k20 vs 10th gen Si

luispe7

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Hi everyone I own a 2018 Civic Si and every time I see these numbers on the k20 makes wonder if I picked up the right car.

I love modding even though this is my first time modding a car. I like power and I daily my car. Currently I have PRL Cobra Race Cai, PRL Intercooler, RV6 Catted DP, TSP Flex Fuel Kit, TSP Stage 2 Tune, Clutch Masters FX350 making 268 whp.

Honda Civic 10th gen k20 vs 10th gen Si upload_2019-5-25_9-42-48


If you look at the numbers from these k20 engines tuned by Drob they're crazy. I'd love to have 400+ or 500+ whp on a stock engine. Maybe there's no replacement for displacement lol. Our engines are really tiny. I love my car though. I have to say it drives pretty good for a daily driver. But i won't be smoking any fast cars that's for sure.

Anyways just wanted to share with you guys I'd like to know what you think about the k20 engines, are our cars ever going to reach these numbers?.

8th and 9th gen si owners keep bashing our 1.5L lol

Thanks,

Honda Civic 10th gen k20 vs 10th gen Si upload_2019-5-25_9-39-30


Honda Civic 10th gen k20 vs 10th gen Si upload_2019-5-25_9-40-16


Honda Civic 10th gen k20 vs 10th gen Si SmartSelect_20190525-090815_Instagram
 

jred721

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K20 has been out much longer and is also a much more robust engine (imo) than the L15, so theres a huge aftermarket for it. Your 1.5 can probably hit 400 WHP, but doing so reliably is a different story. 1.5 liters is just a very low displacement engine, period. So theres obviously more stress on it to be making as much power as a boosted 2.0 engine. Not to mention the K20 series are just tanks, period. I'd say power wise, a boosted K20 is always going to have an advantage over the L15 engine. But stock for stock, just a simple ecu tune can make a 10th gen Si walk a 8th/9th gen, so it's all subjective.
 

OverX

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Keep in mind to the turbocharger differences are probably a decent factor in the power differences. The majority of the time stock turbos aren't built for power from the mechanical point of view so as much as you tune the stock turbo you have limitations to say what a garrett turbo could produce.

Coming from an 8th gen Si it kind of depends on what you're looking for. The K20 is a beast of a motor and if your goal is to produce power, you are much better off to do the old frank motor with forced induction (K20/K24 w/ FI). If you want to talk about power production, I would put my money on the K20 but personally, I think the 10th gen Si's have a way better chassis' and suspension design than the 8th or 9th and if you're daily driving the 10th gen it's so much better than it's predecessors.
 

DannyG1904

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If you were looking to make 400-500whp out of a small turbocharged 4 cylinder than you definitely picked the wrong engine. The K20 has the advantage of safely revving much higher (more revs = more HP if torque stays level) and flowing better. You could always bolt on a big turbo kit with your current setup and make 350-400whp.

The good news is, your bolt on 10th gen is making 268whp and 300+wtq. A bolt on K20/K24 usually dynos around the 210-220whp and over 100-150wtq less than you made . So for a simple setup and what is likely to be a daily driver for 99% of owners the 10th gen powertrain just makes more sense.
 

Gotch

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Simple answer is no, at least on stock internals. All things being equal a K20 will ALWAYS make more power (with FI). It has a half litre more displacement and better bore/stroke ratio, it is way less under square than our L15’s. This means they can rev higher as well.
 


Vrruumm

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Maybe should have bought a Type R.
 

87elco

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Why don't you pick up and old k20 coupe or swapped k20 for cheap and if you blow it up you still have a daily
 

Kable's2019Si

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All things considered. It probably took a lot more money to make that power out of the K20. If count in all the parts (turbo kit + exhaust piping, injectors, fuel pump, valvetrain) you could spend that much beefing up the block in yours and simply upgrade the turbo and make the same safely. Your Civic is also lighter with a better chassis and Everything about cars is a trade off. I play with imports and American muscle and the same rules always apply. It's all about what you're trying to make your car do. Are you drag racing, auto-x, street course, highway rolls? Just because a car can produce better numbers turning rollers, doesn't necessarily mean that it will outperform on the street. I've been playing with Hondas for a long time, from D-series through now, and stock for stock, in my opinion, this is the best Si we've gotten. I have no doubt that this motor, when built properly, will perform just as good as the rest. It's all about knowing what your doing and what your goal is. Hell I've seen 400whp B-series, no Vtech, no turbo, just bare block tuning. Honda knows what their doing.
 

3cyltrbo

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I've got both a K24 9th gen and a 10th gen in my stable, and I previously had a k20.

From my perspective and experience, the K series is amazing (much more so than the 1.5t engine)

zero comparison
 

Design

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There's a ton of aftermarket support for the K20/K24. They inherently have more character by design. But they are comparatively inefficient and slowly becoming dinosaurs in the era of TCDI.

Give it a little time for the aftermarket to refine their support on the 1.5T. This motor is now Honda's bread & butter, with over a million units in circulation already. And several tuners have already wrangled 400+ HP out of them (one of which was recently torn down with minimal wear after 25K). That's a lot of growth in a few short years.

I think you will learn the hard way that chasing numbers is a fool's errand on a daily. IMHO, the sweet spot for FWD is 200-300 WHP.
 


Royal_Purple_Oil_Filter

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Yep, 8th gen...the last true Civic Si. X gen despite its impressive torque in the low revs, is neither a true Honda nor a Civic Si. Not a true Honda due to oil dilution and carbon buildup and and neither a true Si due to boring low 6500rpm redline.
 

charleswrivers

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Actually, we can make pretty similar power to what dynos you've provided... up to about 6500... then we're done. K20A2/Z3s have about 2000 RPM extra room with a bump.on their rev limiter to keep making power. That's just the way it is. K24s had more displacement but had less headroom to rev.

The chassis of my RSX and 9th gen wasn't what this car is at all. But if you're just looking at numbers... no, an old in the tooth with everything known about it and without any fueling constraints without DI K20/K24 is going to be able to reach higher power number once you sink thousands into parts to make it FI and get it tuned. Given the current Civics essentially have a DI and turbocharged version of the old Honda Fit engine, the headroom is likely well less.

If the K20s stay NA... especially the K24s... even if you throw mods at them, the L15 should be able to still compare favorably.
 

amirza786

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Others have already pretty much said it all, I just want to add that I think Honda had a much different idea when designing the 10th gen Si. From what I have read, Honda wanted an economical, practical, affordable, sporty and fun car and they could not achieve this with the 2.0L engine even detuned. They did leave some room to improve performance, but the stock engine does have limitations. The CTR is reserved for those looking for high performance and are willing to pay the premium. If you are looking for a car that can compete against cars blessed with higher hp and torque, this is the wrong car, that is unless you are willing to put in an extra $5 or $10k and a bunch of time. There is no replacement for displacement
 

REBELXSi

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Yep, 8th gen...the last true Civic Si. X gen despite its impressive torque in the low revs, is neither a true Honda nor a Civic Si. Not a true Honda due to oil dilution and carbon buildup and and neither a true Si due to boring low 6500rpm redline.
pics of carbon build up?
 


 


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