Stillen Exhaust with Berk HFCs

semtex

I had the Stillen exhaust and the Berk HFCs installed together last night. Total installation time was around 4 hours, and I had a professional mechanic do it for me. Installing the cats was a pain in the butt. Nothing to do with the Berks, mind you. The challenge was with getting the stock cats off. The bolts are super-tight; we actually snapped a universal swivel joint in the process of trying to break one of the bolts loose. Luckily I had a spare. If you're planning to install the Berks, make sure you have one of those long extensions for your ratchet, and also make sure you have an O2 sensor socket.

Initial driving impressions: In a word, WOW. I am so glad I did this. The sound is awesome. The clips I have below do not do the sound justice (but it's the best I can do with my digital camera - sorry about the crappy high-pitched hum). I haven't put the car on a dyno, and don't plan to until I get the Stillen G3 intakes installed. But I noticed a difference in throttle response immediately. I know, I know, some of you are probably muttering derisive comments about the 'butt dyno' right now. So let me explain what I mean. I've actually had to re-acclimate to the throttle tip-in at launch. Like the first few times I started from a standstill, my launches were actually jerky because it was as if I had nailed the throttle a little too hard. So here I am trying to just get moving at a normal pace in traffic, and my head snaps back like I'm attempting a hard launch! So this is what I mean when I say that throttle response is improved.

This combination does not drone while cruising. But make no mistake, under load of acceleration, this combo is a lot louder than the stock setup. To me, it's loud in a good way -- aggressive sounding. There's a little raspiness here and there, but nothing intolerable. Nothing that doesn't put a smile on my face.

Btw, this thread is not intended to be for my car only. I'm the first on this forum to install this combo, so I know that for now it'll seem like it's all about my car. But as others try out this combo, it is my hope that others will add their experiences to this thread as well.

I have pics of the exhaust in the following album: Nissan 370Z Forum - semtex's Album: Stillen Exhaust pics

Here's a couple of pics from that album:





And here are my video clips. One is from the exterior, and I also made one from the inside of the car. Enjoy! Btw - This is the first time I've ever made videos and posted to YouTube, so go easy on me if it sucks.






Edit: Added more clips - consolidating them to original post.

Launch Clip


Drive-by Clip


Synchro-Rev Match Clip


Extended Drive Video


Dyno Results

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"There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna
316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) | 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10)
Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

kgreen

sounds beautiful!! will sound even deeper when u get the intakes! great pics n vid

M.Bonanni

Sounds good!

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!xoible

i like it! nice man congrats.

one thing i personally would do, since i hate anything shiny on cars, is paint that muffler matte black with high temp-tolerant paint

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SoCal 370Z

Can you please comment on the installation of both the HFC, and the exhaust? Any caveats, and pointers for the DIYer? Thanks.

Fun42

SoCal -

Do not know if you saw it, but Double Down put an excellent DIY article on the Berk HFC's install. See http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...c-install.html

It was also reported as difficult. I am considering HFC's but will take it to a mechanic.

semtex

Just some Tri-Flow.

The only real pointer I have is the one I mentioned about it being real tough to break loose the bolts on the stock cats. You need to open up the hood and reach the bolts from the top with a big long extension. Just to be clear, I did not do this on my own. One of my best friends is a mechanic and he comes over and takes care of whatever I need done. He won't accept money from me either (so I just give him the occasional gun to express my gratitude). Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I'm sure I'd have a lot more pointers if I actually did this by myself, but I didn't, so . . .

Also, make sure you have a proper O2 sensor socket. My mechanic the way the O2 sensors are positioned, there's really no way to get them off without that special socket. I had to run out to Autozone to buy one. (Which was fine with me -- I'll use any excuse to buy new tools.)

Good call. I'll have to see if I can find someone help me with this (i.e., hold the camera while I drive by).

__________________
"There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna
316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) | 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10)
Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

Kyle@STILLEN

Thanks for the great feedback and video's Semtex!!! Very much appreciated!!!

Question for you. Would you mind telling us what you thought of the quality and ease or difficulty of installing the STILLEN exhaust. We love getting customer feedback and want to make sure that you are satisfied with your purchase.

Thanks! Now get out there and enjoy it!

SoCal 370Z

Hey Kyle,

I was getting at that too. It must have been easy as there was no mention of it.

BTW, Stillen is great to deal with; very professional and quick follow-up.

semtex

Hi Kyle. Glad you like the videos. The installation of the exhaust went pretty smoothly. The only minor hiccup we had was that the H-pipe in the middle kept resting on the cross-brace, which would have caused rattling issues. It wasn't immediately apparent to my mechanic how to adjust the exhaust so that the H-pipe wouldn't touch the cross-brace. He did figure it out eventually, but if you guys make some explicit mention of this in your instructions, along with how to adjust everything, I think that would be an improvement. Also, your kit includes 5 gaskets when there's only a need for 3 as far as we could tell. So we assumed that you guys just included 2 extras in case . . . well, why do you include 5 when only 3 are needed? Actually, let me back up -- can you first confirm that only 3 are needed? I guess that'd be a good starting point! If indeed only 3 are needed, it might be a good idea to state in the instructions that you include 2 extras so that people don't scratch their heads wondering why there are 5.

As far as quality goes, I think everything is top notch. But I've been modding my Nissans with your parts for close to 10 years now, so I wasn't surprised.

__________________
"There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna
316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) | 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10)
Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

370z4Steve

This is happened with the 350'z in some cases as well with some aftermarket exhausts

Black kNight

it sounds deep . I like it

MaximumPwr

Wow, that sounds beautiful. Very european. I have Nismo exhaust on my 370z already and will be installing Berks HFC's and jim wolf popchargers tonight. I hope mine sounds like that.

tvfreakazoid

Not bad of a sound. But I would prefer it to be louder.

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MaximumPwr

Did the mechanic use any Liquid Wrench of any kind to help loosen the bolts?