K24 Swapped Mazda Miata Review! Is a K-Swap Really Worth It? 

BWAAAAAAAHHHH said the k Miata.

Who knew a K series Miata sounded like a WW1 tank.

The owner of this car need to grab his welder, find that metallic rattle, and zap those mothers solid

It sounds like your dragging a floor jack around 😂

The paintjob reminds me of my grandfathers hearing aid.

This comment section 10%I love this car bla bla bla 90% The RaTtLiNg noise

that rattle is so grating

As nice as that Miata is 👌🏼...I would never settle for that rattling👎🏼

I think you left your jackhammer in the trunk !?

We've done a LOT of these swaps and have never heard that constant jingle before :) That being said, we love seeing people enjoying these cars.

"is it sacrilege?" People have swapped everything from 4bt Cummins, to Hellcats, to a lawnmower engine. I don't think there is a limit anymore lol

Lol, i shoulda known just about every comment in the comment section, would be about that chain link fence that was getting dragged behind the car in the video.

The rattle undermines the Miata sadly.. On the other hand, David shows of his excellent skills just totally ignoring it with another lit review 😎

Yes, I like having my keys in a blender strapped into the passenger seat while I drive too.

motorswap is always the answer

I've never liked short shifters based on ego. Like when people over turbo just too brag on the size. Too short of a throw on a shifter is an easy way to money shift.

4:25 David if you get into an accident having your belts loose like that, you wont be better off. First of all 4-point harnessess are basically worse than the standard 3 point, because they must be really tightly strapped around your hip bones and chest all the time, a 5- or 6-point harness will keep the lower straps to your hip bone rather than letting it go up into your stomach and causing a lot of internal damage. A OEM 3-point will automatically tense the seatbelt and hold your hips against the seat, it does not slip up into your stomach as easy. If anyone is driving with 4-point harness on the street as loose as David does here, you might as well not use it at all. Yes its uncomfortable, hence why it is not used in production cars. Strapping yourself hard against the seat with a 4+ point belt, will make neck injuries more severe. Hence using a neck protection or HANS device when racing to keep your head from snapping your neck. Oh and without a helmet its easy to hit the back of your head against the steel rollbar.... Yeah making a compromised half-racecar for the street might be awesome, but crashing it will not be.

Finally!!!! Thank you for reviewing my favorite swap! I haven’t watched it yet but I can tell it’s awesome!

It sounds like there’s a jack hammer a block behind you the entire video lol

Heard the rattling more than the engine

Love the review David! I have spent a lot of time working on my buddy's turbo K24 swapped NA miata working closely with Kmiata when we did the swap. One of the best budget race cars you can build! Just an informational safety tip to add to your race harness comment; any time you run a race harness in your car (no matter if it is attached to a roll bar or roll cage) you risk breaking your neck in the event of an accident if not used properly with a head & neck restraint (HANS device).

The rattling noise made me not want to watch the video, there’s no way I could take driving it.

Kmiata just released their K24z3 swap which retains the stock subframe and engine mount bushings! Definitely going to be some interesting builds with that, and an amazing platform for a turbo k-swap as well since the manifold is 4-1

Rattling like this shouldn't be expected with any engine swap. Ditto on the tires; you can fit 225s all around and not rub at all with the right setup.

Dear blue dude

I would totally do this! This puts the Miata at the level it should've been since the beginning. I'd really do something about that rattling tho... I'd go insane driving with that

My 92 produces 270whp. 2001 vvt full forged turbocharged, doesn't sound like a rivet buster. That Honda was probably cheaper, but I am so happy with my car. Thanks for the video. It was fun to watch.

My grandma had a rattle like this, it was her garage door opener.

Tim’s car is honestly amazing

More of a fan of turboing a 1.6 or a 1.8 than doing a full swap, but gotta appreciate 200hp natrually aspirated

Short answer, K swaps are ALWAYS worth it!

Why it sound like a construction site on decel?

For everyone that is commenting on the rattling, it has nothing to do with the swap. It's the shifter. It's meal on metal and the whole shifter is essentially a speaker into the cabin. I have had shifters that do this, and it is fixable, but for some people it's just not a priority.

The shifter is too high and tall, which is why you're shifting into fifth. If you had a shorter shift lever, you could be more precise with it.

K24 with K20R head. Fully built. Cammed, compression bump, port+polish, etc. 300hp, 200 lb-ft, 9000 rpm. Hella fun. Throw on a supercharger and low comp setup for more fun. Fucka turbo.

The rattling noise is coming from the driveline. It’s a common problem with k swaps in miatas. Mine does it too and so does Greg Peters’ Miata.

I'm for Mazda engine because it's a closed deck, cast iron, non-interference design. But that's just me 🤷‍♂️

Almost certainly the rattle is from that shifter. I bought one a few years ago, and had it in my NA for 2 days. It rattled exactly like this one, so I returned it and got my money back. It felt great, but that rattle drove me NUTS!!!

KSWAP EVERYTHING❤️

It looks like an absolute blast. A K-Miata has been on my shortlist for a less-expensive street-legal trackday car when I sell one of my current cars 😁. FYI, wearing the shoulder straps that loose on a harness is no bueno. You need to snug them up a bit (but not so much that they pull the lap belt up off your hip points).

This is my best friend Timmy's car. You can find his Instagram @ 4v6_na6 We normally drive the northern NC mountains in the surrounding area but mostly at the tail of the dragon.

Gingium probably welded himself when david said..."1.6? Just throw that away." 🤣🤣

3 years too late but within the next 5 years i plan on buying a crate turbo k20a and really im just looking for a good platform for it. The Miata seems like a good one so here i am.

Running a stock k24 to 8.5k...yiiikkkzzz😶😶😶 i pray you never miss

As the owner of a '91 NA: No, I sure as hell don't consider the K swap sacrilege. In fact, I'm saving up for one lol

The rattling is the button for reverse on the shifter that I believe irp has fixed.

I'm keen for the K miata kit for E30s to come out, it works so good.

Honda makes the best engines

I need a K series in mine... but I'm worried I'd be tempted to boost it almost immediately!!!

Syncros are always worn on 3rd gear. Double clutch from 2 to 3 and 4 to 3, and you will never have an issue getting into gear. I used to have issues with with it not going all the way into 3rd in my Accord 6-6 until I learned to double clutch, you also shift faster in general if you double clutch right, and double clutch rev matches are wayyy smoother.

Oh snap, super excited to see what you think! A K24 is high on the list of what I want to do to my Miata! Kmiata just released a cheaper K24Z3 single-exit exhaust swap. Should make 200whp/160wtq

K-swap mr2 review in the future? 🤔

K miatas are fantastic. The plan is that once I’m done with college to either k swap one or 13b swap

The 1.8 is a sweet motor, specifically for people who don't give a damn how fast their car is, and only want maximum opportunity for smiles. I'm sure the K swap is a riot, but as I'm a 6 cylinder guy I'd leapfrog it for a J swap.

5:40 that rattle would drive me insane, I think I’ll deal with my 1.8 L for now

The K24 sounds so good🎶

I am gathering up funds to K swap my Miata already. Now watching this I've gone from 99% to 110% sure I'm doing it!

If it's IRP short shifter(Lihuanian godness), it's probably Bmw trans swapped. And it's probably getrag trans(the weaker one) and it's too short and uncomfortable with IRP. ZF trans is just perfect for IRP shifter. Little bit longer through, which makes it perfectly comfortable.

I saw when vila (owner of rhd eg) posted on Instagram that you where reviewing this car weeks ago. Vila is a a friend that comes to Hickory NC for the car scene

I love the car! The rattle is absolutely atrocious though but love the build. I'm looking at buying a mx-5 now for the drivers experience...and the $ haha

Omfg i think this would be a nasty build for sure. Lite as hell and high revs = so much fun/power

One day the Ej205 miata will be reviewed lol

Any kind of engine swap to the Miata is worth it lol

omg that rattling is insane. If you fixed that to where you could just hear the engine and exhaust- I think it'd be pretty amazing.

I personally think mazda never made the engine for the miata specifically so i always wondered what the best swap would be. That being said while mazda is innovative with engine... Re-engineering they never really made a well known piston engine. The most pure swap id have to say would be an na 13b. But i would kill to see an sr20 swap go against a k24 swap :D

Best swap is the k swap period. You can keep that short shifter though lol, pretty sure that’s what that horrible rattle is. My s13 used to do the same damn noise

Wow that thing fit in that thing! 👏👌👏👌

I'm guessing the rattling is due to solid or very stiff motor mounts. On a 4 cylinder motor, solid motor mounts have no business being on a street car. It will drive you bananas. People say Miatas are not about comfort, but I think their stock behavior on typical road surfaces part of the appeal. It's easy to go full racecar and scrap any semblance of comfort, but you limit the situations where you'd want to drive it.

"Welcome to Construction Sounds FM, where we play non-stop jackhammer sounds, for your realistic city drive"

That rattling completely ruined this review!

Man the mx5 is a 31 year old car made in 1989 personally I had aged really good

That rattling would drive me nuts. I'd have to fix it

The only K series engine I want in my Miata is a Mazda KF V6

That rattling is driving me nuts, I couldn't imagine driving with that.

Is It Worth It? If you can do it on a budget, why not. But, stock Miata's really are a gem though, the K series should stay in Honda's. Just my opinion. If you want high revs, buy an S2000. Probably less money than this swap. Also, the rattle sounds are RIDICULOUS!

Really dig the the subtle lip kit. Looks really clean.

I feel like when you swap a car and paint it you should look for a factory color from the engines manufacturer. This could have been del sol teal

The rattle would make me lose my mind

hats off to that interior

I used to not like miatas then I drove one and it changed my mind about them

That rattle killed the video ☹️

Could not have clicked faster after reading the description😁😁 Greetings from PR😁

Love how you mentioned the Honda Element, I own a Element and a 2008 V6 Accord!

There is one quest unanswered and that is the price of subframe and all other parts you need to buy from K-Miata to do this swap . That alone will cost more than few NA Miatas to begin with , it is very pricey .

Those comments 😂😂😂😂😂😂 i had all of them in my head while watching this video 😂😂😂😂😂

I think you forgot to reel in the anchor ⚓

What's a nice k swap run 6/7k? I'm suprized these don't get more rotary swaps. The mustang 3.7 was engineered by mazda and Ford. 300hp and 275 lbs/ft seems like a perfect fit.

My 1.6 sounded like a beast back in the day, I wish I never left England or I wish I took it with me. I miss her everyday😢 He’s gotta fix the rattling in this thing, it looks too good on the outside.

Im doing the swap rn and this video gave me hope that it'll be worth it eventually

I admit that it's a better engine, but the thing is that the original motor has so much character to it. Flooring it everywhere with not a care in the world is the fun of it.

I read that the 1.8l weight is 290lbs and the k24 is 413lbs and the k20 is 405lbs and the j series is 550lbs and the 4.8l and 5.3l vortec weight is around 520lbs

Hope my rsx pulls like this when I go k24a2. I’m building mine on my channel too thanks for this info man

I always know when the owner is in the car with David because he looks at them when he’s talking everytime 😂😂

I think it's the right ethos nice revvy motor in a beautifully balanced chassis good to see a big cube k swap

4:21 get harnesses without a hans device no matter where you mount it you have a good chance of snapping your neck. I would use regular seat belts with inertia reels for the street. On track harness snug with helmet and hans device.

I’m sure it’s super fun, but that thing sounds like a construction site. I swear I hear a jackhammer. Still dig it though. Edit: just saw the comments, I’m def not the only one that heard a jackhammer😆

The problem lies in the fact that its expensive. You can easily turbo the 1.8 vvt motor make the same or more power and have a very good power band. My man needs to watch greg peters video, over at "the car passion channel" about that rub. He is running 245's square on 15 x 10s. If you do do it. The 2.4 bottom and the 2.0 head. Then turbo.

Lesson learned dont read the comments before watching the video, now I cant stop being distracted by soda cans tied on the back.

I sold a k24 swapped miata because it was exactly the same with the noises. Meanwhile you can build and turbo a 1.8 and have just as much fun.

This is really cool but let’s be honest if you swap an LS and balance the weight it’s more practical