Berk HFC passing emissions/CELs
 

EDIT: The intent of this thread is to put all of the issues that have arisen with installing the BERK HFC in one place for quick reference. Thank you.

I honestly need a straight answer and I've searched enough to where this question needs to be answered thoroughly and appropriately, not in a "well it should work" manner.

The question is. Will the Berk HFC be able to pass emissions tests as stringent as the emissions you are required to pass in North Carolina? Also, assuming installation is correct, the HFC will NOT throw an engine code, correct? Yes I realize it is a temperamental issue and everyone's installation will be unique in the problems but I would like an affirmative that the success rate is VERY high.

Side note: this car is my daily driver and I just want some basic bolt-ons. I am required to pass emissions and a CEL will certainly deny that from me. So it's also a matter of no CEL and passing emissions.

BERK HFC OWNER EXPERIENCES

christian370z - 50 miles w/ HFC - no CEL/problems

JohnnyBgood - 15,000 miles w/ HFC - no steel wool no CEL

evse82 - 10,000 km (6,214 miles) w/ HFC - Threw PA200 code at first, issue with gaskets. Replaced with proper - no CEL and no steel wool. Stillen CBE also installed.

Many thanks,

-Wolf

I have had my Berks on for the past 50 miles and have nothing but good things to say about it. They have been known to pass emissions tests without any issues on both 370Zs and G37s which is one of the reasons why I bought them. I have had no CELs either as the Berks have an anti-fouler design for the rear o2 sensor which keeps it distanced from the exhaust stream however a few have had CEL issues even with this design.

I definately felt a seat of my pants increase in torque and power along with a nice bump in exhaust volume. The only quibble I have is that when decelerating lower than 2,500 rpm, there is the sound that is similar to passing gas haha. It does not happen anywhere else though and will be rectified with a good cat-back.

Thanks for the reply! At least one response out of 70+ views ain't too bad! Anyone else want to share their experience? The info is much more crucial now that I ordered the berk cbe I would like to pair it up with their hfc.

Anyone else?

I had the Berks installed 15,000 ago. I did not put steel wool in the O2 sensors. No CEL's, and I love the sound and performance gain. (Also have the Stillen CBE installed.) It's my daily driver. I would highly recommend the mod.:tup:

That's great news! I think from now ill start summarizing experiences with Berk HFC in the first post. Thanks!

Did you disconnect the battery before doing the install so that it resets the ECU? Just curious. When I installed my CAI they recommended that I disconnect the battery so I didn't throw a CEL.

It is not neccessary as the ECU will still adapt over a period of 5-10 drive cycles. Resetting the ECU after a mod will force the ECU to learn and adapt in a much shorter period of time. Instead of disconnecting the battery terminal, you can reset the ECU in car without touching the battery with this technique:

+1 for great information on the ECU!

Now could any of the guys who DID throw codes tell about their experiences? And if you did fix it, how? :tup:

If the code is for the o2 sensor reading too hot, that means you will have to have the o2 bung made longer which means going to an exhaust shop, having them remove the current bung and welding on a slightly longer bung.

However, I talked to Berk and all of their most recent HFCs have not had any CELS whatsoever because not only is the o2 bung much longer to pull the 02 sensor out of the exhaust stream, but the hole letting exhaust into the o2 bung is actually much smaller than the diameter of the bung itself.

Well I had a PA200 code but it ended up being the gaskets. I didn't get the gaskets in the mail (not Berks fault) so we made temporary ones that blew out. Once the proper ones were put in, I never had another issue. Been going good on about 10,000Km with no CEL and no steel wool. Running the Stillen CBE as well

^^^ Is this confirmed to work? Same for '09 and '10?

Yep, was the same for the 350z too. 100% working. Takes a few attempts to get timing right though.

I suggest using a stopwatch because you really need to get the timing very close to perfect, but it works and it sure beats doing all the window/clock resets after pulling the negative terminal on the battery.

I figured I would update my experience with the Berks after seeing more people worried about CELs: I have now driven the car over a month and almost 600 miles and I have not had a single issue with CELs or unpleasantry. Just smooth power and a nice increase in grunt everywhere, apart from the install I love my Berks HFCs!