18 Jan Everything You Need to go R18 to K Series

Everything You Need to go R18 to K Series
By Brian Gillespie and Aaron Gaghagen

The R18 that powers the majority of 8th gen Civics is a dependable work horse, but it lacks excitement. It doesn’t rev that high and the torque is “meh.” Luckily we’ve got the solution and it is the almighty K series! A K swap into a non-Si (or Type R) 8th gen Civic is the new B series into a 5th or 6th gen Civic. It really is that simple. While the Si and non-Si 8th gen Civics are nearly identical, there are some differences that you need to know of when going K series.

Looking for a quick list of parts you’ll need to do a K swap in your R18 powers 8th Gen Civic? Look no further. These are the parts you’ll need if you’re swapping your R18 for an 8th gen Si engine and transmission:

06-11 Civic Si exhaust header
06-11 Civic Si catalytic converter (to be legal)
06-11 Civic Si or better exhaust (so you aren’t limiting the engine)
06-11 Civic Si radiator hoses
06-11 Civic Si heater hoses
06-11 Civic Si air fuel sensor and secondary O2 sensor
06-11 Civic Si ECU
06-11 Civic Si engine wire harness and charge harness
06-11 Civic Si shift cables
06-11 Civic Si intake air tube, airbox and MAF sensor

We opted to installed a K24A2 from a TSX so we also grabbed these parts, some are needed more than others.

06-11 Civic Si intake manifold (optional)
06-11 Civic Si throttle body (optional)
Hondata FlashPro (to get full potential of the K24A2)
06-11 Civic Si oil pan (this is where the rear mount attaches)

The deeper than normal K-series oil pan found the 8th gen Civic Si needs a deeper sump. One option is to modifiy an 8th gen Si oil pump to clear the K24 crank pulley. It can be used with the K24 oil pump chain, guide and tensioner. Some people have gone without doing the pump with the deeper sump, but I don’t recommend that, especially if you plan to bring the car out the track. We opted to use a JDM FD2 oil pump with chain, guide and tensioner.

Last there a couple of other custom parts we used. We opted to keep the hydraulic power steering so we had a high pressure power steering hose made and used a TSX PS pump with it. Also we used some PS fluid resistant bulk hose to make a feed line for the pump.

To get the Si ECU to work with the non-Si cabin harness we made an adapter harness. Parts to make the adapter harness were purchased from Corsa Technic. For more information on building your adapter harness, check out this video:

Don’t forget that you will need to have a dealership reflash your ECU and MICU to get your key and car to play nicely with your new swap. It’s kind of a pain, but it also gives you an extra layer of security to not allow someone to start your car without the real key.

Watched all the videos and still have a question about this swap? Drop us a line at askvtecacademy@gmail.com We are here to help!

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DISCLAIMER:

VTEC Academy videos are for educational and entertainment purposes. We can not guarantee the modifications performed in the video are legal in your locality. Do not do any modifications to your vehicle that will void your warranty or in any way violate your local laws. We assume no liability for property damage or injury as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use the information provided at your own risk.