K Swapping a Miata 

Great breakdown

Just picked up a k24z3 from local junkyard with 63k for 250$!!! Hyped!!!

I think the perfect budget track miata is a 2.5 swapped nc with header and cams. It could be trashed all day with 0 issues and then drive you back home from the track. The cost is 3-4k if you have the car already and it gives 98% of what na/nb miatas give handling wise.

Thank you for the informative video. I absolutely love it!!

Great video dude, I spent $23k on swap related parts. Thanks for the shout out! :)

Love you brother 💪🏽, love the humble vibes man

What a timely video. I've had a coldside MP62 on my 97 for a dozen (yes, 12!) years and it has been trouble-free, but the motor is getting a bit tired. I figure I'm somewhat at a crossroads. 250whp sounds like a nice number, and is about at the limit (maybe a bit higher) of what the stock 5 speed can handle.

Great info. Im about to Kswap my FRS & alot of this info also applies to it. ...just waiting on the kit to ship

Kudos to you. It looks like an insane car. Ive been going back and watching the old videos (hello, from a new subscriber) i currently have a 02 5spd with the sport package. Yeah, wives, house, and kids all put a damper on things. Lol

K is the way. I put a k20z3 lsd fwd on my 1st gen insight but seeing this build is honestly really exciting and all the handling grip on the chasis with that power.. i swear I can hear the vtec scream!

Saturday morning ritual...Napp vid that's how i kno the weekend is here, don't have to work, what can i start doing to my car today

great video, defiantly helped to have the info because i’ve heard everyone say it was super cheap

4piston is killing it with the k24z now since the video came out just a heads up for people who don't know

Love this set up

Thanks for this video. I am looking into k swapping my off-road Miata. It has 30x10.5” mud terrains so I need some more torque but I don’t want to add forced induction to the car so k24 n/a is what I’m leaning towards.

Good video with Great information, Thank You! I'm doing a bored out 2.0 from McCally Racing and will have 225ish rear wheel horse power which I think will be ideal. Not sure if doing the same with your race car would work well for you or not as I know nothing on racing rules and classes. Perhaps it would be a good idea? I have a bunch of things I want to do before I drop in the engine and I got injured at work, lost the work comp case so money is extremely tight, so I'm not sure it will ever get done or not. I keep praying that somehow something will happen, so I can finish the car as I so love the Miata. Best Always and in ALL WAYS,

100% agree with everything here I fell in the category of wanting to make big power

Nice! Do the same video about the vvt swap pls!

I love my k20a3 Miata soon to be k20a2 as I wait for my k24a passenger mount. Also it’s amazing to have a great source like David at kpower with just a phone call.

Digging the channel fam

Good video! I made my K swap to my JDM NA8C without a kit ( it took 11 months) and its between plates. Now going through k20 turbo setup. I would do it again and again.

Thank you so much for this video!! Gives such good ideas. I’m unsure on the swap I wanna do, but this was helpful. 🖤 Edit: that’s awesome you drove it to Tennessee. That’s where I was born and raised I want something to have fun on 421 with.

It helps that you also essentially rewrote half the instructions and corrected some issues for the kit.

I love the k24z3 I had one in my tsx.201hp stock and fast for what it is.and have one in my accord 190hp. But this is about the Mazda and in picking up a stock hardtop 1.6 and definitely got do a kz3 swap thanks for your insight

For NA, I'd argue a Honda J swap is easily the better option. Superfastminis makes a great kit, and you didn't gain more than 11 pounds all said and done. More affordable, better weight distribution, more power stock, and way more responsive to bolt ons.plenty of support as well from companies such as P2R. You don't even have to come close to $6500.

So much better than the other kswap videos I've seen that were by kids on a too much Adderall with their parents money.

underrated channel

Amazing build, I plan on swapping my Eunos soon with a K series but I have watched plenty and plenty of videos and research but I’m still struggling on which K24 to choose. I’d love to boost/supercharge it. People have said K24A2 and others say the Z3. Personally which K series would handle boost well? What if I go with the Frankenstein, K20head/ K24 bottom? Any advice/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Will need to meet up next summer to compare!

You're making me really think about putting that in the E46 chassis... Great summary man.

a fellow Rochestarian! I have a miata here too and I cant believe I only just now found this channel. Where do you go when you want to rip? Finger lakes? Ive yet to find a nice twisty "miata-friendly" road

NASA ST5/TT5 and ST4/TT4 require OEM subframe as well. It's pretty much the only reason I bugged David about OEM subframe kmiata basically since they completed the first kswap in Austin's 10AE, lol. My grand total for my K24Z3 GLTC Kswap running on Kpro was $9353. 207rwhp/165rq max power tune, 187rwhp/157tq GLTC tune, 170rwhp/152tq ST5/TT5 tune. If I did a streetcar kswap, 100% would do the k24a2. The subframe is more and the engine is a tad more, BUT you don't have to deal with the hydraulic release bearing, non-OEM timing cover, and a few less sensor swap(crank).

Great video! Now I have a rough number of what to save for! Recently got a miata (NA 1.6L) as a project car, definitely craving more power in it since my daily is a WRX. Both very different machines, but I feel like the miata is just missing that power especially overtaking on the highway.

I’m considering superchargering my 1.8 94 and swapping some NB stuff over like the VVT heads, the 6speed transmission, etc. just for a fun street car. Any thoughts or things you might know about supercharged 1.8s?

Would you consider making a spreadsheet of all the parts you need to make your k swap build? I’m very interested and I really wish I can take a ride with you to feel this car and to see if this is something I really want to do

You should make a list of everything you needed

I'm just starting on my basic turbo BP4W miata build with stock internals and gonna stop it there. Already sunk over $5k into it. Any more mods after that and I'd be kicking myself for spending that much on not a K swap lol. I'm just hoping I won't crave anymore power once I've gotten used to the gt2560.

I'm considering a k swap in my hillclimb nb as my stock engine is getting tired.. but now seeing the cost is about 5x a rebuilt miata engine this may not be worth it in that car... thanks for the info!

got an 04 tsx already sooo time to swap our miata and make our drift build

this makes me want to turbo k24 my brz so bad. I'm curious if kpower is going to use the k24z for that package 🤔

Considering this for a fun weekend car - interested if it's lighter than the BP motor and too loud for driving a good distance?

What about a j swap? J37a would be the most complicated version but it is VERY light.

Teetering on the brink... Currently stock 1.6. Already bought a JDM 1.8 BP 5a + 6 speed, and a 3.91 Torsen package (nothing installed yet). Car is just a summer/weekend cruiser. Leaning towards turbo and Haltech Elite... Trying to keep costs down ;)

Do you swap the gearbox to a honda too when shooting for 4/500 hp? Thanks

I cry, I have done the same thing but with Getrag and Zf 6 speed. I don’t even want to add it up

Is the 12k you mentioned include the turbo? Or was it just more because of your cool exhaust? If not, how much more did the turbo cost you?

What about a power goal of ~220-250whp? Would you do an N/A K swap or turbo the Miata engine?

I’m going back and forth between a k swap and a turbo. What’s the NVH like in a k swapped Miata?

Slogging through rebuilding one of my Subaru's so I can start saving to swap my A2 into my NA6, I do not have the patience for this.

Wondering how similar the 124 spider is to the NC engine bay or is it closer to ND1? Would likely be going all motor K24 with K20 head with the tiny Garrett turbo from the tired Fiat multiair if possible. Looking for a fuel efficient 250hp setup that can go 500k miles.

most dope

What about a K20? Does that fit with stock subframe? I have an RSX Type S and that K20 in a Miata NA or turbo would be pretty awesome.

Your 10-12k estimate, I assume that's before boost? You mentioned in one of the earlier videos you're about 6k into the turbo setup. So are you around 18k into the swap then?

If Tim the Tool Man Taylor taught us anything, it's that the correct answer is ALWAYS more power...

Have you ever driven a LS-3 V8 swapped Miata? How does it compare to your car if you've ever driven one? I asked because the V8 is suppose to make 400+ whp as well.

If shooting for for na engine how about an NC with 2.5 swap with bolt ones. 🤔

For a 300whp build, how would you spec out the engine? Im currently saving up to build this.

Doing a k swap with a kit like K industries is going to be expensive because of the swap kit itself but will save you a ton of time in the long run. You can save money if you're willing to do some fabrication, wiring, and troubleshooting. To me saving time is more important right now. K industries has spend time and money doing r&d to make the swap as painless as possible.

I have an Element and was thinking about getting a Miata to put its k24 in, so it will live on… Is that stupid? lol It burns oil, so I definitely would have to have some restoration (?) done to it/swap internals/etc.

Will this swap work the same on a 2001-2005 with the 6 speed?

0:43 i just want to keep up with the traffic

I still think that if you're gonna spend the money and time it takes to do a swap an aluminum ls is the way to go. Extra weight? Yes. But the torque a reliability is unmatched

Plan is to drop a k20z3 with a supercharger in my nb to start and once I get proficient at sliding and controlling that then I’m gonna twin charge it.

A full build NA free frum rust and so on with this tune plus Breaks, rims, seats ..... Is about 30k For same price you get ND wirh 225 hp tune

So in terms of investment, it's cheaper to buy a ND 2 and settle with the 190 hp....😊

I had the opportunity to ride in two K swapped Miatas last August while attending MAG. I own a 92 unannounced LE black and tan that is pretty much stock except wheels and tires. One was a K24A2 that had around 260+ RWHP. The other was a K24Z3 putting out around 210 RWHP. Discounting the cost, and much of it is hidden, I ruled out doing a K swap. Let me say if I were going to do a K swap, it'd be the K24Z3. 200+ NA horsepower is plenty (double the 1.6L) while the K24A2's power level is too excessive to make it an enjoyable daily driver, or a car I'd take on a lengthy trip. I don't race and don't intend to. Why did I rule out the K swap? 1) either swap deletes power steering (yes there's an expensive electric kit) 2) either swap deletes AC (again there's a solution, read $$) 3) but the killer for me is both swaps involve changing out the oil pump and deleting the engine's balance shaft. The resulting engine vibration is undesirable and unpleasant. Now anyone who races doesn't care about power steering, AC, or engine vibrations. All he wants is excellent horsepower and a flat torque curve. The K swaps give that. A racer doesn't care how long the engine will live, he can always find another one. Me, I want 180 to 200 RWHP, flat torque curve, AC, power steering, and little to no vibration. I want my ride to be fun and pleasant to drive / ride in. The K swaps don't meet my expectations. When someone comes up with a K24Z3 swap using the stock oil pump and balance shaft, I'll change my perspective. The power steering and AC issues can be cured. As the author said, ride in one before you open your wallet. Methinks there's a reason K Power doesn't have a car available at the different meets which a prospective customer can take a ride in, just as a passenger...

How about the vibration? That’s my biggest concern.

Has anyone here driven a 1.8 Rotrex with over 200whp? Coming from an FFS supercharged 1.8. Looking to have a fun responsive street car that can be driven hard like NA (full throttle time) and also be tracked with no worries. VVT motor is the base.

is there a way to do a k swap but have the NVH close to stock?

I want to know how much it changes the weight of the Miata

what clutch are you running to hold the 4-500 whp

Heck yeah bro and I gonna build a oem engine to the max first but 💯 fact when I do anything further it will be a kswap for sure just cause the potential of the engine and its high reving capabilities... or a rotory swap but I still studying them atm 😋... n e ways bro I think the K swap is radical af my guy ... 0eace n love build on and stay safe ... ps I in nc so maybe one day we can run the dragon 🤷🏽‍♂️.. n e ways stay safe and rad l8r

I so want one. Unfortunately, $12,000 or anything close to that is not doable. I still can't believe it costs $12,000 to replace one 4 cylinder with another one. You can get a c5 corvette for close to $12,000. Also, if you turbo the k there is no way the stock transmission will handle it long term. The stock transmission can barely handle a turbo 1.8l. I believe you could do a full lfx drivetrain swap for close to $12,000 or even less if you know where to shop.

Does this work on the new generation miata's??

I would love to live in a place where a k swap is street legal 😒 California has its drawbacks

2.1 stroker is always the answer.

I have an nc but I want to build it

Either I'm dumb, or I can't find much info on kswapping a NC.

My biggest question about K swaps... Is there a way for them to be quiet? EVERYONE comments on how loud they are.

Are you going to MATG?

DID YOU SAY RELIABLE TOO?

Would you help with my k build

How is this motor for drifting

Does a V8 add too much weight. ?

Is k20 a option?

I really want this... but money..

No rotary?

Are you in Indiana?

700$ for that manifold is crazy outrageous price

I want to k swap an ND2

Rochester ny?!

I think I'd go rotary personally.

honestly with the cost of this nowadays your better off with a 13b and it wont sound like a honda

what about f20c swap????

To think i was gonna be watching a video of the thing driving. Jokes on me i guess

I LS swapped mine for less than that

Just turbo a Miata , call it a day.

LS is cheaper and more hp think about it