Turbocharging an OM601 200D
 

Hi guys. I'm new here. I'm planning to buy my first car soon. Due to budget constraints, I'll be forced to buy a very economical OM601 powered W124 200D.

While having a W124 is not exactly a negative (hello, awesome bank vault german engineering :) ) I'm worried about the OM601 powerplant. I did some research and found it only produced 79hp. In a car as heavy as the W124 I'm not sure it'll be sufficient enough.

So, I hatched a plan. I'm thinking about turbocharging the engine. I'm not planning anything big like some of the stuff I've seen on youtube. I simply want to add an extra 75 to 100hp (if even possible) without paying any fuel penalties. I know a few things about turbocharging but not enough that I need help to polish the details of my idea.

Please bear in mind, I mostly plan to use it for my daily commute to and from work which comprise a total of 10.6km. I also plan to use the car for weekend outings which eat up more kms and, occasionally, long roadtrips. So, I'd like to know if this is even a good idea considering my needs or if it's even possible (can the car/engine take it? I hope it can since the OM601 is one of the legendary million mile engines)

If the answer to both questions are yes, what would be the best turbocharging setup for such a plan? Twin turbocharging (one small and low pressure and another big)? Twin scroll turbocharging? Etc. As much as possible I dont want a hotrod or turbolag. I simply want something sufficiently capable and responsive (in case I need to quickly execute an overtake for example) with a predictable and linear powerband (no surprises). Thanks in advance. =)

Aldrich----is this a make work project:rolf:---what happened to your opening statement of "economical":eek:---therefore before proceeding I would suggest that you research the economics of how to motorize a bicycle!!--that's economical and doable forget about blowers!!

Are W124s and OM601s really that terrible? I thought they were extremely durable and reliable million mile cars? As far as the turbo, I was thinking if I could find a decent secondhand japanese blower, I could make this idea work.

I have one. It has 1.5M km's running on the 2º engine. 1st got about 1.1M out of it. max speed is about 150kph. It's not a fast car, but it will take you anywhere