KPower - Your Source for K Series Innovation
KPower Industries originally launched in 2014 as KMiata with a handful of products that made up the original K series Miata swap package. The company, and this product, was founded on the idea of innovation, and specifically, the desire to do things that had never been done before. With the explosion in the popularity of RWD K swap parts from new manufacturers, we thought it would be relevant to share some background on our company and the original ideas that we have brought to market in our short history.
When we launched KMiata in 2014, we didn’t realize that we would be blazing the trail of RWD K series swaps. Our original KMiata swap was packed with the innovation necessary to fit a FWD engine into a small RWD Miata. Our K20 oil pump adapter was the unseen backbone of the KMiata product line, and also opened up the doors to all kinds of new oil pan designs for numerous RWD applications. This piece attaches to the factory K20 oil pump and allows a custom pickup tube to be routed up or around RWD subframes and steering racks. Without this breakthrough concept, there would never have been a K swapped Miata, E30, S14, and so on.
Our KMiata swap originally retained the factory Miata transmission thanks to our K to Miata adapter plate and flywheel. While this engine and trans combo was thoroughly tested and proven out, we decided to take a leap in 2017 and invented the first K to BMW transmission adapter parts, with an eye on swapping these transmissions into Miatas for turbo K series applications.
We soon found that the K series community was eager for this affordable, readily available, and lightweight RWD transmission option for all kinds of projects, so we designed adapter plates and flywheels for a number of BMW transmission applications.
Specifically the ZF 5-speed from the E36 and E46, the ZF 6-speed from the E46, and the Getrag 260 from the E30 all received newly designed adapters and flywheels. These transmissions had never been adapted to a K series before, so after we did our initial prototyping, we drove thousands of street miles and did hundreds of hours of track testing to revise and refine our designs to meet our high standards of quality, durability, and reliability.
In 2019, after two long years of development, we proudly launched our KPower cast intake manifold. This manifold has been a complete game-changer in the RWD K series world. No more modifying stock manifolds, building expensive sheet metal manifolds that ultimately crack, or flipping Skunk2 manifolds upside down. We rolled every feature we desired into a true RWD manifold, with perfect runner length, plenum placement, and so much more.
We 3D printed expensive functional samples of the manifold for extensive dyno testing, and also to insure proper fitment in various cars. Best of all, since we were already working on a K swap for the E30 chassis, we revised our design to make sure it cleared the infamous E30 brake booster.
Let’s fast forward to 2020: KPower Industries is still on the forefront of RWD K series development. We have customers racing and winning all across the world thanks to our K swap components. KMiatas consistently dominate in Gridlife Touring Cup, as well as endurance racing across the nation.
All of the products used on these vehicles are original designs of KPower, and most components are manufactured in-house in our facility in Wauconda, IL on Haas CNC mills.
Sadly, as seems to happen all too often in this industry, we have begun to see copies of our products floating around. Our extensive research and development comes at a high cost. Unfortunately, there are companies that put little value on the work we’ve done, and don’t have any issue sending our items off to other manufacturers to be replicated for nominal price savings. As you all know, drivetrain components for race cars aren’t designed and tested overnight. Dimensions have to be precise in every way. Hundreds of hours of testing are needed to guarantee a sound design of the highest quality.
If you see an adapter plate, flywheel, or other component that bears a striking resemblance to our product, it’s safe to say that it’s a copy of our original groundbreaking design. And in this industry, you can choose to support the innovators or the replicators. You can choose to support companies that support you, the enthusiast, with consistent new innovation, or you can choose to support companies that have no problem taking credit for others’ hard work.
What we promise the motorsports community is this: when you use KPower products, you are purchasing products that didn’t exist before we created them. We don’t copy competitor’s work. We create our own innovative designs, from the ground up, to fill a specific unmet need in the market. Our entire company is the story of doing exactly that, time and time again.
We also promise that our products have been thoroughly track tested in the harshest environments.
We don’t offer a slow trickle of K swap parts as we figure out a new chassis. We will never release basic items like engine mounts for a chassis until we have completely abused our test vehicle on a half dozen race tracks. We offer detailed wiring solutions for all packages, along with extremely detailed installation instructions for everything we provide.
In short, we only offer the highest quality, complete, and tested K swap components that you will be proud to own, and confident to have as a part of your build.
We choose to let our superior, first to market solutions tell our story. We will let our quality, innovation, and customer support be what defines us. And we will be here long term to keep designing you products that stand out and win.
