Honda Fit K20 Engine Swap

Subtle, cute and economical are just a few of the words that come to mind when describing the new Honda Fit. If the "Fit is GO! " as Honda's catchy slogan suggests, perhaps Honda engineers should have considered shoehorning an engine more horsepower worthy of the H-badge, rather than a 1496cc engine that delivers a measly 109 hp. Long before the Fit was delivered to the U.S., countries in both Asia and Europe were already well acquainted with the Fit/Jazz as performance products began to trickle into the market. Fit fanatics began spending hundreds of dollars on aftermarket components, in hopes of doubling their horsepower. But, unfortunately for many, the gains of 5 to 10hp weren't what they expected from their Fit.

Hasport Performance, located in Phoenix, Ariz., has taken the Honda Fit to a new level. Although the K20 and K24 Honda motors have long been rumored to fit within the Honda Fit's engine bay since its debut, few have had any success. Hasport is one of the few companies to carefully analyze and perfect the K-series installation for the Fit, while creating an easy-to-install engine swap kit for any savvy customer to tackle on their own.

Forum chat rooms and performance shops have been abuzz recently with rumors that the engine height and hood clearance were major setbacks when dropping in a K-motor. In hopes of putting these rumors to rest, we asked Hasport marketing and product development guru Brian Gillespie on what is truly fact and what is fiction. "The engine bay in the Fit is tall due to the configuration of the Fit engine. While there seems to be a debate on what works and what doesn't, both the K20 and K24 engines will fit and engine height is not a factor. The intake manifold has to be the snail style manifold found on the RSX type S, 2002-2005 Civic Si and JDM ITR and CTR up to 2005. The snail manifold is more compact and is the only one that will clear the Fit radiator." Upon further research, we found out that the 2006 Civic Si intake manifold will cause clearance problems due to its larger plenum and less tapered intake runner setup. Gillespie continues by saying "The shape of the rack and transmission case also dictated the height the engine was mounted. As it turns out, the bottom of the engine wound up being the same height as the front suspension cross member. Side-to-side placement was also a no brainer. The K-series engine is as wide as the Fit engine bay. In order to keep the K-motor from rubbing, we moved the engine a little towards the driver side and notched the frame rail for clearance."