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a week ago I posted k20 vs turbo. Going turbo. There is so much back and forth smack about which is best, who will rip you off and such, that I'm totally confused. First off, I'm in Canada so shipping time is important to me. Getting married in july, turbo after. Who got a turbo set up, and what do you have to say about it. Please keep in mind, I am looking to acheive power that will let me keep up with, or go slightly better than rsx-s. If I can make 180 -200 whp I'm satisfied. Also, anything I should look out for would be appreciated to. The best part is, my wife to be says she'll help to save quick if I promise not to buy it before the wedding. I'm estimating (realistically) sept 05 to do the turbo, and redo the lowered suspension.

 
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Well, just looking at it like this; you want to keep up with or be slightly better than an RSX-S. Swap, same engine= close to RSX-S, but seeing that you're getting married (congrats) maybe a turbo would be the better route

 
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stock for stock, turbo at 8 psi would be faster. k20a2 would be faster with i/h/e/hondata for sure.

turbo would be easier to take off ... k20a2 would be legal to put in.

bov sounds good ... 8600 rpms (8000 w/o hondata), vtec sounds good

turbo maintenance sucks ... swap labor $ sucks

remember ... if you're going turbo, get an aftermarket clutch ... or you WILL regret it (and be sure to break it in properly). boost controller for sure ... and turbo timer if you want your turbo to last.

so there's a basic list of pros, cons and tradeoffs ;P

 
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^^^ he knows the cons and pros... he has realized the turbo cons and is now going to k20a power...

 
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In most places, a turbo is just as legal if not more legal than a swap. Turbo cars are also much easier to insure than swapped cars, most insurance companies won't touch a swapped car with a 10 foot pole.

Any decent turbo kit should put you at around 180whp with 8psi, and a good kit will get you closer to 200whp at 8psi. All depends on the amount of money you want to spend.

 
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i have no insurance problems. 900 every 6 mo, 1 ticket and 1 accident.

the reason you get back and forth in your threads is because it is a forum. we discuss and give our opinions. if one clear answer existed, this place wouldn't exist. so read what we like and dislike, and go from there.

i hope you have some knowledge or significant experience with turboed cars. or money for someone who does

 
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Well from a price standpoint, you are looking at 3.4-4k for all of the essentials assuming that you install yourself. For a swap, expect to spend about 2k more than that for everything.

 
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My insurance company thinks i drive a 2002 Civic EX

and to put my $0.02 into this. Before i hydrolocked my motor i was planning on turboing my car. I was planning on goin the custom route and was getting everything planned out. When my motor went boom, i started doin some research on clubrsx and other places about other options. It didn't take me long to figure out that 170whp is alot better of a starting positon then 111whp. Then i started to see the gains people were getting with simple bolts on to their RSXs, then i saw the massive amount of aftermaket support that came out in such a short period of time and then the choice just kinda seemed obvious.

I know a bunch of people with turbo'd non-turbo cars, and while some of them have trouble free runs, alot of them need to keep repairing/replacing stuff. With a swapped motor you have a motor out of a stock car. It's just as reliable as a RSX....which is a pretty good thing.

When it really boils down to it, i think the main choice for people doin a swap is their budget. 4k for turbo sounds alot better than 8k for a swap. But now that i've had my swap for almost a year, you could throw me a fully built d17 pushing 17psi for free and i would reject it. There is nuthing like a naturally aspirated DOHC high reving Honda motor IMO.

Long live the K

 
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I just hope for your sake that you never have a wreck or claim where your company sees your swap, and that your insurance company isn't Geico, State Farm, Progressive, or Shelter. They'll instantly drop any coverage for any performance modification, be it suspension or horsepower increase. And leave you holding the liability for the wreck or claim.

Now other companies including Allstate will insure a swap or a turbo so long as you have pictures, receipts, and get an appraisal done. This is who I have mine insured with, and they're covering every little thing on the car for a very very very small increase in premium. Like $25/ 6 months for up to $15k of additional parts coverage.

So that point is kinda moot so long as you go with a good insurance company. Smog and inspection rules are just going to depend on where you live, some are better for a swap, some are better for a turbo. Just depends.

Just remember that increasing the power of a car comes at a cost. Cost of the parts, install, car down time during install, and the things you're going to break after. Swapped cars can be very reliable, and so can turbo cars. What matters is if you're willing to put the time and effort into making sure all preventative maintenance is done, and to take care of things that need to be done. Turbo cars are going to have a higher maintenance cost because of the increased wear and tear, whereas a swap motor will not but only if you leave that swap motor stock. You start to modify the swap motor, then you're looking at the same maintenance increase as with any other modified engine.

 
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im in canada too, i have been looking into swaps because i have been following topics on turboing an alot of people are having problems an the maintenance will u cost alot. but say if i get a k20a2 motor which is around $5000 maybe what other things will be needed? and how much will it might cost to do the swap?

p.s. srry to jack ur thread dinglenuts jus wanting some answers that could also help u

 
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no prblem, i'd love to know why a swap costs 12 grand canadian, anybody know what they put in generally other than the engine n tranny, ecu etc, that justifies 12 grand? is this reasonably fair or are they making like 3 grand cash? remember- canadian bucks.

 
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^^^ 12,000 in CAD is like 100 US dollars...lol

 
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10,055.30 US dollars

it could have done it cheaper

 
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once its running you just want to keep spending more and more money to make it go faster and faster. you never have to stop with a k20. Its only been 2 weeks and im saving up for tranny work (type-r final drive, stage II clutch) itr cams and intake manifold. I figure i am going to keep the car for a long time so i can turbo if i want and make over 300 hp at 8psi in a couple of years. possibilities are endless with a k20.

plus the sound of v-tec is tight

 
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did you tell the insurance companies that u have turbo on ur car, tell me cuz i'm not experienced in that **** and i dont want to have a legal battle.plz

 
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Well, I'm going to probably be buying that Dezod kit around Nov. 05 for my D17. Pending I have the correct amount of money saved. After all the researching for parts, labor and **** for the turbo, I will be around 8K to get it totally done right. If you want it done right, You gotta get alotta stuff, for example-

Turbo Kit
Gauges
Clutch
Turbo Timer
Boost Controller
E-manage
Exhaust
Axles

So It can get pretty costly. To be totally honest, If I knew all the ins and outs of where to get a swap, how much it would cost total and stuff, I would highly consider it. But I do like the idea of simply Turbo'in my car D17 style.

 
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thats exactly my problem, I at first thought maybe for around 5 grand the turbo could be done, but after all the other stuff involved, a swap, if you find a good deal, seems like a better alternative. I mean, if a swap can be done for $10,000 avg, why turbo for $8000. Seems the extra little bit of cash is worth it.

 
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you can do a basic swap like without 5 lug conversion or new rims for about $7000. Its all the suspension and stuff that adds up.

A2 motors run from 3-5,000.
2,000(+-) for parts unless your motor comes with everything like clutch line, power steering lnes, ect.
1,000+ for labor

five lug w/ stock acura rims, new cross drilled rotors, new pads=1,000
1,500 for nice coilovers

see it just depends on how far you want to go. you can always do that down the line to. I didnt have the money for coilovers right away so im saving up. Its half the fun with a swap. You are never done

 
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A K20a2 Swap seems nice ,all the extra h/p you get and stuff like that. But to me if i wanted a RSX i should have bought one insted of my 03 civic. (witch i didnt think of at the time all i though of was Sweet new car! LOW PAYMENTS) . Im just sayin if you gona pay 17K for a civic and put another 10k in it for a Swap.. why not just put that 10k torwards a RSX-S and Trade in your civic. why pay 30k esenntualy (sp) for a civic ex. but i guess that could be the case for a turbo as well 20+k for a civic..........i think in situations for people on a budget. building a car you could of bought for around the same price. seems meaning less. Installing a turbo is more cost effective ( in the long run) even though theres maintence involed...but you have to maintain everything at some point. If a turbo is installed right there should be minimal maintence and you should be happy boosting around town. and by putting in minimal amounts of money at a time. you could get your d17 to boost 170+ whp easly. Stuff just takes time. Not to mention if you turbo it (and do it yourself) you have the pride and prop's that you did it yourself. For me i get more Pride by doing the work myself all the Blood, sweat and sometimes tears from the cause of the blood, It might be just me but i'd rather build a fast car then buy a fast car, and being the fastest doesnt matter..as long as i can smoke the occational ricer. because there will always be someone faster. So it really depends on when your happy w/ your car. ......................WHOOOOWWw that was kind of deap........sorry guys lol
anyway.. your getting married soon...so you have to think of the possibilitys of children..and the money they cost..i think last i heard the average price of a child cost from age 0-18 is like 120K and rising..just somthin to think of. congrads by the way.

Keep in mine my oppion is compleatly biast.. i do not have a turbo nor swap..i plan on getting a turbo just because im content w/ my d17a2 and replacing the engine to me no longer makes it a civic. if you want a fast Civic build a Fast Civic and be content w/ what you have. if you want a fast car buy an RSX-S and trade in your Civic. Simple