ERZ HFC Performance
 

After much deliberation and reading around these parts, I've settled on ERZ to provide high flow cats. Berk was the early leader for this modification as just about everyone seems to have them around here and only positive remarks seem to follow. Upon further digging, I have found the ERZ product to be every bit as highly regarded with only a slight issue brought up about some of the finishing early in their production. I've been led to believe that issue has been resolved. With all other things being equal, I can save a good bit of money buying the ERZ cats over the Berks and expect reasonably similar performance. There is just this one thing still bugging my OCD...

I've read several very well done threads on these cats by bluestyle55 and spearfish25 (thank you very much, guys) who gave the product very high marks but am still left wondering if anyone has come up with some numbers around performance gains for this product. The search feature doesn't seem to like short phrases (i.e. ERZ) and so searching for the item has been difficult. Has anyone been able to dyno this mod or make an educated guess at the gains for this piece? It's not a deal breaker, but I'm curious to know.

It seems to reason that gains are similar to what would be expected with the Stillen or Berk since the construction between them seems so consistent, so I would imagine something in the way of 12-15 whp. Even if the output is less than those manufacturers, the significant price break and great sound is more than enough to get me to pull the trigger on the product.

This is where I'm looking for comment: The only two things that would stop me from pulling the trigger on these would be:
1) if someone had a case to make about them losing power - unacceptable for me
2) if I could get a great deal on some used Berk or Stillen pieces. (Sad I missed out on DIGItonium's firesale)

Thanks!

P.S. Vendors, feel free to PM me with some pricing if you feel so inclined. Shipping to Dallas.

The performance will be similar across most products since the limiting factor is the cell count of the converter. Most of them are 200 or 300 cell. That said, I suggest you focus primarily on construction quality. HFC's are heat cycled constantly and the welds need to stand up to that process. Plus, all of the parts should be properly welded and checked for fitment against a jig. If the HFC is poorly constructed, then it may cause fitment issues with your headers and exhaust. One area I suggest you pay particular attention to is if the flanges are flat or curved. An easy way to check is to place the flange against something flat (granite tile, non-wooden desk, etc.) and look at it from the side. No light should peek through and the HFC shouldn't rock on the flange.

My point? All of these products cost <$500, which is cheap for a worthwhile performance mod. Pick the nicest one and move on. I have Berk HFC's and couldn't be happier.

I have my ERZ HFCs mounted to my Stillen exhaust without any problems. They've also withstood their first Chicago winter and still look new when I crawl under the car.

None of these HFC options are flawless. Google around for the Berk HFCs and you'll find a number of threads where the cores were burnt out or people have been throwing CELs. Given that fact, I couldn't justify buying Berks over the ERZs. Now that I've committed to the ERZs, I couldn't be more pleased. I saved some cash, got all the benefits of the HFC addition, and haven't thrown a CEL in 3,000mi. Could they fail or throw a CEL tomorrow? Sure. But so could a set of Stillens, Berks, or FIs. In the end, they are a great budget item which has no shortcomings that I can find thus far. If you want to feel like you bought the best, then you can always spend more money for a product that may ultimately perform exactly the same.

More money isnt always better, so I think the ERZs are a very product. Only time will tell on how the stand the test of time compared to the other companies out there.

One member here had them dynoed before and after ERZ installed and gained 12whp.

I believe I was either the first or second guy to install these on the site. I'll keep people posted if I ever run into an issue. So far, nadda.

None for me either and Ive already put a couple thousand miles on them.

A potential "negative" of HFC's in general (other than throwing a CEL) is louder and deeper exhaust note...this is subjective obviously. Many, including me, love the richness it brings to the exhaust note. If you did your research, I'm sure you have seen Bluestyle55's writeup here and Youtube video with dB readings. Can you live with the new sound? :driving:

Just from personal experience, the ERZ product's quality is nowhere near that of Berks. I had Berks installed for a while and wanted to try the ERZ as a possible replacement. When it arrived, the quality was s**t compared to my berks. The welding inside the pipe is a nightmare. There are jagged edges and random welding beads, which will affect the exhaust flow. The flange that meets up with the headers was not perfectly flat. It is slightly convex shaped. If I were to install that on my car, I was sure there would be leaks. So I ended up returning them.

Mine looked kinda the same but as long as they do what they are suppose to do looks dont matter when they are hidden under the car. Even if they did have welds inside they wont affect flow to a point of making any difference in power. money for bling isnt always a good thing, sometimes just good ole ordinary looking works just as good as bling bling and for alot less. Ive had no leaks or cels and the only thing I will wait for is the longevity of the cats.

Most of the time money buys quality simple as that. There is a reason these cats are 300 dollars cheaper, if ERZ could sell them for that much they would.

you are forgetting about mass production and hand production when it comes to price. ERZ is mass produced overseas while Fi and Berk are hand made or done by small companies and that caused prices to raise. I bet the ERZ and the others will all fair the same, HFCs fail eventually anyway. I think you can find plenty of examples where something that cost more doesnt do better than the cheaper ones and Im not just talking car products but all products. More money doesnt always mean better.

Not always but most of the time yes.. I can vouch for FI's attention to detail as well..

Thats true, and how many times as money bought superior quality and longevity. There will always be exceptions but its like anything, TV, appliances. You never know until it fails

Mass produced? What are you talking about? The products are made overseas the same way they are made here: a human being holding a welder. Or are you arguing that ERZ has a factory full of automated robots? Or maybe there is a huge benefit by having one welder just for the triple bolt flange and another for the Y-pipe side? Separation of responsibilities leads to a narrower, but more efficient work process? Right...

Quality construction matters to most people, even if it doesn't have a functional impact. No one is saying that for $300 you don't get a functional product, but why are you trying to say that it is just as good as the $500 products? It's not. At that price point you don't have pitted and warped flanges, misaligned bolt holes for the cross support, and crooked welds.

prove it. you know nothing about economics man. you can go and pay extra for something that can do the same thing for less, its a free world. Companies need customers like you. And by being made overseas there are more people welding them for less money. Just like Nike shoes.

You probably buy BP gas for more than everyone else buys thier gas for. But I aint mad at ya.

I suppose the 'more expensive is better' argument is what makes people sell their children to buy the JDM stuff.

Paging Top Secret!

sometimes I wanted to sell my children just get them out of my pocket and so I wouldnt have toput up with them. But I guess Im stuck with them. LOL. Gotta love the little buggers.

No kids yet for me. But sometimes I feel the same way with my wife and dog. My Z never barks or talks back.

Please Keep it on topic.
Thank You.

My, my, I leave you people alone for a weekend and return to find we're selling children and cracking BP jokes. Animals. Heathens. I love it...but for the sake of my thread, let me see if I can right the ship.

Yeah, the ERZ might lack some of the top end finishing of the other makers, but I really don't care (within reason) what the product looks like. It's never going to see the light of day, so the visual inspection isn't that big to me so long as the product performs.

I want these HFCs to:
1) Boost performance - everyone's butt dyno seems to say yes to this, but I'd love to see some hard numbers. kielbasa16 claims to be working on some, so I suppose I'll get them before I order as they're on back order for four weeks.
2) Sound great. Several members have raved about the sound and subsequent Youtube videos back that up.
3) Not be a pain in the *** - I haven't seen anything to make me think these show a higher fail rate than any other product. Aside from the minor early issue ERZ had early on, there haven't been any reports of rampant CELs or product issues.

I did see something that I suppose I should ask about - warranty issues. Am I just kicking my warranty to the curb with this?

[QUOTE=hfrog355;586657]1) Boost performance - everyone's butt dyno seems to say yes to this, but I'd love to see some hard numbers. kielbasa16 claims to be working on some, so I suppose I'll get them before I order as they're on back order for four weeks.

Sorry for the delay man, busy busy over here, you can expect some numbers not this weekend, but the next. Keep in mind though that I am doing a simultaneous install with the FI 18" cat-back.

Edit: ^that quote came out horribly wrong haha

Well no **** about the fail rate, it has not even been a year. Thats like saying im going to buy a ford cause its cheaper then a nissan but the nissan will last 30k longer. Everything lasts when it should, its the point of getting more miles off quality products.

No worries. There's several weeks time before they even get them in stock and I know you'll get to it when you can.

That's correct, but at this point there is nothing to say that the ERZ won't last as long as the others. Users have several thousand miles on these parts already and are not reporting failures at a rate worth mentioning. I have no doubt a poor vendor would be outted in record time around here.

They have to cut corners somewhere, personally for something that if it breaks Im going to be super pissed and without a car, I would go for the better quality.