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Testing The Taylor Marine Exhaust Tuner
When the Mercury
three-liter platform was introduced several years ago, most outboard
performance enthusiasts did not regard it as a performance solution. The
three-liter Mercury 225 was a rather large and heavy engine for its
horsepower rating. These new Mercury V6 engines found favor among fisherman
and those running larger performance boats due to their excellent low-end
torque and reliability.
Towards the end of the 1990s, the Mercury three-liter outboard matured, and
it saw refinements in its fuel injection system as well as horsepower
increases. Mercury introduced the 250 horsepower EFI, then the Pro Max 300.
At 300 horsepower, the new Pro Max was suddenly a new performance prospect.
While 225 horsepower from three liters was not all that impressive, 300
ponies from the same displacement was another story.
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Left: We decided to remove the
entire midsection for photographic purposes, however this is not
required for installation of the exhaust tuner.
Right: The
stock Pro Max 300 exhaust tuner. |
Although the weight of
these new 300 horsepower outboards kept it off the transoms of the smaller
performance hulls, suddenly larger performance boats such as Skaters were
trading in their high-revving 2.5-liter outboards in favor of the new 300
horsepower Pro Max engines. The new Pro Max 300 was a good performer,
however, there were improvements to be had. Many came to realize that the
Mercury 250 was rated very conservatively, and its performance did not lag
far behind that of the 300. Additionally, the Mercury 250 was a consumer
outboard, and it qualified for up to five years of warrantee coverage,
unlike the Pro Max 300, which was limited to one year because of its
classification as a performance outboard. Further, the Mercury 250 developed
more torque at lower rpm than the Pro Max 300, allowing more “useable” power
for the average user. All of these conditions became strong selling points
for the Mercury 250 on the street. The Pro Max 300 just needed to separate
itself more from its consumer relative.
Enter the Mercury 300X – the next high performance evolutionary step from
the Pro Max 300. The 300X featured a completely new intake system, designed
more closely to the 2.5 EFI horn systems, as well as other major
improvements that resulted in a nearly 40 horsepower gain. The three-liter
has finally come of age, however, those that owned the Mercury 225, 250, and
Pro Max 300 wanted more gains from their engines without having to purchase
a 300X. The Mercury three-liter performance aftermarket is just starting,
and we’ll be looking at one entry into this new domain.
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Left: Unbolting the stock exhaust
tuner from the exhaust plate.
Middle and Right: The
Taylor Marine exhaust tuner (left) and the stock Mercury 300 tuner
(right). |
Wayne Taylor of Taylor
Marine and Machine has been producing radical fuel injection systems and
aftermarket performance accessories for many years. He is well known in the
racing community for the exotic XXtreme and OZZ MAD EFI (Maximum Air
Delivery Electronic Fuel Injection) fuel injection systems for Mercury and
OMC platforms.
Today we’ll look at the Taylor Marine and Machine Mercury three-liter
exhaust tuner. What exactly is an exhaust tuner? The exhaust tuner on an
outboard engine functions as the exit pathway for exhaust gases and water
out of the block casting. Essentially, this is the exhaust manifold, or
header of the system, if you will. The exhaust system on an outboard engine
is basically comprised of the exhaust ports in the cylinders, the exhaust
pathway in the engine block, the exhaust tuner, the midsection, and the
lower unit. Unlike stock automobile and stern drive engine exhaust
manifolds, most stock outboard exhaust tuners are not restrictive enough to
affect engine performance much. The exhaust system on a stock outboard is
essentially a compromise situation, offering good power and smooth running
while keeping noise levels down. Performance-minded individuals will gladly
trade some extra power for the added noise levels if a more relieved exhaust
system. In fact, the increased exhaust volume is considered a bonus to many
performance boaters.
Many exhaust tuners for the Mercury 2.4 and 2.5 series V6 engines have been
introduced by different manufacturers, and while some claim significant
horsepower increases, this is usually not the case. Generally, a tuner by
itself on an otherwise stock engine will not alter the engine’s running
attitude much, if at all.
Taylor Marine's Mercury three-liter tuner is among the first to reach the
market for this application, and we installed one to our 1998 Mercury Pro
Max 300 mated to a Progression 24LD to report on the results. This tuner is
cast out of one piece of aluminum, with all machined surfaces nicely
finished. It’s designed to work in any Mercury three liter engine.
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Article Information |
| Taylor
Marine and Machine offers a replacement exhaust tuner
for the Mercury 3 liter engine platform. |
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Created: |
| January
25, 2003 |
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By: |
| Greg
Terzian |
| Wayne
Lavender |
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Category: |
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Product Evaluations |
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Manufacturer Website |
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www.madefi.com |
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