me a very polished revision and he felt confident that I would be good to hit the dyno and get my required dyno certification runs.
Final results, and the configuration I will be running for the rest of the year, are 218 peak WHP & 169 FT/LBS of torque. This is much more in line with the expected power bump from the cams!
This update wont be nearly as polished as the initial post but I had just enough motivation to recall and write down my thoughts of the last few months. All in all, it was a fun journey building the car. I do miss the 9k redline of the old f20. But for the purposes of the car, the k24 just cannot be beat in terms of usable power & cost effectiveness.
My initial tune I had done with Steve at Divulge Motorsports turned out to be a massive disaster. After some extended time driving and having taken the car to the track, I noticed the car didn't seem 100% and was no where near the claimed 250whp. It's a long story, and I will note the details possibly later if I can be bothered to, but I ended up having to file for a chargeback that ended up being successful which I was quite surprised I had won in all honesty. I ended up going with Jeff Evans at Evans Tuning which I highly recommend (He also tuned a buddy's supercharged s2000 which I was doing the datalogging and revisions for). My final numbers for the car ended up being disappointing at 204 peak hp & 159 peak torque.
If I had been on a stock k24 motor I would have been perfectly happy. However, I had opted for some camshafts which were supposed to have netted me ~220 peak hp & ~170 peak torque. After speaking with a few friends and other k-swap folks, the conclusion was that the engine was limited on how much air it could flow. The cable-throttle s2000 OEM throttle body is only ~62mm and the K&N FIPK intake tubing is largely similar in diameter. At the time, I was also running a 63mm test pipe into a 70mm exhaust system. I looked into finding options on expanding the oem intake manifold, and even had a fabrication shop looking to do the work. Long story short (again) it didn't work out and in anger/desperation I purchased a brand new K Power Industries RWD intake manifold.The KPI intake manifold is a direct fit for K-series engines. This meant I ended up having to need to replace my fueling system with RDX injectors, new fuel rail, new fuel pressure regulator, and other various fuel fittings to be compatible. I also upgraded to a 74mm throttle body and fabricated a matching sized intake. On the exhaust side, I opted for a 70mm test pipe and a 76mm catback exhaust.
After explaining to Jeff that I would be doing some upgrades, we worked on more revisions to account for the breather mods. As of writing this update, Jeff sent me a very polished revision and he felt confident that I would be good to hit the dyno and get my required dyno certification runs.
Final results, and the configuration I will be running for the rest of the year, are 218 peak WHP & 169 FT/LBS of torque. This is much more in line with the expected power bump from the cams!
This update wont be nearly as polished as the initial post but I had just enough motivation to recall and write down my thoughts of the last few months. All in all, it was a fun journey building the car. I do miss the 9k redline of the old f20. But for the purposes of the car, the k24 just cannot be beat in terms of usable power & cost effectiveness.
Last edited by stewpitt; 05-04-2024 at 10:19 PM.
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stewpitt (05-15-2024)
#24
#26
Hey @jiepo I went the ASM route, current working on spotting a small oil leak. If you have any questions HMU. Working on getting my butt into HC eventually currently in HPDE2. I continue to run VIR Full to get more comfortable with the build, summit will be on the books for next year I think if not by year end.
#27
Hey @jiepo I went the ASM route, current working on spotting a small oil leak. If you have any questions HMU. Working on getting my butt into HC eventually currently in HPDE2. I continue to run VIR Full to get more comfortable with the build, summit will be on the books for next year I think if not by year end.
Im actually expected to receive my GLTC spec motor with a Link ECU and PnP harness from ASM later this week. Nice to see there's so many others doing similar swaps.
#28
Hey @jiepo feel free to DM me with your location. I kinda networked with other s2k folks to really gather my research on who I wanted to perform the swap. Part of me wanted to tackle it myself, and well it really boiled down to time vs. money. I have an AEM Infin 506, Andy has moved on with LinkECU, I know it was an option for me to swing either Haltech or AEM, link wasn't available yet. Andy is a wizard when it comes to these cars period, but I do think there are several areas where I would focus. My (very small) loss is your gain here. I have NO clue what your plans are for your S, but there does seem to be more Kswaps and/or new-er s2k track builds. My local fabricator told me such. If you wanted a pointer to a good fab again just let me know.
- Make sure you ask about getting a breather on your valve cover out to a catch can, when I received mine it was quite literally "breathing" (more like coughing) onto the FW, without a filter or anything like that.
- I ended up removing the OEM pressed part and putting in a swivel radium unit which works just fine. I can provide you the part number if you wanted
- Killswitch (good band but srsly may want to consider his wiring expertise)?
- I had swapped in AP2 drivetrain including trans, diff and to the hubs. (Not a fault of ASM nor Andy but.....) I would have them shake it down a bit either on video as proof or something akin to that.
- Check valve cover for leaks, I have one (again not faulting ASM nor Andy here) but I will be refreshing the VC gasket with some optional HB in specific areas of note (any pointers from the audience would be great here links welcome)
- Check the drainplug on your moroso pan, the copper washer provided wasn't the right spec and leaks a drop here and there, check it before taking delivery.
- Make note of the additional oil you will need to feed the car
- I added an oil cooler to mine cause I invest a good amount of coin in refreshing the block prior to "sending it" to Andy. @robrob gets the nod here great writeup and frankly I owe him a beer or five (coffee if else)
- I would ask Andy where he plans on mounting the ECU, mine is where the OEM location is, a bit tight, but I kinda wish I had it mounted someplace else for easy access.
#29
Thanks for all the pointers, I just checked out some of your videos!
I'm in Canada and planning to do all the work myself. I've already begun disassembling my car.
I believe I'm the first to get the Link setup.
I've got a vent-to-atmosphere catch can ready for both the PCV and breather ports. Unfortunately looking at the pictures I got, I think I got the valve cover without the removable press fitting. The radium press-fitting would've cleaned it up a bit.
I'm in Canada and planning to do all the work myself. I've already begun disassembling my car.
I believe I'm the first to get the Link setup.
I've got a vent-to-atmosphere catch can ready for both the PCV and breather ports. Unfortunately looking at the pictures I got, I think I got the valve cover without the removable press fitting. The radium press-fitting would've cleaned it up a bit.
#30
Ahh hailing from the North. I should ask for some good ol Tim Horton's coffee, good stuff. I used to work for a Canadian Telecom company back in the day. You are performing the swap yourself?
I am doing just about everything, I really needed ASM's expertise on swapping in the trans, motor, drivelines, hubs etc. You'll have to share some of the goodies o the link setup, is there a mobile app to view things, license fees etc?
I am doing just about everything, I really needed ASM's expertise on swapping in the trans, motor, drivelines, hubs etc. You'll have to share some of the goodies o the link setup, is there a mobile app to view things, license fees etc?