I get what you guys are saying about putting a k20a2 longblock together being cheaper than $4699 complete k20a itr swap. I did the k20a2 swap twice already, once with ips k2, prc pistons, etc. Now that I bought a dc5-s, i want to upgrade parts to a k20a status.
However, I am going to buy the k20a w/ lsd tranny for these reasons :
I can sell my k20a2 complete swap. Buy $4,700 k20a complete swap. Sell 3-4 parts of it I don't need, gain some money back, I don't have to take my k20a2 apart and buy a bunch of prc parts and install them, then try to sell a bunch of prb parts. No machine shop labor fees. And my 145,000 mile k20a2 engine and tranny resets to 40-50,000 mile K20a engine and tranny that has better internals, better mechanical function, and the value of my car will be higher. All of the bolt ons I install will have better results with a K20a vs k20a2 once tuned. Really if we are talking a little extra coin for function and reliability advantage I am all in.
The math of converting a K20a2 to a K20a is expensive. The power gains are very noticeable with bolt one and tune. The engine can handle revs better as well.
My 2cents.