KPower Industries K24 swap

[Irace86.2.0]

Does anyone know if the stock frontpipe clears the transmission? I know you guys have the Kpower header and mid/frontpipe piece, but did anyone fit the stock frontpipe in position? I'm wondering if the resonator/muffler on the frontpipe clears the trans mount and driveshaft.

[captain awesome]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

Does anyone know if the stock frontpipe clears the transmission? I know you guys have the Kpower header and mid/frontpipe piece, but did anyone fit the stock frontpipe in position? I'm wondering if the resonator/muffler on the frontpipe clears the trans mount and driveshaft.

Unfortunately I installed the header before dropping the engine in, and it takes up half the distance of the front pipe if not more so I never set it in place to see. I "think" it's possible but really just depends on where your dump pipe ends up.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by captain awesome

Unfortunately I installed the header before dropping the engine in, and it takes up half the distance of the front pipe if not more so I never set it in place to see. I "think" it's possible but really just depends on where your dump pipe ends up.

Yeah, I bet the cat and pipe will clear, but I just don't know about the mini muffler/resonator at the rear of the frontpipe.

[Mike_ZN6]

I have been contemplating this swap but the NVH issues have scared me away. It seems that every swap I am aware of has these issues to some extent. Maybe KPower needs to do some re-engineering on the kit.

[Irace86.2.0]

Originally Posted by Mike_ZN6

I have been contemplating this swap but the NVH issues have scared me away. It seems that every swap I am aware of has these issues to some extent. Maybe KPower needs to do some re-engineering on the kit.

I don't know if the stock oil pump will work with their oil pan if the baffles are removed or cut down. That could make the NVH better, and while the RSX oil pump is nice, if you aren't going over 8k and on the track or something then it might not matter. Besides that, it is really hard to tell if something else needs to be modified. I can't tell if there is clearance in motion, but there are some areas where clearances are tight, yet nothing is rubbing, so tend to think it is just the engine vibrations transferring through to the chassis. I can hold the rpms in certain positions where vibrations practically disappear, so I figure the oil pump is likely the main culprit.

[Four_wheel_drifts]

Originally Posted by RedReplicant

What did they change?

I couldn't get my picture to upload or the link to work.

Instead of cutting and hammering the left and right area ahead of the transmission mounts, they cut that area back/away entirely.

AR Motorsports then welded up what was left to strengthen the entire area. The result is inches of clearance instead of fractions of an inch of clearance on each side.

[captain awesome]

This weekend I dove into the coolant system issue. First my low temp thermostat came in and that's all I planned to do. Then I realized swapping the gasket on the rear water neck would get me a good idea of whether I can tap or if I need to weld. Tons of meat to do the tapping so I checked to see when my new barbed fitting will arrive. I could have sworn it said Sunday so I started running around town gathering a 5/8" barbed fitting, a new passenger side rad hose(I feel like the one I had before was cut too short), and another splice for the 5/8" lines added.
While I was waiting on this fitting....






It's now hooked up to the smaller port that the heater core was using before. The outgoing heater core line will now connect to the larger port once the fitting arrives and the coolant line fed by the intake manifold will now connect to the inward flow of the heater core. I'll still be using the stock temp thermostat to confirm it all functions like it should have to begin with.






The new barbed adapter came in yesterday but for whatever reason they didn't send the safety wire normally included with the kit. I didn't have any in the garage so for now I used two loops of guitar string until I can do it properly.


I also bought a fancy vacuum coolant kit to try out and I like it. A lot. While it didn't completely eliminate the need to burp the system it made checking for leaks and filling quicker with way less mess.


Burping went well and before you know it the lower hose was getting warm. I didn't want to get my hopes up much until I went for a spin, so after letting it cool I topped it off and went for a ride.


Temps stayed steady at 179-181 at low RPM and would drop to 176-177 with higher RPM. At a stop light the temp would slowly rise to 185ish if there for a short minute. If I have to sit longer it would get to 190. Best of all when I ran it up and down the highway it stayed steady at 180-182 regardless of whether a car was in front of me or not.


So, my conclusion is that the added coolant line made a HUGE difference. When I got back from my trip last night and to work this morning the lower coolant hose was warm. Before it would be dead cold with the fans just going to town. Now the fans barely kick on. I changed Fan #1 to kick on at 195 then off at 190, Fan #2 kicks on at 198 then off at 192. Both are timed flawlessly and get it back to 186 or lower just from that quick cycle, and I do mean quick.

[hedtrip]

Nice. i was hoping this would work.

[RedReplicant]

Agreed, I ordered the parts from Tractuff after reading captain awesome's post yesterday.

https://tractuff.com/products/tractu...t-port-adapter (5/8 barb option)

[Ebush]

It’s so strange that kpower went about this the way they did. I believe it would have been cheaper to route that “extra” coolant line than delete it like we all did. Also love how a few guys have kept the little 90° bleeder pipe on the heater hose, wish I had kept that but It got left on my motor when I sold it.

[captain awesome]

Yeah I'm not sure why they deleted it other than to try and "simplify" the plumbing? What sealed the deal for me was in the TracTuff description for the part.

Remember, these fittings should be used as a return as they are constantly pulling water from what they are connected to.

That right there explained my issue and also pointed to another I had that never really bothered me too much. Not yet at least, but come summer maybe? My cabin heat would be scolding hot really quick when the car was warming up, and even when blended to cold still put out more heat than it did stock with the HVAC fan off. Of course this makes sense because the line coming out of the heater core is pointed at the thermostat and not where the water pump bypass draws the most flow from. The heater core was just holding the already hot coolant from the back of the head while a tiny line tries to do what two used to. Now that I've added the second line it takes a little longer to heat up like it would have stock and also is way more comfortable in the cabin.

Another thing to think about is how much the coolant gets bottle-necked from the rear of the head to the lower rad hose. Kpower is having you run ONE 5/8" line to draw enough coolant that the rest of the system was designed for 1.25". Guess what two 5/8" lines that the stock k24 uses.........? Yup. It's 1.25" for both of the k24 lines to be used. I don't believe that to be a coincidence at all.

[captain awesome]

For those looking for part numbers I used or recommend:


The fitting I used for the back of the water neck was part number MRY 84724. It's a 5/8" barbed connector with a 3/8 NPT thread pitch so brand doesn't have to be specific depending on what parts store you use.



From the back of the head I trimmed the fa20 inlet hose part number 72411CA000 to meet with 19504-raa-a00 from my k24a2 donor.


For the outlet of the heater core I would have preferred to use another 19504-raa-a00 that would then connect to the other half of 72411CA000 that was then connected to the fa20 bleeder with short line to the core connection. Instead I just used what came with the Kpower kit. At a later date I plan to change it to the above, I just didn't have time on my side when assembling.

[Irace86.2.0]

The other option would be to T a line from the outlet hose, and snake it to the other side or swap with the heater feed and have the heater feed go to the thermostat. Less clean, but probably simpler than removing the intake manifold and drill and tapping the rear water housing.

[captain awesome]

Originally Posted by Irace86.2.0

The other option would be to T a line from the outlet hose, and snake it to the other side or swap with the heater feed and have the heater feed go to the thermostat. Less clean, but probably simpler than removing the intake manifold and drill and tapping the rear water housing.

I thought long and hard about that. My biggest argument against it, is that you are still trying to push or pull through half the diameter of the rest of the 1.25" system. The heater core is still the bottleneck and while it may help a little I'd be surprised if you see the same results as the second hose. Of course this is all conjecture but you can only flow so much through a 5/8" hose. Also if you didn't have the means to drill or tap, Kpower sells a neck that has an added port in that exact spot for Miata swaps.



Also I think the reason you aren't seeing the same issue, is the added turbo coolant line that's allowing the system to have that second 5/8" of re-circulation. This of course is just a guess.