I took my 1987 300D to the dyno last week, after turning up the full-load on the injection pump, and doing some road testing. The dyno video is at this link (18MB), you can see the dyno graphs at the end:

http://www.w124performance.com/movies/Mercedes/dyno/87_300D/

It put out approx 140hp at the wheels, with 190lb-ft of torque. Assuming a conservative 18% powertrain loss, that would be 170hp and 230lb-ft at the crank. Using a more generous 20% loss estimate translates into roughly 175hp and 235lb-ft at the crank.

I also had the car weighed on a digital scale. After correcting for a few items in the car, it was 3600lbs with a full tank of fuel - well above the MB claimed curb weight of 3375. Even adjusting for the heavier brakes, tires, sway bars, etc that are on the car, that's still a big difference. My E500 numbers off by a similar amount. I'm seriously starting to think MB published "dry" weights, without fuel in the tank. That would almost exactly account for the discrepancy, on both cars.

Anyway, this does answer a number of questions I've had. First, the Finns were right, 170-175hp may be all we can get with the stock pump (excluding propane or methanol injection). Second, my car was maxed out at 170hp (crank hp) when I turned up the full load screw out +0.5 turns a couple of years ago. The next +1.5 turns (done last month) did nothing except cause starting & idle problems. And finally, the excess weight is probably hampering the performance, compared to a bone-stock (or stripped down) model. My 0-60 is consistently in the low 9's, at ~2600' elevation. I'm guessing it might drop to high 8's near sea level.

Photos of the dyno session are here:
http://www.w124performance.com/images/dyno/87_300D/


I'll go back to the dyno after I get the hybrid pump built with 6mm elements. I'm hoping for 180hp (or more) at the rear wheels. I also plan to look into some different options for the turbo, and try to plumb an intercooler to help reduce EGT's.

For a step-by-step tutorial on how to adjust the full-load screw on the OM602/603 pump, check out this thread... just be warned that you need an EGT gauge if you increase the power output, or you risk grenading the motor due to excessive temps.

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