I Honda K Swapped a Subaru and This Is How It Went

[@dariusjonsson2358]

i have a k swapped impreza also. just toasted the 5 speed in it the other day bc i was shifting like a primate. its been super reliable though.

[@BlackthumbTV]

unga bunga me like flat shift

[@imakedookie]

my guy, you are bright and fun to watch, thank you for getting this out there! i know so many of us had questions answered, ive been torn between a 1nz-fxe, k20, or a honda r18 .... if i had time. Looking forward to more vids!

[@Hysai]

DON'T get an r18, they tend to have an issue with the blocks cracking

[@scareyaf]

Don't need a turbo when you've got VTEC. All the lag, none of the power. Awesome content dude, just watched your supercharged liberty vid. Hope your channel grows.

[@BlackthumbTV]

Why not choose both? Both is good.

[@joelkjr.4728]

The Skyrim meme was well placed

[@bennyb.1742]

7:42 Most unhinged thing I've seen in a car-tube video. Subscribed.

[@p3trae]

Dude, awesome video. Love your snark and no-fucks-given attitude. Thanks for linking the video on NASIOC!

[@hydrocarbon82]

Technically Handa remembered the turbo on the RDX for a few years, but used a silly complex turbo that was smaller than guys toss on their D15B's.

[@matthewstorm5188]

Not many people know about the K23.

[@backfireproductions4362]

I had a thought the other day about attempting to drop a k20 into my old legacy, wondering if anyone had done it before, I’m glad I found this video

[@saucon751]

I saw this car in person at one of the car shows. I believe it was at the galleria mall! I was the kid who came up to you and said I also have a 2.5rs. Cool car man, can't believe out of random chance I found your channel. Sub well earned!

[@BlackthumbTV]

Small world!

[@quadrapodacone]

My new favorite channel.. So glad I found you!

[@matthewstorm5188]

Another option is a J-series Honda V6. As a V6, it’s a shorter engine for better fitment. They are cheap, common, and virtually indestructible. And with up to 300HP in stock form, you will have a quick car even with an unmodded engine.

[@FernandoTakeshiSato]

I was watching BoostedBoiz and this vid showed up as recommended, dope swap man!

[@adamgroszkiewicz814]

Been a Honda guy for 20+ years. That exhaust sounds great.

[@Natetron01]

Yo, get a baffled oil pan or a bolt in baffle. otherwise the new direction the motor is in will starve the oil pickup. But it looks great!

[@BlackthumbTV]

Never starved and I have datalogs with oil pressure logged to prove it

[@bombman50]

Insane how this video only has 2k views, some quality gourmet stuff right here

[@rileybarringer9823]

Wow that turbo makes it sound like a true 90's rally car, I love it!!

[@CournoyerInc]

Awesome video. I discovered your channel earlier this morning (October 3, 2023) and at the time of this comment you have 3.15k subscribers. I subscribed after the first video I saw (EZ30 supercharger video, another great video on one of my favorite motors) and I can't wait to watch you grow. Again, awesome video. Start to finish.

[@chaysendreamz]

You are by far one of the funniest people in my book. Been wanting to do this swap after I blew my third EJ up in my forester.

[@quicksilver8180]

I scrolled down thru your content after youtube suggesting your h6 gm supercharger vid. I think your passive sarcasm is great . builds are great . i would like to see what other things your mad scientist brain can build. Also i cant understand why your channel hasnt exploded yet, maybe its just your time finally

[@jonathanryan2915]

I haven't seen one of these 90's Subarus in a long time. The last few times I saw one, it had lost about 300 lbs to rust.

[@madmod]

I never realized how heavy Honda k series engines are. Compared to a lot of 4cyls, they are quite beefy and heavy

[@JRITCHHH]

Handes HAHAHAHAH!! had me in tears dude. Incredible work and builds with a slice of comedy... I like it 🤣

[@Silviastein]

Loved the video, glad you uploaded again! Could you go into more detail about the can-bus gauge? I want to steal that so badly.

[@BlackthumbTV]

It's been a while :) The screen is a Waveshare 1.5" OLED, powered by an STM32F103 Bluepill, using onboard CAN and a CAN Transceiver. Overall, it was pretty simple to setup!

[@willlawson6126]

"A Honda engine? In a Subaru? It's up to you" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@theforumcat]

7:30 has my aaaaaabsolute favourite frame to start a mod from excellent taste

[@FreddyFunderbunz]

Handa engine, delightful, Subaru chassis, delightful. Your job here, delightful. Profanity, extra f’n delightful

[@gen-zboomer]

This body is really cool and is lowkey my dream chassis. Hope to one day buy one and put something more powerful and reliable in it like this

[@TheGorillaBiker]

This is really cool to see. If the FB25 in my forester even blows up I'd definitely go for a K24

[@boostedproblems5139]

Good stuff man. We chatted a bit at boxerfest. I was the guy with the twincharged Outback a few rows over. Glad i found your channel!

[@BlackthumbTV]

Yep, I remember! Travis, right? Was cool to see the build in person. I later remembered that I'd seen it before when I was researching twin charge systems. We should chat and catch up!

[@vermili0n]

Awesome project man. You’re totally right about shipping companies… if you’re part even gets to the right address it’s either the wrong part, the box is torn up/parts dented or broken from being thrown around or you got lucky.

[@stoneytries4675]

Love this video. Well done bro.

[@Cbgrandtheftauto]

Only the 99 DOHC engine had the headgasket issue. Once they went back to the SOHC in 2000, their engines never had a problem again until 2008 when they went with low resistance piston rings that let oil by the rings and they started using cheaper bearings and with very little oil starvation started having engines eating themselves.

[@BlackthumbTV]

If this is the case then I'm going to need an explanation for the literally countless EJ251/EJ253 headgaskets that I've had to replace. There's multiple videos even on this very channel of the SOHC EJ 2.5Ls with blown headgaskets. The oil consumption part is true too, though.

[@Cbgrandtheftauto]

Just because you've replaced a few head gaskets doesn't mean all the engines are prone to the problem. Subaru had made millions of EJ engines. They all fail in their own way. 99% of the time it's how the owner treated them. I've had many EJ engines in my 20 years of owning Subaru's. Never had one go because of a head gasket. The most powerful engine I ever had was a stroked 2.2L making 450whp on pump gas. Lost it to a sheared timing belt tensioner bolt. The longest running EJ I had was an EJ253 that made it to 225k before I stripped it due to snapped exhaust manifold studs. The head gasket was still so good on it that when I pulled both heads there was still pressure in the cylinders after the engine had been sitting in the corner of the shop for months. Honestly, most of my engine failures have had something with timing. Should I say Subaru engines are shit because of that? No, it means I should have done routine maintenance sooner on my modified engines.

[@BlackthumbTV]

@@Cbgrandtheftauto lol

[@matthewstorm5188]

Tell that to my buddy with his SOHC Forester.

[@Cbgrandtheftauto]

@@matthewstorm5188 ask your buddy for his service records..

[@ronniemendiola4318]

You're hilarious! Love the video . I have a 99rs with a sti swap. It's blown up not to my surprise. K series it is!

[@BlackthumbTV]

Right on!

[@Outback69]

I would love to STI swap my outback

[@Aglai76]

Bro your humor & edits are gold

[@basik1dotcom]

Awesome video, very entertaining! I know you were joking about why didn't they come turbo'd from the factory but there is a (legit) reason they were produced N/A with internals capable of being boosted. There was a 'gentlemen's agreement' in 1988 amongst the JDM car makers where they all agreed to limit the factory hp to 276. I could be wrong although it does explain why these aren't turbo'd from the factory.

[@johnstamos2057]

Love the video! 🔥

[@wavyjoey7845]

Great video i would love to do a swap like this but dont want to cut my hood up

[@bakihanma7247]

Have you seen @k24impreza's chanel his build is rad but no cutting on the hood

[@foxisretrofitting4556]

Not gonna lie I kinda like the idea of having a muscle scoop where he has it sticking out on this build.

[@YajuuOmoi]

I'm honestly waiting for my '19 Impreza motor to blow up, it's at 70k miles. Was researching K-swap ideas and your video popped up. Good to know it works. I'd love to keep it looking as stock as possible, then sneak out in front.

[@BabyBoeingGaming]

Wait blow up? Mines at 60. Bro….. BRO

[@valqkasdf]

You can try to get Diesel gearbox from EU... there are quite a lot of broken diesel Subarus in EU (breaking a crankshaft by design in early ones) and the boxes are holding 350nm stock (not sure how much more, but I have a friend with WRX/not stock of course/ beating one for quite a long time now). They are with quite long ratios, but hey.. you have snail to compensate and you can get to quite high speeds 😀 If you decide to do it, write me, I'll help.

[@RemnasOne]

Drove hybrid to boosted k series for the last decade and bought my first sti about 3 years ago. Just finished my first engine replacement in the STi and I wish I just went this route instead... perhaps I can sell my ej 😅

[@blizz0kid]

First video I’ve ever seen of yours. Subscribed at 9 min. I love you already Youre hilarious I hope you go far

[@CalebWeber-q6v]

Keep up the content. You crack me up man, great video

[@trevorfromthespanishinquis9737]

This the most underrated car KZbinr I’ve seen

[@jessedavila-fm9tq]

Greatest video I’ve ever seen, I was thinking about putting a k24 into my 97 Impreza 😻

[@fooligins8722]

A smaller turbo(or better yet a supercharger, I'm biased heavily) and you'll have better power throughout the powerband

[@DerptekofGoochland]

1:15 now THIS is an automatic

[@joshs199]

Great vijeo. Really liked you vibe. I'm glad you didn't shit on BB and that car is the legendary "Hondaru" that you can find on the YT channel Emelios World. Looking forward to seeing how your build goes. 👍

[@ermasan6480]

Can you make a video explaining how you did the harness and ecu. I'm currently trying to do the same swap and I'm stumped on what ecu to get and how to make the harness work. how does your ignition work? do the body lights work? if so did you splice the Subaru body harness to the k24 engine harness? any info would be greatly appreciated as i am thoroughly stumped

[@BlackthumbTV]

The short answer is: I merged the harnesses by hand, pin by pin, wire by wire. I do this for all my builds. I use standalone ECUs for builds like this, specifically Haltech ECUs. This one runs on a Haltech Elite 2500, which I got with the Basic Universal Wiring Harness kit. There are effectively three different harnesses: the Car Harness, the Engine Harness, and the ECU Harness. For the Subaru side (the Car Harness), I patched into the plugs that the factory boxer Engine Harness (that was on the intake manifold) plugged into. I cut the plugs off that boxer Engine Harness, and adapted the K24 Engine Harness to them, so I could effectively plug the K24 into where the original Boxer plugged into. Then, in the cabin, I cut the connector off the Subaru ECU and soldered my standalone's harness to that ECU connector, so I could plug my standalone into the car (like the original ECU did basically). Then if I needed any additional wires that weren't in the factory harness, I just pulled those through the firewall manually. In the next day or so I'll be releasing a video about engine swapping that covers wiring and ECUs, amongst other things. It probably won't go into the depth that you'll need, but you may get some good info from it regardless. -BT

[@ermasan6480]

@@BlackthumbTV so if I’m understanding correctly you went haltech ecu to the subie harness with a soldered connection to the haltech. Then cut the subie engine harness connectors off, had the k24 engine harness from the engine to the subie harness and splice them together?

[@ermasan6480]

@@BlackthumbTV ps thank you so so much for replying!!!

[@BlackthumbTV]

Effectively, yes. The Haltech Basic Universal Harness is soldered to the back of the chopped-off ECU connector. That gets plugged into the car under the carpet as normal. Then, in the engine bay, I've cut off the connectors from the Boxer engine harness, and adapted the K24 to those plugs, so I could still unplug the engine. Thus, everything still works. Ignition, lights, even the fuses are the same. I usually have all three wiring diagrams up at the same time: Haltech diagram, Subaru digram, Honda diagram. I jump between then on my phone or tablet and get everything wired up. Hope this helps!

[@ermasan6480]

@@BlackthumbTV this helps out massively! You’ve restored my faith in this build! 🙏🏼🙏🏼😮‍💨

[@RippinRaz]

So glad I found this channel

[@Harleymon]

Love the video!

[@islandlifevlogs5957]

My new favorite KZbin channel .. yes am late to the party but better late than never

[@jetreaper8]

Love the video! New subscriber!

[@haibaramiyano]

I am sticking around!! Daymn you're quite similar to jared from questionable garage.. subbed and liked!!

[@astroid99]

This is basically one of my dream builds that I hope to do if I can find a good priced wrx. Thank-you for creating content to scratch my Itch.

[@azazelakira12]

Bro, if the transmission of a 14 impreza doesn't go into 1st gear, the transmission is toast? Off or on, first feels like hitting a wall, but all other gears work...

[@dustinridge3140]

Super nerdy car guys. I found my friend group!! Subscribed

[@nicklindsay-abaire9782]

awesome video. I have a pretty low mileage 11' STI but I constantly have the fear of everything hitting the fan in the back of my head with every drive. perhaps when the ej inevitably blows I'll consider this swap haha.

[@wayde187]

Same lol. I want to put a lightweight v8 in it but this k20 swap would be cool too.

[@or-ian6973]

I’ve been researching doing this swap on a 06 NA forester 5spd with a very tired oil thirsty ej. Was think k24 and a very small turbo. 250hp would be fine. It’s actually my brothers mountain rig. No need for more power. 250 is way more that the stock ej and it’s just not needed in snow

[@BlackthumbTV]

250 is well within what the Ks can make naturally aspirated. I hear they're quite fun that way too

[@or-ian6973]

@@BlackthumbTV I’ve come to realize that. Seems like any turbo on these things and you’ll make 300hp at least. Do you have an opinion on if the stock NA 5spd will hold up to any power? I mean 300hp would be fine but not if the transmission is likely to blow. To swap transmissions is a whole other can of worms and cost. But heck I’d love to make 400hp and drop in a 6spd. Be quite the forester

[@BlackthumbTV]

In my experience the NA 5 speeds have held up better than the WRX units. Probably because they have shorter gears and more of that torque is going out the wheels than getting geared up. I've ran the NA 5 speeds in the 300-350 range and they've been alright. Only blew one up, and that was a very tired one that I flat-shifted to death. But, if you want reliability, you gotta go 6 speed. The Legacy GT Spec B units are stout and have nice long gears for highway cruising.

[@or-ian6973]

@@BlackthumbTV good to know. If this ever goes down probably just start with NA. Then build a turbo kit if I want down the road.

[@matthewstorm5188]

For 250HP, J-series may be a better idea than K-series. J-series makes this much power STOCK with MUCH more torque. Also, since it is a V6, it is a shorter engine and fits MUCH better into a Subaru engine bay. It also sounds a whole lot better than any Honda four banger.

[@maxomalo]

You got a standalone ECU. Go boost per gear brother you'll save your transmission and on the highway you'll be monster lollll

[@adamgray2070]

The Skyrim cut was cheesy.... But it was funny

[@Christopherbever]

Instant subscriber lol. This was an awesome video all around! I have a 08tsx k24 I want to swap into something more fun than a tsx…

[@seanrose3951]

Try a 4.44 fd diff they eat the power alittle better then the 3.90/4.11 fd transmissions

[@reissfullspeedahead]

Glad I came across this channel. I love seeing garage built and tuned cars out there. How long have you been tuning your own cars? I'm just starting on my Subaru opensource journey as we speak.

[@BlackthumbTV]

Been doing so for around 6 or 7 years, off and on. I actually started with Subaru opensource tuning as well! Good tools out there! I did eventually make the jump to standalones and run them in pretty much everything now, though.

[@reissfullspeedahead]

@@BlackthumbTV That's good to hear! If you ever feel like making some detailed tuning vids, I'm sure me and at least 4 other people would really appreciate it lol.

[@BlackthumbTV]

@@reissfullspeedahead You're in luck, the one I'm working on right now is about tuning, though very high level and introductory. Hopefully it can help some folks out there.

[@deyara_]

Great video!

[@augustshades]

lovely video. thanks. ill be swapping in a k20 into a 2010 rex here this summer. any advice? thanks.

[@HeidiFegles]

Get a jdm close ratio 444 from a wrx. It’s built different. They used this thing called an alloy instead of the traditional glass gear set find on the Usdm tranny. Like Subaru should have done something like they know what people do with these things. Just throw a built tranny in from the factory and save your reputation. Haha

[@Chad03Cobra]

My new favorite channel you’re hilarious!

[@MrWilliam.Stewart]

A Subaru without a turbo, is like a dance without music, or a wee without a fart.

[@ZeenockRulerofWorlds]

Soooo.... if I wana k20a swap my 1985 subaru xt, that would be a bad idea?

[@joshuadell3279]

I've considered doing a k swap on a 6th gen celica Why you may ask idk but I saw one dude do it and it looks awesome and fun

[@markedmartin2115]

Love the Vid!!!❤

[@doridore1234]

severely underrated channel

[@austerityclause]

Fuckin a.... I like ur style. I'm now a subscriber. K swap the world!

[@paulsandvig6961]

That’s an awesome Subaru! I’d totally drive it.. idk if it’s canary yellow. Edit: mold in a H6 transmission.

[@Fluff_Panda]

I really want to do a K24 swap on my 04 2.5rs but have no clue where to start

[@BlackthumbTV]

If this is your first swap, I made this video just for you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHKthZZ3i8uol5I

[@FZERO20]

the conversation with the front desk guy😂😂😂😂

[@rumbledude_jdm]

This is awesome!

[@BabyBoeingGaming]

You did it, but does this not ruin the weight characteristics of the Impreza? If I’m correct the engine would have a higher center of gravity than a Boxer engine.

[@BlackthumbTV]

Not only does it sit much higher, it also sits substantially further forward over the front wheels. But I'm not a good enough driver to even notice, and I think that's probably the case for most people.

[@MotorSwapDan]

Me like video!!! My FA20DIT Forester is making noise and I have a spare K24A2...

[@zilchthegrate63]

This video has convinced me to look at a K24 for my eventual track/autocross Pontiac Fiero. Thank you boosed ape, very cool

[@ayden1199]

This video plays in my head rent free

[@mrtucamote1]

I have a 07 wrx and my engine lock up and I am desperate to get it something in this car reliable

[@AdrenalineMotorsportss]

I need more info on the adapter plates big hoss

[@tylerstetsko8147]

Planning on buying a 2.5rs, if/when the engine goes bad I really want to do this! (I'd go NA though) How would you rate your experience with it before it blew? How hard was the swap in your opinion?

[@BlackthumbTV]

Honestly, I ended up selling the project. I have another 2.5 rs with an STI swap and I simply enjoyed that more. To each their own, though!

[@060racing8]

I've always liked the idea of putting a 13B in a GC8

[@BlackthumbTV]

Between you and me this has been on my mind a lot recently

[@phantomlimb5649]

Love the channel and you’re funny. I was wondering if you made any changes to the oil pan and oil pick up? Those engines were original made to be mounted in a different way, so from what I hear they to be moded when mounted in the way you didn’t. Such as the windage tray and oil pick up tube need mods so there isn’t oil starvation issues. Did you need to make those kind of mods?

[@BlackthumbTV]

I did not need to make any mods. I intentionally wired an oil pressure sensor to my ECU to make sure pressure never dropped, and if it did, it'd kill throttle. It never did drop. I just made sure to add a bit extra oil given how it's now angled a bit different. Changing the oil did suck though.

[@foxisretrofitting4556]

I love this. Thank you for doing this video. One day I'd like to get ahold of a beat up 90s legacy or legacy station wagon and do a Honda swap on it. Don't care which Honda engine. (would prefer f or h series) For the experience, the ability to drive one reliably, easy maintenance, and because why not I love the style of them.

[@traviskinman3459]

Holy crap man, this video was great! I blew the 3rd engine in my wrx and said f it I'm doing a k series. I am curious about how you handled the engine mounts and oil pan.

[@BlackthumbTV]

Thank you! For engine mounts (for your car), I'd suggest watching BoostedBois as they did a very good job on theirs. Mine are just some simple steel that go from the side of the engine block to the frame rails. I'll try to provide more info in the next video. For the oil pan, I didn't do anything. Just welded a turbo oil return bung in. I have an oil pressure sensor wired into my ECU so if the pressure drops it kills the engine, and haven't had any issues with it. Good luck!

[@dehj4010]

Only 2 minutes in and I was captivated 😂😂👏🏽

[@josevalle-y9r]

What conversion plate did you use?

[@t-mo.]

“the only thing i care less about than this engine is your opinion” well said and well done 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@hallantawan21]

Who do I reach out to get the adapter plate to do the swap?

[@BlackthumbTV]

Observe, in the description! A link to a parts list that answers your question and more!

[@ravenrock541]

"That's cute." Best line in the entire vid

[@PrithT1]

I’m trying to understand the motor mount you use. What fab did you do to bolt it to the subframe

[@BlackthumbTV]

Did you watch the other videos on the car?

[@2nvnd]

What about the motor mounts? How did u get it to stay still?

[@BlackthumbTV]

I custom made some. There's other videos on this channel that show them.

[@clee-alt]

yk i agree with you, theres no reason the k series couldnt have come with even a little tiny boy turbo

[@matthewstorm5188]

It did. Look up K23. Also, some of the newer Hondas such as the Civic Type-R use turbocharged K-series engines.

[@tylerguillemette4457]

Nice talking with you about this monstrosity today at Boxerfest

[@BlackthumbTV]

Thanks for coming to chat with me, I had a ton of fun there!

[@_IanCole]

You think I can put an engine from a Subaru BRZ into a 1990 EF?

[@ballenwallen]

7:42 lmao

[@dadhats]

def track it ;) god I want one in my brz