Kswap questions
 

I've been tossing around the idea of k swapping my nb but have a few questions;

Is a custom oil pan necessary?

Is there any companies other than kmiata who sell kits?

Is a tubular subframe necessary?

Does anyone sell mounting brackets that work with oem subframe?

If you can't afford the KMiata kit then you can't do it. Not kidding.

THE END

I was just curious if anyone else offered a solution to mounting the k in a Miata and if the custom oil pan/tubular Frame are required.

No, yes, and yes, respectively.

Might be able to to get away with a stock subframe if you use a dry sump pan and a dry sump. But then still maybe not. And then you've spent a lot more anyways.

There is a diy option for using the stock subframe but it requires cutting a giant hole in the hood. And the transmission tunnel. And the firewall.

be the change you want to see in the world

and you get youtube fame...

We really need a segmented section of the forum for threads like this.

For threads where people ask if there are any other alternatives or different products others have used to k swap a miata?

A section for lazy posts from people who ask pointless noob questions with zero research on the subject.

If you google miata k swap and nothing except kmiata comes up, then then it does not exist.

If oil pan, tube subframe was not necessary, why would kmiata go though all that expense designing these parts? Just to drive up swap kit price?

This is what your post reads like:

Hey guyz I'm dreaming of a kswap, but kmiata is so expensive with their fancy parts....

Is there a cheap shitty option??

Miatas are not 240's with 10 vendors making SR, LS, VQ swap kits all competing on price, with made in China parts.

I never once mentioned nor complained about the cost of anything, being an industrial engineering major I'm well aware of manufacturing costs.

Just because there is a custom oil pan for sale it doesn't mean it's necessary. When I did the 2jz swap in my mk3 Supra depending which car the jz came from it could have either a front or rear sump oil pan, for the mk3 you needed a rear sump which was an option you could source from another vehicle. Or you could get an aluminum sheet metal welded one.

Just because something doesn't come up on a google search doesn't mean it doesn't exist, maybe I didn't use the right combination of search terms?

I've never understood why whenever someone asks a question there always has to be those people who reply being assholes bashing them for being a noob and twisting the op question to make them sound dumber instead of a simple "nope sorry man, I haven't seen anyone use anything other than kmiata" which is how it was going up till this post.

It's sad that people gotta insult. What if I happen to be a young guy trying to learn the ropes and gain knowledge? Sure I could research, or I could personally have a conversation with people who are knowledgeable with miatas.

I couldn't tell ya why people make custom things when there are existing options available, but I really like dunning's comment, I will be the change I want to see. I've worked in mechanical design for a while now, just a matter of having the time to drop a subframe and reverse engineer it accurately enough to come up with a mounting solution, would be a fun project! I'll have to see if I can't find anyone selling a subframe locally once I finish my cnc conversion project.

Call it the "Autism Section".

I get your enthusiasm, I do. Also as a mechanical engineer, I understand the amount of time involved in producing even a one-off part.the hours of measure and mocking will be in the hundreds.

I used to try to build everything, now I have put a value on my time. The days of paying myself 1 dollar per day are slowing. Not done though, because it's in my blood

Moral of the story,
If you have the skill, have the time and money, then go for it. In the end, that 1st article is going to cost about 2x the price of the Kit. Thinking...subframe for design details, hardware, tube, tube bender, welding supplies, flap discs...shoot man, it all adds up fast.

For moronic questions asked without doing any research on the front end.


That may be a bit harsh.

Let's give you some backstory how this site works, in terms of how we build things.

For pretty much anything (reasonable) you can think of, there's 1-2 really great options. You can generally expect to rule out one of those options anyways based on your wants/needs/coin flip. If you want it, you buy it. If you don't want to pay for it? You're on your own. You get to design and make it yourself. As a general rule (there are exceptions), we don't do this. We just buy the thing that's been proven to work because nobody likes dealing with bullshit. If you like dealing with bullshit, that's awesome! We'd love to watch. But don't expect helpful input if you already ruled out the easy/proven option.

shut the fuck up, he's gonna do it

follow your dreams OP and uh, be sure to post lots of photos

Lol

I wouldn't want to smear those with autism, though.

This. When I first started out fabricating, a dude I really looked up to explained to me carefully that just because you can build something from scratch (I think we were talking about single loop bigtwin frames) doesn't mean that you should....in addition to the fact that most people cannot afford your time if you do.

Does that mean that you should not try? That's clearly a case by case basis. I personally look at the K kits and if I were going that route I would just buy one.

Exactly. Also willing to bet that the k kit operates on about a 25-50%profit margin. You will lose that margin and probably a bit of hair completing the first part. Kind of like my first go at a DIY turbo. I still have a box of miscellaneous items from that build. I bet that box is worth a few hundred bucks easy.

That being said, forge ahead and please keep us updated with a thread