Review: Berk Technology 3" Single Headerback Exhaust
06-27-2011, 05:03 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Review: Berk Technology 3" Single Headerback Exhaust
Berk 3” Single Headerback Exhaust, AP2 version
MSRP: $599
www.berktechnology.com
Berk Technology 3" Single Exhaust Thread
Introduction
This is a much anticipated review of the Berk 3” Single Headerback exhaust as I have had the opportunity to put several thousand miles with the exhaust installed on my CR and drive the setup at Buttonwillow Raceway in April 2011. The following review describes my initial impression and “long-term” review of the exhaust.
The Company
Berk Technologies is a company that makes very high quality exhaust components. Bryan, owner of Berk Technologies, is an awesome person with a wealth of knowledge on exhaust systems. It’s because of him that we have such an amazing exhaust on the market now.
The Car (as tested on April 2011)
S2000 CR
Volks RE30
255/40/17
Recaro SP-A
Flashpro
Initial Impression (10/10)
I have either sat in, driven, and/or listened to various exhaust setups including:
T1R 70RT
T1R 70-REM
J’s 70RR
J’s 60RR
Greddy SE Dual
Greddy Ti-C
ASM 70mm
I’m an advocate for keeping things stock especially since the CR does have a slightly more throaty exhaust compared to a standard AP1/AP2 OEM exhaust. I firmly believe that Honda knows what they are doing for the market they are targeting, especially if Shigeru Uehara was the one who lead the NSX, the Type-R, and S2000 projects. His final project was the S2000 CR.
Upon seeing this exhaust in person, I was amazed at how beautiful this exhaust was. Checking this exhaust piping out, I thought to myself, “This exhaust is huge!” (That’s what she said) The welds looked amazing and the exhaust was definitely shiny. Overall, my initial impression was, “I definitely like this exhaust.” On top of that, the exhaust came in two sections that would be mated together by a stainless steel v-band clamp. These components looked legit.
Another aspect I found quite interesting was that the exhaust tapers from approximately 2.75” to 3” at the header connection. This allows for a smoother airflow transition from the header to the exhaust. I will speculate that the reduction in turbulence will benefit engine response and engine power output. On top of that, the reducer could, in theory, reduce the resonance that is created from turbulent airflow. Since this is a straight-through exhaust design, it doesn’t have any resonators. The only component of the exhaust that gives the exhaust its tone will be the muffler, which I believe is perfect for my purpose.
The exhaust piping diameter is 3” or 76mm. The tip diameter is 4”. The look of the exhaust is perfect and the exhaust is just simply rock solid. Overall weight of the exhaust was 25lbs. The CR exhaust with the cat is 63.2lbs. So a quick subtraction shows that I saved 38.2lbs or equivalent to taking out the OEM passenger seat (~39lbs). So what do I rate initial impression? Definitely a 10.
Installation (10/10)
Before I begin this section, I’d like to applaud Berk Technologies for designing this exhaust very well. The exhaust bolts directly to the header at the tapered end and is connected to the muffler section with a stainless steel v-band clamp. I reused the donut that’s on the header so it is sealed tight at the header connection point. The v-band clamp mates the two parts of the exhaust together. This clamp keeps the two flange surfaces hugged tightly so exhaust gasses will not leak from the exhaust system.
This particular exhaust was the AP2 version for my CR (also AP2), thus the existing hangers were used to mount the exhaust. An additional hanger mount, also coming from the exhaust kit, is bolted to the diff collar and used to provide additional support. All AP2 hangers were used to secure the exhaust from dangling around. The install showed that the exhaust is tucked securely in the exhaust cavity providing maximum clearance between the ground and the exhaust.
Another note is that the exhaust piping diameter was so large that it clears the rear subframe bar and half-shaft with a fraction of an inch to spare. I’m going to say the fitment is perfect and the construction is solid. Psychoazn mentioned that I could probably ram stuff into the exhaust and it probably won’t dent. So this is a 10 in my book.
Sound (9/10)
After installing the exhaust, the in-cabin noise level went through the roof. From other S2000 owners, I have determined that soft-top owners will not have as big of an issue with drone as with owners with gutted soft-tops + OEM hardtops. It is a consensus amongst the CR community that any exhaust, including the CR OEM exhaust, drones between 3.3k to 3.9k RPM. The Berk 3” exhaust only amplifies this issue. I attempted to record the dB on my iPhone, but it didn’t quite work as it wouldn’t pick up anything above 100dB. In cruising mode, it measured around 75 to 96dB depending on throttle position and engine load.
Despite the annoying drone between 3.3k to 3.9k RPM, it was overall a very aggressive sounding exhaust. From idle to redline, the sound was just simply amazing. The resonance is noticeable between the stated RPM range, however, I quickly forgot about it the moment I mashed the throttle. Blipping the throttle during heel-toe shifting was amazing to say the least as I found myself rev-matching excessively just to listen to the awesome exhaust tone.
So after talking about what it’s like to drive with this exhaust, let me describe what it sounds like on the outside. The exhaust sounds smooth, deep, and loud. I’m speculating this exhaust will ring a 120dB+ on a sound-level reader. The most amazing part is that the sound of the exhaust is clean from idle to redline. This is very different compared to other exhausts out there. I say this because I performed a side-by-side comparison with a J’s Racing 70RR with Psychoazn who was present at the time of my tune and dyno run. The J’s Racing is “farty” until 5k RPMs and then it screams. The Berk is uniform from idle to redline with no change in tone; resulting in an exhaust note that only gets louder and howls at redline. I can imagine that high end exhausts are built that way. From what my car-fanatic friend described, “It sounds GOOD! It’s very hard to make an exhaust loud and smooth at the same time.”
In cruising mode, the exhaust sounds pretty tame. Now imagine a Porsche GT3, Ferrari F430, 458, and Enzo sounding exhaust from the factory. They’re pretty “loud” when they drive past you, right? Well the Berk is basically the same. It’s loud enough to tell you, “Hey this car sounds nice and it’s sporty.” But it’s not loud enough to say, “I’m an asshole.” Remember, this is at cruising. Keep the engine rumbling below 3k RPMs in 6th gear with a touch on the throttle, and you’ll love how “quiet” this exhaust is. And if you’re into cruising at 80mph+, then the exhaust is quiet like it is at 55mph, well, at least in the cabin. =P
Now at the same time, my two only complaints are that it rasps between shifts during WOT runs and it sucks cruising in 6th gear between 65-74mph. I’m not sure why it rasps between those WOT shifts, but I think ALL headerback exhausts have that same issue. Overall sound is amazing with the exception of the 2 complaints which made me rate it a 9 out of 10.
Smell (7/10)
Okay since this system deletes the cat, it’ll smell. On the track, I didn’t smell the exhaust at all from my cabin. The only time I smell the sweet aroma of deadly fumes is when I come to a quick stop and suddenly the cabin gets a whiff of that “smell”. I have been told that if you were behind me and I go WOT, you will smell it no questions asked. As for following behind it during cruising? The smell is nonexistent. Remember this exhaust is for OFF-ROAD use only. So for a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is what kills you instantly and 10 is completely odorless (catbacks), I will rate this a 7 as it smells but it isn’t that bad, not that it isn’t present, it’s just not noticeable compared to many other test pipe setups.
Performance (10/10)
Okay this performance indicator is really useless because most of the power is gained from a test pipe anyways. My understanding is that you don’t really buy an exhaust for its performance but rather for its sound and weight savings. The S2000 is maxed out from the factory so there’s not much juice left you can extract without decreasing the factor of safety that Honda has built in.
To be completely unbiased, my stock CR was tuned at Church Automotive with a comparison run between stock CR and a tuned Berk 3” headerback AND performed comparison testing at European Auto Source (EAS) on the same day. This should settle any debate about Dynapack vs. Dynojet numbers. I want to note that I am comparing deltas between stock CR and the Berk exhausts.
A disclaimer should be added that the CR comes very lean from the factory. We’re talking about 14.2-14.5 AFR. There have been a few CR owners who have discussed the same issue so there is a very crucial reason why a tune was performed. A headerback leans the engine more, thus, some fuel must be added to keep the engine running safely. Also note that the CR tune from Honda was erased after tuning began so the “base/stock” map was used from Hondata on the Dynojet comparison test.
For the sake of a full power tune, the AFR was set to 13:1, the redline was set at 8400 RPM, and the VTEC engagement was set at 3900 RPM. All this was done by Todd at Church Automotive.
Final peak hp numbers from the Church’s Dynapack is 244hp stock and 255 with exhaust & tune. Final peak hp numbers from EAS Dynojet is 210whp w/ “base/stock” tune and 221whp w/ Berk & tune.
Dynojet @ EAS
Dynapack @ Church for reference
Track Impressions (10/10)
I had the opportunity to take the car out to run at Buttonwillow Raceway in its 13CCW configuration. This is the first time running this configuration for me so it was going to be a task to get the car running quickly. The fastest time of the day for this car was a 2:09 posted by Alex (momofoolio) and I only ran a 2:10 (personal best is 2:06 in 13CW with stock CR wheels) despite a severely slipping clutch, spongy brakes, and completely dead heat-cycled Dunlop Z1SS. It was my first time with a non-staggered setup at the track so I thought that may have contributed to a slower time, but either way, I was completely frustrated by the car issues. So my review as to whether or not the exhaust did anything to improve time on the track is completely blown.
Now that I put the bad news aside, I’d like to talk about the good news. The Berk 3” single headerback exhaust proved to be a winning exhaust. Why? Well let’s list them out:
1. I’m actually noticed now. It’s loud and the sound is so nice. You’ll never get sick of that sound from the F22C + beautifully designed exhaust.
2. Top speeds at the end of the straights increased by ~3mph. To verify this, I’m bouncing at redline way too early in 4th gear on the front straight at Buttonwillow, which forces me to upshift unless I want to bounce off the revlimiter for a few seconds.
3. More midrange power. Momofoolio had a chance to test drive the car and mentioned the car had a much better midrange than his fully modified setup (I/H/E). Keep in mind the stock VTEC and redline were kept for the sake of the S2k Challenge.
4. Better engine response. Well I’m going to say it’s because it’s the cat delete.
5. Did I mention this exhaust sounded amazing?
So there you have it, the exhaust is a winner. It sounds too good to be true. TEN!
Final Note
Overall, this exhaust is the exhaust to have. In my opinion, it is the most affordable, highest quality, and highest performance exhaust that you can buy on the market. Despite being a loud exhaust, it is probably the smoothest sounding exhaust you can get for the price and performance. I also recommend people who own this exhaust to invest in earplugs for use on freeway cruising for long periods of time. Here’s a breakdown of the pros/cons of the exhaust:
Pros:
Quality components & welds
Competitively priced
Excellent performance
Sounds great!
Perfect fitment
Beautifully designed
Rock solid
Cons:
Drone between 3.3k to 3.9k RPM (requires earplugs if you’re on the freeway with top up)
Smells (It doesn’t have a cat! What did you expect?)
Requires earplugs for the long trips
Overall Rating: 9.3/10
I’d like to give a shout out to the following people for helping me out with this project:
Bryan (Berk Technology)
Mike (Psychoazn)
Ira (#172CR)
Alex (Momofoolio)
Church Automotive
European Auto Source (EAS)
What's a review without the video?
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eztji1WvJEE[/media]
MSRP: $599
www.berktechnology.com
Berk Technology 3" Single Exhaust Thread
Introduction
This is a much anticipated review of the Berk 3” Single Headerback exhaust as I have had the opportunity to put several thousand miles with the exhaust installed on my CR and drive the setup at Buttonwillow Raceway in April 2011. The following review describes my initial impression and “long-term” review of the exhaust.
The Company
Berk Technologies is a company that makes very high quality exhaust components. Bryan, owner of Berk Technologies, is an awesome person with a wealth of knowledge on exhaust systems. It’s because of him that we have such an amazing exhaust on the market now.
The Car (as tested on April 2011)
S2000 CR
Volks RE30
255/40/17
Recaro SP-A
Flashpro
Initial Impression (10/10)
I have either sat in, driven, and/or listened to various exhaust setups including:
T1R 70RT
T1R 70-REM
J’s 70RR
J’s 60RR
Greddy SE Dual
Greddy Ti-C
ASM 70mm
I’m an advocate for keeping things stock especially since the CR does have a slightly more throaty exhaust compared to a standard AP1/AP2 OEM exhaust. I firmly believe that Honda knows what they are doing for the market they are targeting, especially if Shigeru Uehara was the one who lead the NSX, the Type-R, and S2000 projects. His final project was the S2000 CR.
Upon seeing this exhaust in person, I was amazed at how beautiful this exhaust was. Checking this exhaust piping out, I thought to myself, “This exhaust is huge!” (That’s what she said) The welds looked amazing and the exhaust was definitely shiny. Overall, my initial impression was, “I definitely like this exhaust.” On top of that, the exhaust came in two sections that would be mated together by a stainless steel v-band clamp. These components looked legit.
Another aspect I found quite interesting was that the exhaust tapers from approximately 2.75” to 3” at the header connection. This allows for a smoother airflow transition from the header to the exhaust. I will speculate that the reduction in turbulence will benefit engine response and engine power output. On top of that, the reducer could, in theory, reduce the resonance that is created from turbulent airflow. Since this is a straight-through exhaust design, it doesn’t have any resonators. The only component of the exhaust that gives the exhaust its tone will be the muffler, which I believe is perfect for my purpose.
The exhaust piping diameter is 3” or 76mm. The tip diameter is 4”. The look of the exhaust is perfect and the exhaust is just simply rock solid. Overall weight of the exhaust was 25lbs. The CR exhaust with the cat is 63.2lbs. So a quick subtraction shows that I saved 38.2lbs or equivalent to taking out the OEM passenger seat (~39lbs). So what do I rate initial impression? Definitely a 10.
Installation (10/10)
Before I begin this section, I’d like to applaud Berk Technologies for designing this exhaust very well. The exhaust bolts directly to the header at the tapered end and is connected to the muffler section with a stainless steel v-band clamp. I reused the donut that’s on the header so it is sealed tight at the header connection point. The v-band clamp mates the two parts of the exhaust together. This clamp keeps the two flange surfaces hugged tightly so exhaust gasses will not leak from the exhaust system.
This particular exhaust was the AP2 version for my CR (also AP2), thus the existing hangers were used to mount the exhaust. An additional hanger mount, also coming from the exhaust kit, is bolted to the diff collar and used to provide additional support. All AP2 hangers were used to secure the exhaust from dangling around. The install showed that the exhaust is tucked securely in the exhaust cavity providing maximum clearance between the ground and the exhaust.
Another note is that the exhaust piping diameter was so large that it clears the rear subframe bar and half-shaft with a fraction of an inch to spare. I’m going to say the fitment is perfect and the construction is solid. Psychoazn mentioned that I could probably ram stuff into the exhaust and it probably won’t dent. So this is a 10 in my book.
Sound (9/10)
After installing the exhaust, the in-cabin noise level went through the roof. From other S2000 owners, I have determined that soft-top owners will not have as big of an issue with drone as with owners with gutted soft-tops + OEM hardtops. It is a consensus amongst the CR community that any exhaust, including the CR OEM exhaust, drones between 3.3k to 3.9k RPM. The Berk 3” exhaust only amplifies this issue. I attempted to record the dB on my iPhone, but it didn’t quite work as it wouldn’t pick up anything above 100dB. In cruising mode, it measured around 75 to 96dB depending on throttle position and engine load.
Despite the annoying drone between 3.3k to 3.9k RPM, it was overall a very aggressive sounding exhaust. From idle to redline, the sound was just simply amazing. The resonance is noticeable between the stated RPM range, however, I quickly forgot about it the moment I mashed the throttle. Blipping the throttle during heel-toe shifting was amazing to say the least as I found myself rev-matching excessively just to listen to the awesome exhaust tone.
So after talking about what it’s like to drive with this exhaust, let me describe what it sounds like on the outside. The exhaust sounds smooth, deep, and loud. I’m speculating this exhaust will ring a 120dB+ on a sound-level reader. The most amazing part is that the sound of the exhaust is clean from idle to redline. This is very different compared to other exhausts out there. I say this because I performed a side-by-side comparison with a J’s Racing 70RR with Psychoazn who was present at the time of my tune and dyno run. The J’s Racing is “farty” until 5k RPMs and then it screams. The Berk is uniform from idle to redline with no change in tone; resulting in an exhaust note that only gets louder and howls at redline. I can imagine that high end exhausts are built that way. From what my car-fanatic friend described, “It sounds GOOD! It’s very hard to make an exhaust loud and smooth at the same time.”
In cruising mode, the exhaust sounds pretty tame. Now imagine a Porsche GT3, Ferrari F430, 458, and Enzo sounding exhaust from the factory. They’re pretty “loud” when they drive past you, right? Well the Berk is basically the same. It’s loud enough to tell you, “Hey this car sounds nice and it’s sporty.” But it’s not loud enough to say, “I’m an asshole.” Remember, this is at cruising. Keep the engine rumbling below 3k RPMs in 6th gear with a touch on the throttle, and you’ll love how “quiet” this exhaust is. And if you’re into cruising at 80mph+, then the exhaust is quiet like it is at 55mph, well, at least in the cabin. =P
Now at the same time, my two only complaints are that it rasps between shifts during WOT runs and it sucks cruising in 6th gear between 65-74mph. I’m not sure why it rasps between those WOT shifts, but I think ALL headerback exhausts have that same issue. Overall sound is amazing with the exception of the 2 complaints which made me rate it a 9 out of 10.
Smell (7/10)
Okay since this system deletes the cat, it’ll smell. On the track, I didn’t smell the exhaust at all from my cabin. The only time I smell the sweet aroma of deadly fumes is when I come to a quick stop and suddenly the cabin gets a whiff of that “smell”. I have been told that if you were behind me and I go WOT, you will smell it no questions asked. As for following behind it during cruising? The smell is nonexistent. Remember this exhaust is for OFF-ROAD use only. So for a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is what kills you instantly and 10 is completely odorless (catbacks), I will rate this a 7 as it smells but it isn’t that bad, not that it isn’t present, it’s just not noticeable compared to many other test pipe setups.
Performance (10/10)
Okay this performance indicator is really useless because most of the power is gained from a test pipe anyways. My understanding is that you don’t really buy an exhaust for its performance but rather for its sound and weight savings. The S2000 is maxed out from the factory so there’s not much juice left you can extract without decreasing the factor of safety that Honda has built in.
To be completely unbiased, my stock CR was tuned at Church Automotive with a comparison run between stock CR and a tuned Berk 3” headerback AND performed comparison testing at European Auto Source (EAS) on the same day. This should settle any debate about Dynapack vs. Dynojet numbers. I want to note that I am comparing deltas between stock CR and the Berk exhausts.
A disclaimer should be added that the CR comes very lean from the factory. We’re talking about 14.2-14.5 AFR. There have been a few CR owners who have discussed the same issue so there is a very crucial reason why a tune was performed. A headerback leans the engine more, thus, some fuel must be added to keep the engine running safely. Also note that the CR tune from Honda was erased after tuning began so the “base/stock” map was used from Hondata on the Dynojet comparison test.
For the sake of a full power tune, the AFR was set to 13:1, the redline was set at 8400 RPM, and the VTEC engagement was set at 3900 RPM. All this was done by Todd at Church Automotive.
Final peak hp numbers from the Church’s Dynapack is 244hp stock and 255 with exhaust & tune. Final peak hp numbers from EAS Dynojet is 210whp w/ “base/stock” tune and 221whp w/ Berk & tune.
Dynojet @ EAS
Dynapack @ Church for reference
Track Impressions (10/10)
I had the opportunity to take the car out to run at Buttonwillow Raceway in its 13CCW configuration. This is the first time running this configuration for me so it was going to be a task to get the car running quickly. The fastest time of the day for this car was a 2:09 posted by Alex (momofoolio) and I only ran a 2:10 (personal best is 2:06 in 13CW with stock CR wheels) despite a severely slipping clutch, spongy brakes, and completely dead heat-cycled Dunlop Z1SS. It was my first time with a non-staggered setup at the track so I thought that may have contributed to a slower time, but either way, I was completely frustrated by the car issues. So my review as to whether or not the exhaust did anything to improve time on the track is completely blown.
Now that I put the bad news aside, I’d like to talk about the good news. The Berk 3” single headerback exhaust proved to be a winning exhaust. Why? Well let’s list them out:
1. I’m actually noticed now. It’s loud and the sound is so nice. You’ll never get sick of that sound from the F22C + beautifully designed exhaust.
2. Top speeds at the end of the straights increased by ~3mph. To verify this, I’m bouncing at redline way too early in 4th gear on the front straight at Buttonwillow, which forces me to upshift unless I want to bounce off the revlimiter for a few seconds.
3. More midrange power. Momofoolio had a chance to test drive the car and mentioned the car had a much better midrange than his fully modified setup (I/H/E). Keep in mind the stock VTEC and redline were kept for the sake of the S2k Challenge.
4. Better engine response. Well I’m going to say it’s because it’s the cat delete.
5. Did I mention this exhaust sounded amazing?
So there you have it, the exhaust is a winner. It sounds too good to be true. TEN!
Final Note
Overall, this exhaust is the exhaust to have. In my opinion, it is the most affordable, highest quality, and highest performance exhaust that you can buy on the market. Despite being a loud exhaust, it is probably the smoothest sounding exhaust you can get for the price and performance. I also recommend people who own this exhaust to invest in earplugs for use on freeway cruising for long periods of time. Here’s a breakdown of the pros/cons of the exhaust:
Pros:
Quality components & welds
Competitively priced
Excellent performance
Sounds great!
Perfect fitment
Beautifully designed
Rock solid
Cons:
Drone between 3.3k to 3.9k RPM (requires earplugs if you’re on the freeway with top up)
Smells (It doesn’t have a cat! What did you expect?)
Requires earplugs for the long trips
Overall Rating: 9.3/10
I’d like to give a shout out to the following people for helping me out with this project:
Bryan (Berk Technology)
Mike (Psychoazn)
Ira (#172CR)
Alex (Momofoolio)
Church Automotive
European Auto Source (EAS)
What's a review without the video?
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eztji1WvJEE[/media]
06-28-2011, 05:00 AM
#4
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Fantastic review! How does this stack against the T1R 70MM Dual Sparrow sound wise? I know comparing a dual to a single is like comparing red apples to green apples, but I'm curious. Every T1R Sparrow I've come across has sounded smooth throughout the RPM band with no rasp / rattle.
06-28-2011, 06:11 AM
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Excellent review! I too have owned this exhaust since February and I second everything the OP said. I love this exhaust!
I also think the fitment is perfect and it looks natural on the car. The tip length is perfect. (That's what she said.)
You can't get any better customer service than Bryan. He's top notch.
I also think the fitment is perfect and it looks natural on the car. The tip length is perfect. (That's what she said.)
You can't get any better customer service than Bryan. He's top notch.
06-28-2011, 09:40 AM
#7
Registered User
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by takchi' timestamp='1309223031' post='20725497
It’s loud enough to tell you, “Hey this car sounds nice and it’s sporty.” But it’s not loud enough to say, “I’m an asshole.”
Fantastic review! How does this stack against the T1R 70MM Dual Sparrow sound wise? I know comparing a dual to a single is like comparing red apples to green apples, but I'm curious. Every T1R Sparrow I've come across has sounded smooth throughout the RPM band with no rasp / rattle.
Also, the exhaust is pretty loud at night when sound bounces off of retaining walls so yea "I AM an asshole" if I do WOT in the middle of the night next to neighborhoods.
@wisdom: Thanks for reading!
@Justin Yoo: I appreciate it!
@//steve\\: Tell Bryan that and maybe he can make you a custom one!
@AMDemon: Exhaust is awesome and Bryan is the man! Thanks for reading!
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06-28-2011, 09:48 AM
#9
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Thread Starter