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370 Nismo: Will Berk HFC fit neatly onto a Cobra Y-pipe and cat-back exhaust?


Dynamic Turtle

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Given that the Berk high flow cats are £270 cheaper(!) than the Cobra equivalents I'm more inclined to give them a try over the latter, however I recall people saying there were potential length/fitment issues with the Berks and aftermarket exhausts on the 370Z? Does anybody have any definitive experience (Sipar?) on this topic and be wililng to provide guidance. Can't find anything on the US forums sadly (probably in light of Cobra being a UK manufacturer).

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

DT

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There can be an issue with the Berks HFCs + Stillen exhaust combo. The HFCs push the exhaust down onto the cross-brace causing a nasty rattle/vibration. I think you'll be fine with the Cobra exhaust + Berks HFCs.

 

I accept no financial liability if this advice turns out to be incorrect ;)

Edited by sipar69
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It tells me that you have a lovely titanium exhaust!

 

Its pretty lush, all credit belongs to the previous owner to be fair, two grand for an exhaust would have been a bit much for me! I am thinking of getting rid of the Berks by the way due to the hissing/rattling when I take my foot off, I keep thinking ill get used to it but it still bugs me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey guys just a quick update on the Berk HFC situation on my 2014 Nismo. Abbey fitted them on Saturday in just over 2 hours having struggled with a couple of seized bolts (which snapped a tool). Probably a good idea to leave this job well alone and let the pros do the work. Re config I’m also running Cosworth panels and a full Cobra exhaust and it was a very snug fit so no problems there. Cobra gaskets were also fine under visual inspection.

 

Put about 150 miles on them over the weekend, mix of B-road, traffic and motorway. There is HFC rattle on start-up but this disappears within 15 seconds. First thing to note is holy sheet the car is now LOUD with the windows down. Driving under WOT the rasp effect is much more magnified and sudden compared to the Berk HFCs on my Miltek’d 350. You can still modulate the effect by accelerating gradually so the exhaust gas can escape under less pressured conditions, but you do have to be very ginger on the pedal. It is still noticeably louder inside the cabin under gentle load.

 

Under WOT the sound is utterly mental, with a deafening rasp much more aggressive and sudden than the 350, it also lingers on higher up the rev range where the 350 was done by 5000rpm. One side effect is that it’s made the exhaust sound a bit resonant with a wop wop wop reverb rather than a smoother tone, but it’s not really an issue. There is obviously more boom at motorway speeds (at least, the existing boom from the Cobras on a slight incline at 2,500rpm in 6th is now magnified) but not unbearable and similar to 997 GT3 levels for reference.

 

I personally love the HFCs and finally feel like I’m driving a 3.7 V6 and best of all it’s so noisy you can’t hear the horrid VQ37 induction whirr! Windows up the noise is obviously heavily attenuated but where’s the fun in that? Performance wise it’s probably a placebo effect (and the extra noise) but the car feels a bit faster. Bum dyno is notoriously inaccurate but….it did feel peppier.

 

No CEL yet but Mark said it’s only a matter of time. I believe Uprev is the only permanent way to clear it but I’ve invested in a code-clearing OBD reader as a stop gap in case it makes a regular appearance.

 

Not a cheap upgrade (£550 in total) but it’s finally turned the car into the snarling beast it should’ve been from the factory. Not sure about actual dB levels but my mobile recorded 91db inside the car under WOT so it should still be fine on track.

 

Verdict: recommended but probably best mixed with quieter exhausts like Miltek, Akro and Invidias? With a Cobra it is properly mental, you have been warned!

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Hey guys just a quick update on the Berk HFC situation on my 2014 Nismo. Abbey fitted them on Saturday in just over 2 hours having struggled with a couple of seized bolts (which snapped a tool). Probably a good idea to leave this job well alone and let the pros do the work. Re config I’m also running Cosworth panels and a full Cobra exhaust and it was a very snug fit so no problems there. Cobra gaskets were also fine under visual inspection.

.......

 

where do i sign? :teeth:

 

videos please :thumbs:

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Good to hear you're enjoying them. I'm off to Abbey for an uprev in a couple of weeks, partly to get a more permanent fix to the occasional CEL issue. Will post up the results when I get back :)

Edited by sipar69
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Sipar how often does the CEL appear? Have you got one of those blutooth OBD dongles to clear it?

 

Only three times in about a year and a half, but it does bug me when it happens. I got this WifI OBD dongle:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00DYOVXZ0/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=byRankDescending

 

And this app for my Ipad.

 

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/obd-car-doctor/id652142348?mt=8

 

It diagnoses and clears the code within less than a minute, so pretty handy (P0430 - catalytic converter efficiency below threshold - or something like that). I find it happens when the car is cold and I rev it a bit enthusiastically :)

 

As well as the uprev, there is also the option of the defoulers which apparently move the sensors further out from the airflow. Much cheaper than an uprev but I fancied seeing what Mark can do with a Nismo and some breathing mods :)

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Sipar how often does the CEL appear? Have you got one of those blutooth OBD dongles to clear it?

 

Only three times in about a year and a half, but it does bug me when it happens. I got this WifI OBD dongle:

 

http://www.amazon.co...yRankDescending

 

And this app for my Ipad.

 

https://itunes.apple...d652142348?mt=8

 

It diagnoses and clears the code within less than a minute, so pretty handy (P0430 - catalytic converter efficiency below threshold - or something like that). I find it happens when the car is cold and I rev it a bit enthusiastically :)

 

As well as the uprev, there is also the option of the defoulers which apparently move the sensors further out from the airflow. Much cheaper than an uprev but I fancied seeing what Mark can do with a Nismo and some breathing mods :)

 

Apparently the defoulers are part of the berk design but they can still trip the CEL? Anyway it hasn't appeared yet and I don't mind spending a minute or two clearing the code twice a year to save £400 odd quid uprevving. Very interesting to see what mark can do with your car though...

 

Downloaded OBD app so thanks for that...

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I think that app is just designed for a wifi dongle, but if so there are others that work with Bluetooth.

 

I didn't get a CEL for about the first year with mine, but I think it's generally a case of when not if in the long run. As you say, if you've got a quick and easy way to diagnose and clear it, it's no big deal.

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