Review: Berk Technology Full Sport Exhaust System

[cadeucsb]

After waiting for snow to melt here in CO, I finally got my Berk Sport system installed (mid-pipes and sport axle back).

Thanks to Berk for a great quality system and to Brian@Berk for install tips.
Thanks to David@EAS for a simply fantastic price on it.
Thanks to Andrew @AR Design for the install.

Quality:
My non expert opinion is this system is very good quality. One of the guys in Andrew's shop commented on how great the weld lines were. The stainless steel looks almost too good to get dirty and all the bends were perfect.

Installation:
I was originally planning to do this myself, but even with the car up on ramps, the available space to work near the downpipes is limited without a lift. I contacted Andrew at AR Design since they are local and he did a great job. The installation was straight forward and all bolted right on with a couple tweaks (see Fitment).

Fitment:
The driver side resonator on the mid pipe was hitting the brace below it, but turned out the forward most hanger had been bent in shipping or along the way and Andrew managed to get that easily corrected and fitment was perfect. Tips were perfectly centered without any tweaking (see pics).

Sound:
This system is exactly what I was looking for. For background on my taste when it comes to exhaust, I wanted something that had some aggression to it, like that of an exotic, but not insanely loud just to be loud. This system is exactly that, definitely more aggressive, but refined and quiet enough that you know its more aggressive at idle, but when you get on it, it sounds wonderful. Hitting about 4k+ rpm under acceleration is intoxicating. See the sound clips below which show you that its not overly aggressive at idle and revving it shows it off a bit, but under load in actual acceleration is where it shines and is similar to the EAS acceleration video (though that car has DPs, but sounds very similar).

Video (OEM vs Berk): Wasnt sure if it was possible to embed Vimeo video..
My Video: http://vimeo.com/18957674
EAS Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XNO-D5uJmA

Tips Fitment:

[MarkR171]

Interesting, I guess it's hard to tell through a video, but I think the stock sounds better in your video.

Is yours an N55 or N54?
Edit: Saw your thread, you bought another members '08?

[1speedbike]

Nice! I love my full sport system

It definitely sounds deeper and "meatier" than stock. Enjoy, man!

[cadeucsb]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

Interesting, I guess it's hard to tell through a video, but I think the stock sounds better in your video.

Is yours an N55 or N54?
Edit: Saw your thread, you bought another members '08?

Yup, you got it. N54, purchased from a fellow member in Jul09. Yea, its hard to compare to stock on the video, for some reason stock sounds good in the video, but the OEM exhaust is super tame in person. Where the Berk system is definitely more aggressive.

Originally Posted by 1speedbike

Nice! I love my full sport system

It definitely sounds deeper and "meatier" than stock. Enjoy, man!

Yea, it's hard to capture the aggression when its not under acceleration. Thats why I referenced the EAS video too. Its the perfect mix of mild/not annoyingly loud all the time and aggressive when you want it to be when pushing it.

[MarkR171]

Originally Posted by cadeucsb

Yup, you got it. N54, purchased from a fellow member in Jul09. Yea, its hard to compare to stock on the video, for some reason stock sounds good in the video, but the OEM exhaust is super tame in person. Where the Berk system is definitely more aggressive.

That's why I asked N54 or N55. My N55 actually sounds a bit more raw than in your video. Just as loud, but with more gurgling.

[cadeucsb]

Originally Posted by MarkR171

That's why I asked N54 or N55. My N55 actually sounds a bit more raw than in your video. Just as loud, but with more gurgling.

Yea I dont recall the OEM N54 exhaust ever having any gurgle to it at all. The Berk definitely does, but mostly downshifting etc (so not evident in video).

[cadeucsb]

Originally Posted by maxnix

N54 stock exhaust sounds are considered too tame for many on this Forum.

My N55 stock is quite nice, but I might go louder when I have bucks coming out the kazoo.

Yea, the n54 exhaust is definitely pretty aggressive sounding for an OEM exhaust, but still pretty tame. I drove a 335xi loaner the other day and was surprised by how quiet/silent it was compared to the 135i....but I get that its tailored to a different demographic.

[oman135]

nice !
cant decide which 1 to get the sport or race ?
i want a loud exhaust but not insanely LOUD!

[cadeucsb]

Originally Posted by oman135

nice !
cant decide which 1 to get the sport or race ?
i want a loud exhaust but not insanely LOUD!

The sport is pretty aggressive, but in a good way. Definitely not as loud as the muffler delete race option, but with the mid pipes, people will know its not OEM. The EAS video is a pretty good representation.

[EAS]

Looks great, glad you enjoy the Berk Exhaust!

[FDfranklin]

Thanks for the review, I will be purchasing mine this week if im not too lazy to go to the bank. Any drone at all?

[FDfranklin]

Also you say sport, do you mean street performance? If you wouldn't mind link where you purchased it. Thanks

[cadeucsb]

Originally Posted by FDfranklin

Thanks for the review, I will be purchasing mine this week if im not too lazy to go to the bank. Any drone at all?

No drone that I can tell, had it on the highway for 10 or so miles.

Originally Posted by FDfranklin

Also you say sport, do you mean street performance? If you wouldn't mind link where you purchased it. Thanks

Call David@EAS (the post above yours)
This is the system:
http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...oducts_id=3052

[oman135]

Thanks i hope u can make another video while accelerating to the red line

[BerkTechnology]

cadeucsb

To the OP, CadeUCSB, thanks for posting the videos!

That's why I asked N54 or N55. My N55 actually sounds a bit more raw than in your video. Just as loud, but with more gurgling.

The stock N55 exhaust lacks cats in the midpipe and is a bit more raw sounding than the stock N54.

IMO the N54/55 exhaust does sound pretty good in stock form if you are standing right next to the tailpipe like the video shows. The problem is that we're located all the way in the front of the car and sitting inside a very well insulated cabin.

My experience with the stock exhaust is that you can the whine of the timing chain & rotating assembly of the motor more than the actual exhaust note.

[cadeucsb]

Of course we get snow the very next day, so back in the garage she goes.

[Hind]

Originally Posted by FDfranklin

Thanks for the review, I will be purchasing mine this week if im not too lazy to go to the bank. Any drone at all?

Cant wait to hear it! I was thinking of using Berk for Midpipes.

[cadeucsb]

Originally Posted by oman135

Thanks i hope u can make another video while accelerating to the red line

Missed this post, I will try to get some video this weekend since it appears all the snow is gone as of today.

[FDfranklin]

Originally Posted by Hind

Cant wait to hear it! I was thinking of using Berk for Midpipes.

Check 11N55's thread down below, if hes interested maybe we could meet up this weekend and listen to his, Ill bring the GoPro.

[cadeucsb]

Someone asked me via PM how the sound compared to stock at different speeds, so I thought I would post my response for public consumption in case it helps...

The exhaust sound changes are a bit diff than speed related, its like this...

Cold Start...it growls deep for about 2 min. I mention this because if you get it and you start it up cold the first time, you might think you made a huge mistake and its way too loud...especially in a garage.

Warm Idle...maybe 10% louder than stock

Cruising along with minimal throttle (normal driving)...same 10-15% louder than stock.

Full open throttle hard pull...
0-2k rpm... 15-20% louder.
2k+ rpm... it comes to life and sounds damn near exotic.

I like the exhaust because its very tame for standard driving, but when you get on it, its intoxicating. But it definitely has more of a growl than stock all around, but its tame when you want it to be and no drone.

This EAS video is a pretty good representation of it in the WOT hard pull scenario...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XNO-D5uJmA

in a couple quick spots, you can hear that its pretty tame until he really launches the throttle.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by cadeucsb

Someone asked me via PM how the sound compared to stock at different speeds, so I thought I would post my response for public consumption in case it helps...

The exhaust sound changes are a bit diff than speed related, its like this...

Cold Start...it growls deep for about 2 min. I mention this because if you get it and you start it up cold the first time, you might think you made a huge mistake and its way too loud...especially in a garage.

Warm Idle...maybe 10% louder than stock

Cruising along with minimal throttle (normal driving)...same 10-15% louder than stock.

Full open throttle hard pull...
0-2k rpm... 15-20% louder.
2k+ rpm... it comes to life and sounds damn near exotic.

I like the exhaust because its very tame for standard driving, but when you get on it, its intoxicating. But it definitely has more of a growl than stock all around, but its tame when you want it to be and no drone.

This EAS video is a pretty good representation of it in the WOT hard pull scenario...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XNO-D5uJmA

in a couple quick spots, you can hear that its pretty tame until he really launches the throttle.

Hotlinked

Appreciate the time in your review, I'm sure this will help for those deciding upon an exhaust for their 1er.

We've certainly been happy with ours.