Honda L13A Engine Swap in HA12 ALTO

[OwaisYunus1]

Next up is to tackle the Air Cleaner situation. I had installed a temporary cone air filter while I tested the engine. As I stated earlier, I tried a few different air cleaners but due to the limited space, none of the air cleaners/ filter boxes could fit. I could install some box from one of the 660cc cars but since they are not meant to move enough air for a 1300cc engine, I didn’t use those. So, I took the filter element from the 5th Generation City and built a filter box around it. I started with making a frame for the box out of ½ inch angle iron.

This is what the frame looks like. There are two parts to it, the bottom half fits onto the engine mounting bracket so that the filter moves with the engine, so as to avoid any flex in the connecting pipes. The top is then mounted onto it and the pipe connects to the top part.

This is how it fits in the engine bay.

[OwaisYunus1]

The frame is now cladded in 18 gauge steel sheet, prepped and painted. I’ve coated the insides with epoxy resin to ensure that it’s air-tight and it will also prevent it from rusting. I’ve added a rubber pipe at the end of the lower part of the box to route the intake away from the major heat sources. I wanted to use steel clips on the ends of the box but there was very little space around the box so opening and locking the clips in place would’ve been very difficult so I went with 4 bolts instead. It’s not as straight-forward as opening clips and replacing the filter but hey, it only takes a couple more minutes and ensures that the air cleaner seals well.

The air cleaner is installed. I’ve used the previously made Stainless Steel pipe that also houses the Intake Air Temperature Sensor to join the silicone coupler and the rubber elbow. After installing the box, the intake noise has greatly reduced. The cone filter made the intake very noisy; it would start to drone right above 1000 rpm and at around 2000 rpm, it would become unbearable. Now it’s much quieter and sounds a lot refined, plus, it now filters the air a lot better than the cone air filter.

[OwaisYunus1]

Next up, was to tackle the gear shifter. I’ve used the shifter from a 4th Generation Honda City. I searched the market a lot for a clean shifter in Grey color and was finally able to find it. Most of the shifters available were in beige color so I’m guessing that the city was mostly offered with a beige interior. I installed the shifter using the same bolt holes as the original shifter except that the original shifter used to be installed from underneath the tunnel on the floor, this one sits on top of it. I made a bracket that adapted the original bolt holes to this shifter. This is how the shifter sits. I took my time to perfect the position. When driving, the height and the reach is perfect.

Now, I needed to cover the shifter with a console. So out came the cardboard to make the template.

This is what the finalized template looks like. I then dismantled it and turned it into digital templates and had the individual pieces cut in 4mm, clear plexiglass. These parts will be fixed together to make the console.

The parts are assembled and the console is sanded and prepped for paint.

I painted it in matte black to go with the center part of the dashboard. Since I like the way Alen Bolts look, I made a surround for the silver portion of the shifter that is held with Alen Bolts. This is what the finished console looks like.

[OwaisYunus1]

This marks the end of the Project L13A Alto. The car is now complete Alhamdulillah. I would like to share my thoughts on the results. I started the project with 3 objectives, 1) Fuel Efficiency, 2) Converting the Car into Automatic and 3) To have good power to weight ratio. Having driven the car a bit, I can say that all 3 objectives have Alhamdulillah been achieved. The car gets great fuel mileage, currently around 18km/l within the city and higher on the motorway, it’s very convenient to drive with the CVT transmission and goes very quick too Alhamdulillah. Overall, the engine swap has been a great experience. I got to try a lot of new ideas and ways of doing things, learned what works and what doesn’t. Major credit goes to my family for bearing with me, hogging the garage for 5 months and working through the nights!

Next, I will be upgrading the front brakes to bigger rotors and bigger calipers and I’ll also be adding a stabilizer bar in the rear at some point in time. With other things occupying me at the moment, both of these things will take some homework so they’ll take some time to do but whenever I do them in shaa Allah, I’ll update the thread. Till then, the car will hopefully be responsibly driven in shaa Allah and would hopefully serve as a reliable daily driven vehicle.

I have the latest video on the build uploaded as well. You may watch it at:
Project L13A ALTO - FINALE

Here are some photos of the completed car.

[xenerking]

tell us about the Head light modification done, thanks

[ifadey]

What was your avg speed on motorway when you acheived those fuel economy numbers?

[nnabeel]

Masha ALLAH. the car looks stunning and the result achieved is the fruit of all the hard work.
You have made this little car solid and i guess how ppl whould have felt when u have passed them on motorways.

The shifter box looking but just a suggestion, can we make it little less wider. from sides it is looking cool, but from top it seems a little wide as compared to the over all car interior.

the air filter box is awesome.

now ad some cool spoiler and some cool rims. are you planning to put some weight at rear to balance the car?

Please also tell how u have added the drls in the front bumper.

[OwaisYunus1]

The headlights are custom lights that I made before the engine swap. I bought new lights from the last facelift of the Alto offered in Pakistan and then installed Bi-Xenon Acme H1 Projectors in them. Then I made the custom shrouds and stuff, made LED lights in the corners as Parking Lights and added LEDs for turn signals. Then painted the lot and sealed the lights and this is what they look like. The light output is very good as well. These projectors are rated similar in performance to the Morimoto H1 minis. I will maybe upload a DIY thread about them some time if I can find enough photos.

[OwaisYunus1]

The average speed that I maintained was 120km/h but there were plenty of higher speed runs in between for short periods of time. The maximum that I touched during this trip was about 160km/h.

[xenerking]

i wud say, as far as performance is concerend, this car is mile apart from kei cars having same fuel average. now thats something which is not very common and available off the self, have to go extra mile to acheive this unique object of pride..

PKDM alto VXR only has 2 air bags which can be considered safety features which this lil monster does not have. on the other hand it has everything which former one does not have!

[xenerking]

if the car is built with fuel economy as one of objective, then u can easily improve it by making few adjustments with the weight reduction, even 10/15 kg weight reduction will return u accordingly,

some of the brackets and mounts might have a bit extra metal which can be shaved off, and removing extra accessories or replacing them with light weight alrernative can also be done.

Anyways, the car looks absolutely at the spot and im sure wud be a driving pleasure.

[OwaisYunus1]

Thank you so much for the appreciation and the kind words Alhamdulillah, loving the feel of the car. Yes, I got plenty of surprised stares on the motorway, especially from the newer 1000cc cars who thought they could take on an Alto

Thank you, I agree, the top portion could be made slimmer, this is something that I also believe should have been done. I had planned a lot of things for this console actually and to add USB ports for charging, make a place to hold my phone, pockets on the sides, some other subtle design features but unfortunately, I had very little time to finish this console and had to do it quickly, so I came up with an easy to implement design and went with it. I might make the top part thinner at some point in time if I manage enough time for it.

Regarding the wheels, I do want to upgrade the rims to some Japanese ones whenever I have the budget, with the prices of rims these days, I'll have to save up for a good set. Chinese rims are a no no so I'm using 5JJ 13 inch steel wheels till then which are quite wide. I would also like to put a slim ducktail spoiler if I can find one. Or I may build my own if I get the time.

For the DRLs, I made space in the bumper with fiberglass. I got a brand new bumper from the last facelift offered in the Alto and changed the corner design a little and made space for DRLs. Then I took some 1.5watt leds and lenses and attached them to a heatsink and made a shroud for them. They are connected in a way that OEM DRLs are, they turn on during the day and they are switched off as soon as you turn on the parking lights. Here are some in-progress photos of the bumper and the DRLs.

[OwaisYunus1]

I would completely agree, that is also the reason that I went with this swap instead of going the regular route of the K6 engine. It was a lot of effort but it has Alhamdulillah paid off.

[OwaisYunus1]

The car is actually plenty light as it is. The brackets and the cross-member were made in heavier metal on purpose because in addition to reducing flex in the chassis, I needed it to provide some protection to the engine from underneath as it sits about 1.5 inches lower than the previous engine. Within the city, its getting around 18km/l too Alhamdulillah. I used to drive around a 100km each day in a manual, relatively underpowered car and with the auto transmission now and the power to weight ratio, it is now a pleasure to drive Alhamdulillah.

[xenerking]

can u please share the solution for the pedals u choose?

lis it the stock pedal set from JDM alto or something else?

and how abt the ignition switch? can u take the key out while the gear not in PARK position?

car ECU having errors with respect no data coming from ABS

and how abt that steering, is it EPS and also from a compatible honda?

how does the CVT preforming? needed the calibration after swap?

[OwaisYunus1]

The brake pedal that I've used is from the Auto variant of the JDM Alto HA12. It bolted straight on without any modifications. The one on the left is the one that I now have compared to the one on the right that I had earlier.

The ignition switch however does need to be changed. I haven't gotten around to doing that but I will see what needs to be done to have that work like it should. The cable from the ignition switch may or may not fit directly on the current shifter. Regarding the errors, VABS is the only error that it has which is indeed an error related the speed signal from the ABS controller. I have to do some research on providing some kind of a fake signal to the Ecu so that it doesn't throw that code.

The EPS that I have is also from the JDM HA12 Alto that has bolted on without any alterations. I just wired it to spec. The ecu has no connection with the EPS though, the EPS only takes the speed signal from the ECU, the same signal that is going to the speedometer as well, to make the steering heavier as the car speeds up. The CVT is performing really well with no issues Alhamdulillah. The SWRA gearbox, the one I have doesn't need calibration. It runs without it.

[nfssaad]

@OwaisYunus1

by any chance have you happened to come across deutch connectors?

i am looking for a dt series 12 pin and 4 pin male connector

[sardarg]

deutch connectors

sir these are available at daraz if you please click this link

[nfssaad]

yes.. but not the 12 pin..

i remember daraz used to have such a set before, but now its no longer in stock any where..

[nooire731]

Ma Sha Allah zabardast project, neatly and technically executed, must need a lot of patience and you envisaged it correctly. May Allah Grant this project to serve you flawlessly for long time, Aameen. Your project inspired my motivation to take my dwindled projects of restorations.