I'm wondering about some mods and am thinking about M112 NA engine family. Following LantanaTX's V-8 conversion, I was wondering about swapping engines. The electronic issues are daunting though. By modifing or rebuilding the existing V-6 these problems would be avoided.



Following Infinite's and many others posting, I am thinking about a turbo system for a NA engine. I am thinking about a STS system. Before anybody jumps up and says it won't work I have some considerations.


The STS design nearly negates a intercooler. The heat factor is in another area, away from under the hood and simpler installation



I feel that in the NA engine stock configuration the compression is too high for the addition of a forced induction sysytem. To put it simply, forced induction increases compression. Starting at 10:1 ratio is a bit much. The engine doesn't care how the intake charge is compressed, just that it is compressed. How many head bolts per cylinder is there? The more the head bolts the greater clamping force for the head gaskets to seal. Studs also have greater sealing by virtue of their depth in the block.


Compression is the product of many factors but the easiest to control, from a manufacturing standpoint, is the piston design and the cylinder head combustion chamber volume / design. I was hoping that someone might have some pictures or specs of the SRT / AMG pistons and cylinder heads to compair to NA pistons and cylinder heads. Mostly manufactures change pistons for a forced induction engine. Many companies make custom pistons at reasonable prices. I think the heads are the same. I feel like the key is the pistons.


I considered a swap to the 3.7 used in the ML350 and S350.

1. In compairing our 3.2 to the 3.7 the 3.7 is about 7.1mm larger bore with the same stroke as the 3.2.
2. M-Benz rates the 3.7 at 235hp and 254 ftlbs of torque versus the 3.2's 215hp and 232 ftlbs of torque.
3. The 3.7 is 20hp and 22ftlbs higher, this on it's own is not worth a swap.
4. The 3.2 can obviously exceed this with tuning.

If you have any other suggestions, I welcome any and all comments or ideas.