Garrett T3-45 vs KKK K26 vs KKK K24

So while I have experience with Garrett and Mitsubishi turbos, KKK's are complete new to me. There's two in my pic a part though, so here I come to GRM begging for info. I've found compressor maps for all three of these turbos, but I honestly don't know how to read them.

This would be for my Mercedes 5 cylinder 3L which currently runs a Garrett T3-45. Available to me is a K26 from a Porsche 944 and a K24 from a later Mercedes diesel. I believe both are a "bolt-in" situation.

What I want (what we all want): Faster spool, low-mid range power, pull until 3500-4000, ~12 psi boost.

Sounds like you need to spend some time Here

http://www.squirrelpf.com/turbocalc/

There's several different flavors of K26 and K24.

On the Audi engines, the K24 variants can actually flow more than the K26 variants while still spooling quicker. Popular opinion is that the K26s just feel faster because they hit later/harder. But the Audi K24s aren't as good as some of the ones used on certain Volvos.

Do be careful since the 3K turbos came in all sorts of different flavors bolt pattern wise.