Awesome … or Sacrilegious! Meet the Nissan NX K24 Swap.

The scope of this project was and is immense. It isn’t something that I will do again (at least, not in the near future) but I commend AES Auto for working with me, encouraging the swap, and then bringing all of the pieces to fruition. In the past, I’ve always had my hands all over the projects but for this one, due to the pandemic and the intensity of the build, I handed the keys to Paulo at AES Auto and he and Taylor took off! While putting the K24 into a Nissan B13 platform was new territory, AES Auto is a Honda specialist and have done numerous swaps into a wide range of vehicles. Most recently was a K swap into a Honda Fit – a meticulous project that I’ve followed from the beginning (and have to write about soon!). AES Auto has looked after my car since I moved to the west coast almost 6 years ago – and I’ve appreciated the creativity, ingenuity, and dedication that this shop offers. There was no question in my mind about who should lead this project – it was AES Auto. My role was relegated to securing some of the parts and being a cheerleader. Due to the pandemic, I wasn’t even able to take my own photos so huge thanks to Sean and Ronald for looking after the build photos for me.

AES Auto has done many K swaps. Most recently was a K24 into a Honda Fit. This meticulous build was awesome to watch – and in 2020 the K swap Fit was running the same lap times at our local track as the NX GTi-R with aero. AES Auto has done significant upgrades to the Fit over the past winter also.

Honestly, the engine was the easy part. Paulo had a backup K24a2 out of a TSX that was pristine – and he no longer required it as a backup engine for his 1000 whp AWD Civic – so that was an easy choice for the powerplant of the NX. There’s a lot of talk and evidence of the advantage of a K20 head on this block, but we stayed with the K24 head. AES Auto assured me that set up properly, this head would perform as well as a K20 head. This engine was mated to a 05 RSX Type S 6-speed transmission.

This setup was left stock …

Haha ha, yeah right! There was simply no way that a stock K24 was going into my NX1600. In fact, the only reason a stock K20/24 was in the engine bay was to allow AES Auto time to mock-up engine mounts. And then the work began.

In late 2020 AES Auto decided to move from the K24 to the K20 for their now AWD Civic drag car. This was a great opportunity for me to obtain the pristine backup engine – waiting patiently on a shelf for its turn at the track.

First up was a Unit 2 Fabrication metal oil pan. This steel pan is going to be excellent for the power levels and track use that the NX will be doing. The Unit 2 Fabrication K Series Elite aluminum oil pan is absolutely astounding, and if my budget was unlimited then it would absolutely be on the NX. However, the K-Series Steel baffled oil pan comes with a 4 compartment baffle system with 7 trap doors. James Houghton runs this same pan in his very fast GLTC Acura TSX. It will be ideal for my use. Unit 2 Fabrication is a Canadian company that I’m very proud to support and represent.

The Unit 2 Fabrication steel pan is fantastic (well, if you compare it to the big brother aluminum pan from Unit 2 Fabrication then it looks like just another pan!)

 

The magic happens inside the pan where baffles and trap doors keep the oil where it must be to ensure sufficient engine oiling during high G maneuvers.
Those trap doors are rarely seen; here’s a glimpse.

22 comments

  1. DAMN VERY NICE. IS THERE A SWAP KIT FOR SELL ON THIS K20 INTO B13 SHELL. IM SURE ALOT PEOPLE WILL BE INTERESTED SINCE THERE SO MANY PARTS OUT THERE FOR THESE K20 MOTORS.

    1. Upgraded, thank you so much. You’re very aware of the struggle that I’ve had the last few years. And know that a lot of thought went into this decision. Thanks so much for introducing me to AES Auto!

  2. This K24 engine is simply silly fast. WHP drop from 360 to 280 – but at the first track day I was out all day and as long as I wanted each session with temps barely rising. I haven’t had a day like that with the DET ever.

    1. It’s like Honda put the things it learned in the past into the K24 and made available in many platforms — Decent power, good reliability with potential for upgrades.

  3. I don’t think we got a final pic of the subframe, but it seemed like there had to be more crossbracing than the one bar with the motor mounted in it, right?

    Also, that’s a 4-2-1 header that’s installed.

    Hey, congrats on the build. It should be bulletproof.

  4. A little sad to see the SR go, but nothing better than having a track car that just works every time and nothing to think about! 280whp on a mustang is plenty of power. It would probably trap 115-120mph in the 1/4.

  5. And for reference, my old B14 SE-R with T25 and JWT S3 cams put down 250whp on a dynoject and trapped 110mph. The poor stock VSLD wore out which made the car about worthless on an auto-x. Not too bad on a road course with big enough turns to keep from lighting up the inside tire.

    1. Khiem, sorry that I missed your posts. I haven’t had it out to the 1/4 yet as I’m worried about the axles. I’ve lost Nissan axles in the 1/4 and they were relatively available so I wasn’t worried. These axles are one off and, while I’m having a second set built, I don’t want to risk them just yet. The M-Factory LSD is absolutely keeping the power down in corners, so I’ll have to get out to an autocross (just never been my forte), and just a few weeks ago I put down a personal best at my local track. Besting the SR20DET’s time by half a second.

  6. Cool to see someone throwing a K series in an NX.
    I currently have the only known Nissan Pulsar NX with a K series.

    1. Well Done! I think there are now more than one B13 chassis with the K series, but at the time this was the first running one that I knew about. Do you have some pics of yours?

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