Rep Power: 287

So is the k-swap worth it? What do YOU think?

i've gotten too many PMs, a lot of people are asking me if its really worth it and what the compromises are...


What most people are thinking...
-7thgen civics in decent condition are worth $10,000+, swap costs 4,000-8,000 depending on which motor you get, how much you get the parts for and whether you do it yourself or pay someone.
-Why not sell the car and take that money, buy a used Type S, bmw, etc. which gives you more comfort?
-Would you rather tell people you drive a civic or a car such as a bmw, acura and so on..



What I came up with...

cons
-car vibrates like crazy
-majority of the time, people doing the swap lose the A/C, sometimes power steering as well
-interior panels rattle
-will never recover the money spent
-no one does a basic swap, you end up spending more
-ride comfort declines
-you lose the manufacturer's warranty

pros
-double the hp
-its unique
-you're better off in terms of $ to hp ratio





do or do not the pro's over-power the cons? whats your take on this?

 
Rep Power: 246

can you kill the interior rattling with dynamat?

 
Rep Power: 287

^ reduces the engine noise but not the rattling

 
Rep Power: 346

I think its worth it!! It really depends on each person! I mean yes it vibrates and shakes but thats normal in every swap. PLus its also do to insurance costs too and all the mods you already done to a civic. Lets say you wanted to buy a new rsx S which is like $23k compared to a swap which is $7k and your civic is only worth $9-10. So you're gonna make about 13K in payments plus insurance is gonna cost more compared to a civic. Not only that you will be stuck making payments and drivin a stock RSX S and selling a civic for $10k isnt easy also!!! So if you were to ask me, yes its worth it!! It will be faster than a stock rsx s cuz its weight. For me I dont mind the vibration cuz it makes you feel whats wrong with ur car and u know right away if something isnt right compared to a smooth luxury car. Its all personal preference!!

 
Rep Power: 0

damn...does the interior vibrates that bad? if so i will have second thought of swappin in the k20.

 
Rep Power: 246

I am sure that there has to be a way to lower the rattling you might add a but of weight doing it i am guessing but i am sure there have to be ways

 
Rep Power: 258

yah, like stop driving in vtec

 
Rep Power: 287

very true... i agree

there isn't. The engine mounts are stiff. You can't do anything about it...
things like steering wheel, seats, etc. vibrate.. i guesss you eventually get used to it.

 
Rep Power: 254

i think its worth it, i was going to do k24 frank in my em2, but instead i purchased an eg, i'm swapping the motor in that one. the thing that turned me away from swapping the em2 is that it weighs too much, instead i wanted something light, and what better car to swap it in then a hatch?




here is pics of both, i am buildling the hatch from the ground up, i'm doing the body work right now, and having it freshly painted, then i'll work on the suspension and drop the motor in.

but this is my personal choice, k24 eg > k24 em2.

 
Rep Power: 0

well you have to ask yourself this....are you willing to sacrifice soem of the creature comforts to see the priceless look on the v8 guys face when you blow past him in a honda? Civics are cheaply made cars built for economy in the first place not necessarily for creature comforts i doubt you will ever get ride quality liek a beamer or an acura for that matter... You lose money on any car as sson as its driven off the lot... the only way i can think of to get your money back from a car is to do a junkyard build of a muscle car which in itself is getting hard to do i payed 3k for my nova 5 years ago... i dont think they were ever that expensive brand new unless of course it was an ss... I dont know about the rest of you but i bought my car because it gets 35+ mpg... now i have the mindframe that i want to make everyone's jaw drop. If you fancy calling yourself a 'tuner' you are going to spend money on mods anyway wether it be a civic or a porsche

 
Rep Power: 293

eg's weigh 2100 stripped down....I think......i personnally would prefer an ek hatch with a k24......

 
Rep Power: 279

little comparisson you might think about.

the cost of a type S new at least $24000
cost of civic with k20 swap at most $20000
($4000 left to mod with)

Curb Weight of MY(everything encluding subs) K20 swaped Civic = 2616 lbs
Curb Weight of RSX = 2734 lbs
Difference = 118lbs

Average Annual Insurance Cost Rsx type S = $2,070.00
Average Annual Insurance Cost Civic Ex =$1,350.00

2005 Acura RSX: Specs & Safety


Vehicle Dimensions 2-door hatchback
Wheelbase, in.101.2
Overall Length, in.172.4
Overall Width, in.67.9
Overall Height, in.54.9
Curb Weight, lbs.2734
Cargo Volume, cu. ft.16.0
Standard Payload, lbs.--
Fuel Capacity, gals.13.2
Seating Capacity4
Front Head Room, in.37.8
Max. Front Leg Room, in.43.1
Rear Head Room, in.34.1
Max. Rear Leg Room, in.29.2

2005 Honda Civic: Specs & Safety

Vehicle Dimensions 2-door hatchback 2-door coupe 4-door sedan
Wheelbase, in.101.2 103.1 103.1
Overall Length, in.165.7 175.4 175.4
Overall Width, in.66.7 66.7 67.5
Overall Height, in.56.7 55.1 56.7
Curb Weight, lbs.2782 2449 2449
Cargo Volume, cu. ft.35.7 12.9 12.9
Standard Payload, lbs.------
Fuel Capacity, gals.13.2 13.2 13.2
Seating Capacity 5 5 5
Front Head Room, in.37.8 39.0 39.8
Max. Front Leg Room, in.42.2 42.5 42.2
Rear Head Room, in.36.7 35.4 37.2
Max. Rear Leg Room, in.33.0 32.8 36.0

just think about some of that stuff!

 
Rep Power: 293

/\ nice car but plz don't put on a body kit...

 
Rep Power: 279

Sorry but one will be going on, not for looks though but for aerodynamics. Not any time soon though. Im currently debating on just making my car full race.

 
Rep Power: 293

not sure how much aero u will need though.....who makes wind tunnel tested parts for our cars?? A full race 7thgen would be nice....

 
Rep Power: 362

you've gotten too many PM's, huh? ... welcome to the club. Even when I ask people not to pm me [see sig], I still get pm's.

as far as the "cons" go ... I don't mind the vibration. If yer looking for a comfortable ride, you probably shouldn't have swapped in the first place.

a/c and p/s are attainable. I don't have either ... I don't like having p/s in my car ... a/c ... well ... soon to be installed. T_T;;;;

interior panels rattle because a civic is cheap. yep.

never recover the money spent? ... since when has anyone ever recovered the money spent for any used product?

ride comfort declines ... just get an rsx then!

manufacturer's warranty? ... how often to people use these? ... many times, honda doesn't honor their warranties ... [ie. busted auto d17 trannies, etc]. I've heard a lot of stories where for something so simple like having an intake or springs, they won't work on your car.... not just the motor swaps.

nobody does a basic swap? ... well when u get that much power you get greedy ... and want more power. why have 180 whp when you can have 210. agree?

 
Rep Power: 279

Well enough lol... Im trying to work some stuff out with a couple people right now. But i like to rep what i can!

 
Rep Power: 301

agree with him 100%

 
Rep Power: 346

Seriously when you think about it! Buyin an rsx S isnt that much better cuz the whole suspension set up is the same as the civics, so the rough ride is gonna be the same. Just think about it you're just buying an RSX S just so you can say I don't drive a civic but in reality its the same exact thing!!! I was gonna sell my civic and get an RSX S but I decided not to cuz I thought really hard about it lol............

 
Rep Power: 287

i think its better to do a swap if your car was not purchased brand new...
because:

NEW
17K + swap 7k = 24K

USED
(10 to 12K) + swap 7K = 17K to 19K you're saving atleast 5K

Even though I purchased my car brand new and then did the swap, if i could go back, I'd buy a used civic and do the swap on the used car. Problem was that i would have never thought that i'd end up doing a swap. I guess thats the case for most ppl.

Also, for 24K, you can pick up a used s2k which will probably be just as quick as a k swapped 7th gen.

 
Rep Power: 295

Only thing I'd add to that (and this is 100% personal opinion) is the em2 is a better looking car than dc5 and ep3.....

 
Rep Power: 287

^^ i personally love the 05-06 rsx... much better than 7th gen civics...

and by the way, ppl making the argument about a basic k-swapped em2 being faster than a stock rsx type s... it'll get you into low 14's which is not too difficult for an rsx to achieve either... agree?

 
Rep Power: 301

my k20a3 and turbo are well worth it. I love it. the rattles do suck big time.

 
Rep Power: 287

^ its the worst when you're at a red light, you have some change lying around which is also rattling, and the traffic is getting to you... lol.

 
Rep Power: 311

when you guys say rattle and vibrate...exactly to what extent is the vibration and rattling? Put it in lame man's terms

 
Rep Power: 0

It all depends on the person. I think if the person has money to play around with then turning the civic into a project car and swapping becomes much easier. Most people that drive these cars don't have lots of money to play around with so swapping is not a very smart idea. Warrenty is a huge issue, that will save your *** down the road. If you swap you better be really good when it comes to working on hondas. If you dont have another car to drive while you are working on your car then it can make things very difficult. I would love to do a swap, but I have to have my car almost every day to get to work.

I think trading it in and getting a new car is a better investment. Yeah it may cost more, but its stock, fast and reliable and warrenty. And when you drive a swapped civic your car stands out more, and its already one of the most stolen cars, why risk losing a much bigger investment. But I wouldnt pic an rsx, would much rather get a bmw or wrx, something a step above a cheap civic/rsx. My buddies RSX has been nothing but bad luck for him, been broken into 3 times, been rear ended, had the rear window broken. He finally is deciding to trade it in, looking at getting a new 5 series bmw. Something that is classy, but stands out less.

But if money really isnt an issue hell yeah, swap that biatch.

 
Rep Power: 287

^^ it definately makes a difference as to whether you have extra $$$ to make your daily driver a project car, good point!

Also, since i'm studying accounting at the moment, by next year, i'll have my CA (Chartered Accountancy) designation. Somthing that crosses my mind is how it will look if i drive into the parking lot in a modified civic, and stepping out of one with a suit. Will that look professional? lol... the other guys will probably driving something better than a civic, though it may not be faster than my civic. "boy's car" vs. "man's car", know what i mean?

 
Rep Power: 360

ok, so why does it rattle so much? i dont understand, so if i do a swap my car will rattle? what gives?

 
Rep Power: 288

probably because of the mounts

 
Rep Power: 360

so that will cause the whole car to rattle.