Well it' here Berk is in the house.............. Now if I wasn't out of town working I'd have it on by no,w.

Just got mine installed today. Took about an hour and half, no lift got down and dirty underneath. Sounds great. Everything went in perfect. Great job Berk.

please post some pics of exhaust tip alignment ASAP, thanks!

Also, how was the exhaust packed, what packing materials used (if any), condition of the box upon delivery.

Congrats! post a video, let's hear the damn thing Bubba! :happydance:

:eekdance: WELL????? :eekdance:

My exhaust shop was too busy to install it yesterday. It was the first day of 70+ degrees and sunny, so everyone and their mother was there.

Today, pouring rain for 12+ hours, I'm sure they'll be able to fit me in.

Here is a pic from the Iphone, got the BERK exhaust installed today and the driver side was SLIGHTLY lower than the passenger but all in all pretty damn close. All I have still is an Iphone so quality sucks.

Ok, time for my "official" review!

First off, this is my 1000th post on these boards! Hurray! Thanks everyone for making this such a great community, for both knowledge and friendship!

For information purposes, I drive a 370z Nismo. I upgraded the stock cats to Berk HFCs a few months ago and wanted to upgrade my Nismo CBE to something better.

As some of you know, I recently purchased the Berk CBE as part of one of their Group Buys. The wait was long, but not as long as others. Future buyers should not have this problem, of course.

I received the exhaust yesterday, and I immediately was disappointed. The box was tore up, and the packing inside was ridiculously inappropriate for the value of the contents. I had no paper, no peanuts, no nothing protecting the exhaust pieces other than the really thin pieces of bubble-wrap (less than a few mm thick!). Luckily, no damage was done to any of the pieces.

I went to my local shop for the install this afternoon. After seeing both systems, the NISMO CBE and the Berk CBE, side by side, I have to say, I really didn't have my expectations that high. The systems were eerily similar, except for the separate mufflers and the better designed X-pipe of the Berk. Me and the mechanic got the Berk bolted on in less than 30 minutes. The entire process was a bit longer than an hour, and I was charged $80. As always, my shop lets me drive the car on and off the lift, and lets me help/watch as much as I want. Good guys. But I digress...

Onto the actual review of the exhaust!

INSTALLATION - No installation instructions, but really...who needs them? There's 4 rubber hangers, 6 gaskets, and 12 bolts...it's not rocket science. There was a little adjustment needed to get the midpipes (right term?) to line up with the muffler assembly, but a breeze other than that.

LOOK - Looks pretty much stock. The tips are actually smaller than the Nismo's tips. Less of the muffler assembly can be seen from behind now, which is a good thing. If you're going for the "wow look at that guy's exhaust" reaction from people, you're not going to get it from looks...

SOUND - Absolutely breathtaking. I went from Berk HFCs/Nismo CBE to Berk HFCs/Berk CBE and let me tell you, it's 10000% better sounding. Acceleration, from inside the cabin with the windows up, gave me goosebumps! I was a little worried around 3k at first, but when I hit 4k RPM this thing let out a thunderous roar that I can only imagine was turning heads down the nearby roads. At around 6k RPM, I felt like I was in a NASCAR racing machine. It actual harmonizes with the "roar" of the VQ at higher RPMs than the Nismo exhaust did, oddly enough.

DRONE - I couldn't force any drone out of this system. From 1.5k RPM to 3k, it sounds like a normal exhaust note to me. To some, their definition of "drone" may be different than mine, but to me, there was no drone. I even went up a hill around 55mph and accelerated a little around 2.8k RPM, and still....nothing, to be honest. Again, my own opinion.

RASP - With the Berk HFCs already installed, this was the part I was a little worried about. At idle, revving the engine definitely produces some rasp, and a little hiss as it de-revs. At normal acceleration on the road, I was not able to pick up any at all. Now, there was a slight drizzle outside and talk radio playing softly in the background, so perhaps I missed it. I'm optimistic that "rasp" will not be an issue at all with my setup.

OVERALL - If I could forget about the shipping/packing issues, my experience with the Berk CBE would be a 10/10! The actual product that was put on my car definitely made up for the issues, but didn't erase them from my memory.

The exhaust gave me *exactly* the sound I wanted from my car. On a 1-10 scale, 1 being no sound and 10 being just a little too loud, my car is a perfect 9. For people with sensitive significant others, the combo of CBE and HFCs may be too much for their ears, the same goes with sensitive neighbors. For people looking for a great sounding exhaust, that finally matches the car they're driving, the Berk CBE is perfect.

Well done Berk. Fix your shipping issues and you're going to sell a lot of exhausts!

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. I'd like to get a video up as soon as it's a little more dry outside, as well as some pics.

Excellent review...2 quick questions...is it safe to say under 3K RPM sounds stock? and was the experience and sound what you expected from the sound clips that were floating around?

Under 3k is tame. You get the tone, just not the growl or volume, if that makes sense. Driving through my neighborhood at 2.5k rpms produced very little sound, sort of like a heavy idle.

The sound clips, similar to other exhaust systems out there, don't do it justice. The berk video on YouTube is a pretty realistic comparison to what mine sounds like, but it only has idle revs, not a take off. The accelerations at 4k+ rpm are where, in my opinion, the beauty of this exhaust is heard.

I figured that the sound clips don't do it justice....was pretty impressed with the Berk Video on idle rev as well as the in cabin footage put up by Minicobra...but nothing beats the actual 1st hand driver's experience...Thanks a lot for sharin' Matt

Nice review matt! thanks +1

I figured I'd show an entire unboxing, for the people curious.

First and foremost, what can the men in brown do for you today?! Apparently, bunch a fist sized hole in the box :-p

http://images18.fotki.com/v458/photo...MG_0630-vi.jpg

http://images22.fotki.com/v762/photo...MG_0631-vi.jpg
http://images116.fotki.com/v699/phot...MG_0632-vi.jpg
http://images20.fotki.com/v534/photo...MG_0633-vi.jpg
http://images53.fotki.com/v439/photo...MG_0634-vi.jpg

Completely sealed little parts bag...
http://images41.fotki.com/v195/photo...MG_0635-vi.jpg

Mmmm....
http://images116.fotki.com/v699/phot...MG_0636-vi.jpg

And then....I found it........






















GOD DAMN IT BERK, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HANG A POSTER BENT LIKE THIS?! The folding it was TERRIBLE! FFFUUUUUUUUUUU-
http://images19.fotki.com/v285/photo...MG_0637-vi.jpg

Bobo VVV

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...um/RageGuy.jpg

:icon18::bowrofl::owned:

LOL.

Okay yours was packed like it should have been, not even the #12 boot hole did much to the packing. They must have been rushing to pack up the other ones that came later.

I'm amazed people have yet to post a friggin video of this exhaust since this many have been received. Come on you lazy ba$tards! :)

Now Mighty Bobo's packaged box looks way more decent then that of Matts....Matts packing looked like they just threw the parts in the box and taped it up to go...ChrisSlicks makes a good point...Their packages were probably the last of the bunch that was rushed out the door

Guess I missed this thread.
http://www.the370z.com/members-370z-...tml#post438205

370Zsteve Baseline Dyno 3-11-2010
 

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1268324345

Berk CBE arriving today, here's my baseline before install. I am running stock cats.

x2........+1 rep Matt! :tiphat:

Can't see your picture for some reason. That's a dyno?

The dyno was so awesome the forum cannot load the picture. :p

:bowrofl:

NISMO_370z's dyno posted just fine with 330whp!!!! :stirthepot::stirthepot::stirthepot:

Mods? Type of Dyno? Link?

He deleted it, but the person did a dyno of a stock Nismo and came back claiming 330 to the rear wheels.

wasn't that the clownazz who posted he had 330 whp on a stock Nismo?:icon17:

Oh THAT guy lol. Well played.

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...yno-specs.html

Very funny thread!

Yeah I loved that thread - RCZ ripped him a new ******* and he didnt even know it. That was the best part.

The torque curve doesn't even look like one of a VQ37, is his VVEL not working properly? lol

A Stealth Reaming, love it. :icon17:

It Haz Arrived
 

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1268335387
Classic UPS forklift debacle

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1268335387
You can see where the box was dragged on it's side

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1268335387
more drag marks :shakes head:

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1268335387
Nice packing,BerkTech! Well done.


http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1268335387
Ah, there's the bag of nuts, bolts, gaskets and most importantly, decals.


http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1268335387
You can see a hole in the box right where the bag of bolts resided :shakes head:

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1268335387
Waiting on install! :excited: then a new dyno run with stock cats

First of all, we at Berk Technology would like to appologize for our early customers whose exhaust systems were packed poorly. We are not making any excuses for our mistake in this regard and are offering resolution to those who received any damaged components because of this mistake. Rest assured that we have taken an entirely different approach to packing these systems after the criticism from our customers and first hand knowledge of how truly disrespected these boxes are by the delivery companies.

Unfortunately, because of this, some of our customers exhaust hangers have been bent during the shipping process resulting in mis-aligned tips after install. We are working with these customers to resolve their issue, but we are happy to announce that this is not a manufacturer defect that is causing the mis-aligned tips and re-assure any potential customers in the future that their exhausts will be packaged in a way to prevent bent hangers. We would like to thank The Weapon for helping us determine the cause of this.

We have learned an important lesson through this first batch, but we stand behind our product and our customer service 100%. So again, our apologies to those who were un-happy with any part of their experience with us. We do not take your criticism lightly and will do our best to rectify the situation. Thank you to all of our customers for your support! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Glad to see you in here Berk, good customer service and hope those with issues get them resolved.

:icon18: What is known as Superior Customer Service

:bowdown: :rock:

Berk,

Please start taping the bag of bolts etc to something large inside the box, like the muffler (after it's wrapped in bubble wrap of course). That way if the box is punctured (which just about all of them have been) then this bag of critical little bits wont be falling out. Otherwise very happy to see the new improved packaging.

agree

Yes, that is one of the changes. The bag will be taped to a part of the exhaust so it doesn't fly around and get ripped open.

Received mine today as well. No problems with the packaging here. Will see about the hanger being straight when I install on Saturday.

http://www.the370z.com/intake-exhaus...tml#post440194