A k20a2 motor +tranny+ ecu+shifter+shifter cables +harness goes for $3000-$3500 average.
If you find goo deal and you get a
k24a block for $650
a k20a2 s head for $1000
a rsx 6 spped tranny for $1000
$300 for the harness
$200 for the ecu
$100 fo the shifter
$100 for the cables
Comes out to be arounf the same but you will motst likely need extra parts because something wil be missing.
If you are planning to do this on a project car and you don't care about downtime, I guess collecting parts is cool because you spend little here and little there..
But if you are goni gto do this on your only car, it woul dbe better to get the whole swap and then spent sometime collecting the swap parts....
My opinion anyway..
I believe that the type s swap is a great starting point because you get everyhting you need. Later on you can alwyays keep the head, change the block and use the same tranny, harness etc...
If you are thinking about swaping a k24a and later on changing the head, consider that a k24a longblock +tranny+harness _ shfter is almost as much as the type s swap.. Not the same, but close enough,.
Buying the swap from somewhere where they will guarantee you all the sensorts unbroken is important. Some of the k series sensors are really expensive, like the tps sensor for example that can only be bought for $550....
With the new cams that are out and are going to be coming out, the gap between the k20a and the k20a2 will become the LSD and that is all.
Good luck,
nIkos