Taylor Marine Exhaust Tuner Evaluation, Page 2

The powerhead was removed to gain access to the exhaust plate, which must be removed to access the tuner. The first thing you will notice is the size differential between the two units. The stock exhaust tuner incorporates a large baffle that extends into the midsection cavity, which is designed to reduce engine noise. The Taylor Marine tuner does not include such a baffle; rather, it’s more closely related to its 2.5-liter cousin. In theory, this allows the exhaust to exit the engine unrestricted by the casting of the baffle, reducing exhaust backpressure.


Left and Middle: Mounting the new Taylor Marine exhaust tuner to the exhaust plate. Right: Minor bolt head clearance problem was easily corrected by removing the lip on the bolt head.

Taylor Marine and Machine's tuner is a clean casting that mated perfectly with the Mercury exhaust plate and midsection. The water tube bolted up to the new tuner in the same manner as with the stock piece. No casting modifications are necessary for this installation, as should be the case with any tuner swap. When tightening the tuner mounting bolts, we did experience a minor problem that was easily corrected. The bolt flange on the tuner was not wide enough for the two rear bolt heads to seat perfectly, and we had to grind the lip off the side of the nuts to allow them to seat flush against the mounting flange. This was a minor setback that only took minutes to correct, however, it still should be noted.

The tuner installation was very straightforward and the whole operation took only two hours. With the powerhead mounted to the midsection, we were ready to hit the water.

When the engine was first started, one thing became immediately apparent; it sounded different – very different. In fact, it sounded so different that I didn’t even think it was our engine. This engine had a sound that said attitude all over it. While idling, the engine developed a “lean sneeze” which was due to the slightly leaned out low rpm mixture the new tuner created. A slight advance of the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) corrected the problem, and we were on our way.


Left: The Taylor Marine exhaust tuner mounted to the exhaust plate. Middle: Preparing to install the exhaust plate and tuner assembly to the midsection. Right: The complete midsection, ready for mounting to the transom bracket.

Once in open water, the throttle was sent home, and the large Pro Max responded as it always has, only it had the sound of a performance outboard. The engine ran as smooth as stock all throughout the rpm range. Unfortunately, we were not able to record any gains in rpm or acceleration. There was no loss in performance, however. This is not to say that this product does not work. Remember, we tested on our Progression 24LD, which is a rather large platform for testing, although this rig will run almost 80 mph with this setup. There have been unofficial reports of rpm gains with this product on smaller and lighter rigs, and this is possible, especially with other engine modifications to help realize the tuner’s potential.

The Taylor Marine and Machine tuner is a well made product that could possibly increase the performance of your three-liter Mercury engine. Although we reported no gains, we would purchase this tuner based on the difference it made on the exhaust note of our engine, which has to be heard to be believed. Additionally, this exhaust tuner is a very attractive solution to those that are converting their three liter engines to fifteen-inch midsections, since the stock tuner is too long for that purpose. At only $225US, the Taylor Marine tuner is an inexpensive upgrade that almost anyone can perform at home with simple hand tools.

Contact Information

Taylor Marine and Machine
122 County Road 46

Selma, AL 36701
Tel/Fax: (334) 874-6307 and (334) 874-7473

Monday -Saturday 7:30-5:30 ET
www.madefi.com