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I'm kindof a new member to 7thgencivic and was wondering what you guys think of taking a k20a3 block and putting a K20a (type R) head on it. Is there any difference between a k20a3 block and a k20a block, not talking about the head just the block themselves? I'm sure you could get the block for like 1,000 bucks and try to find a type R 6-speed transmission to hook to it. Build the bottom end with new rods and pistons that could handle some torture. That way it could handle some boost in the future. The idea here is to build the motor on the stand from scratch then toss it in my 02 Civic EX one weekend. A hondata engine management system would also be nice. I could put money into each week and not have to have the $6000 up front for a type r motor. Tell me what you think. I'm open to suggestions.

 
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i've read about one guy that used a K20a3 block and k20a2 head with K-pro, so it's possible. Just do some research. Trust me, you'll never hear the end of that.

 
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its even worth building a k20a3 motor.... a guy on honda-tech ran 14.4 and 14.5 with i/h/e hondata and some other BASIC stuff in his ep3 so if u can get the a3 i would do it

 
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thats because the the valves on the a3 head only have 2intake and 1 exhaust. The cam grind is also not as agressive. I was about to buy an a3 2 weekes ago but the owner of the shop told me this and showed me. I asked him about swapping an a2 head on it and he said that would work. It will bolt on to the block the main parts your going to need is just the complete a2 head and the rsx-s computer. I've seen a2 heads go for a fair price on clubrsx.com

 
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u guys gotta remember that the block itself is basically all the same between the si's and rsx's... only difference is compression... now if you decide to get a si or rsx base motor(there both the same) then as hyaboosta said the valves are different on the head... also like hyaboosta said is you can just get a a2 head and ecu and ur almost pretty much be running the same thing as a stock type s (k20a2).... now when u get into specifics between the type s and type r.. then the only real major difference is the internals between the 2.. the type r has itr internals which gives it a higher compression and better valves and springs... now dont go and buy a type r head if you going to be changing the internals cause it would be a waste of money... buy a type s head and then buy some skunk2 internals such as race cams and springs and all the good stuff.... i believe a guy has all skunk2 internals and i think is pushing high 8's at the 1/4 mile

 
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are you talking about the skunk2 race car? ... that car has a k24 block, stroked to 2.5L FYI.

anyway ...

k20a3 is not worth building. you need high compression to be able to utilize power at high rpms ... k20a3 compression just isn't high enough. one guy on ephatch put a type s head on his car and still ran a mid 14 ... which is what he ran -before- he put the head on ...

http://www.ephatch.com/forum/showthr...ight=type+head ... read post #13. I think there is another thread dedicated to how the a2 head on the a3 block sucks

 
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yes i know about the skunk2 car but thats not the one... if i find the article i'll scan it and post it up here... but one thing about the head swap was we have a guy here who had a k20a3 with hondata running low 14's... he swapped the head into an a2 and got it retuned with hondata and now is running high 13's.. very close to getting mid 13's...so i was going based on this.. i think there was an article on this in clubrsx.com... imma see if i can find that one too

 
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Thanks guys,
I think I have a better idea of what to do now, if I ever come across the money. I really was talking about getting a K20a3 block and rebuilding it with perfomance parts then putting a type s or type r head on it with better cams and maybe put new valves and stuff. Then getting a type s or type r 6-speed transmission to hook up to it. It wouldn't necessarily be a civic or rsx motor but it would be a perfomance engine and if done right would probably put out about 220hp, as I said IF DONE RIGHT. I think you could pick up a k20a3 block alot cheaper than k20a block even though they're almost the same. I have heard that the type s and type r crankshafts are different. But i want to put a performance motor in my car not a used stock motor. Thanks for all your comments. Has anybody ever done this? and how much of a gain in power was it?

 
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check ephatch.com alot of si owners on that site have done the a2 head swap.

 
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i just called the shop and they comfirmed that the difference between the k20a, k20a2 and k20a3 is just the compression ratio of the pistons.... highest compression is the a followed by the a2 then in last is the a3.. but u can always buy some hhigh compression pistons and just change that.. that would be the only thing you need to change

 
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^ well u should never take ur car to those shops cause theyre dumbasses. the main difference between the k20a and the k20a2 is compression and a better cam i think. but the k20a3 uses a completely different verision of vtec.

 
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dont mean to burst you bubble but we already talked about that..... as you read on to the other posts you will find out that i was talking about the block itself and not the head..as for the head we already covered that when hyaboosta said "thats because the the valves on the a3 head only have 2intake and 1 exhaust. The cam grind is also not as agressive.".... and the a2 head has 2intake and 2exhaust lobes...

 
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well plz mention block. i did read the other posts then when i read urs i still thought u meant the entire engine. if you had said "the only difference between the k20a, k20a2, and k20a3 BLOCKS" it wouldve actually been clear. plus u were talking about a shop and didnt mention if u asked them about the entire engine or just the block.

 
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well i was mentioning "block" in almost all of em and correct me if im wrong but isnt the original post asking about the "block"...????

 
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well once again, i realized what u meant after u explained it the first time, but plz make ur posts a bit more clear.

 
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lol... no probs... im just ragging on ya..haha ... im hella bored right now..