Berk Race Axle-Back on 2010 N54 Review

[BGR]

Not necessarily a unique review, but I figured I'd provide my own impressions.

I ordered back in late November but they didn't get their last batch in until February so I didn't get a chance to install until yesterday. I paid $360ish shipped.

Car
Otherwise stock 2010 135i 6MT M-Sport.

Packaging
Good. No damage to the outside or inside of box. Abundant use packing paper and foam over the hangers to prevent poking through the box.

Fit/finish
Looks and feels great. Seriously like OEM. For the price, I can't imagine a better value.

Install
I was surprised they didn't include any sort of install instructions, just a plastic bag with two bolts, three washers, one nut, and three zip ties.

Install took roughly 2 hours by myself and using ramps to gain access under the vehicle. Like I've found in the past, the toughest part was getting the OEM exhaust off the rubber hangers. Also wasn't quite sure how to deal with the flapper line so I just snipped it and plugged/zip tied it.

No idea what the bag of bolts/nut was for? I called their customer service dept to inquire about possibly finding install instructions but the guy just sounded annoyed and emailed me the PDF found online for their full exhaust and said "it is pretty similar for the axle-back." Meh. For the price I paid I wasn't too bothered by this.

Anyway, it mounted up really easily using the OEM hanging points. I was a little nervous that it would rub against the rear subframe/suspension, but once I bolted it to the midpipe it pulled it forward a bit more so now there is probably 1/2" of clearance between the two. I couldn't hear any rubbing while driving, but have read an issue on the verts where it can rub on something.

Sound
Pure sex.

That said, if this was a daily driver I probably would opt for the street version. On the highway when the car goes under load there is definitely drone. It isn't horrible, but more than the SPT exhaust I had on my 2011 WRX.

But zomg with the windows down in first through third at WOT I haven't heard such a sweet song in a long time. It sounds throaty but never raspy, and has a nice subdued burble/pop on deceleration. Even with no true performance benefit, it totally enhances the driving experience in my opinion.

I will add some sound clips after my BMWCCA event this weekend from both inside and outside the car.

Pictures
I always forget to take pics as I work on installs. This is the only one I've got. OEM was really heavy by comparison.

[Zombie1]

nice review! i want to swap my street version over to the race.

[Kgolf31]

What is the weight difference between OEM and this?

[Ski Killset]

Where did you get it for $360 shipped?

[BGR]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

What is the weight difference between OEM and this?

Not sure. If I had to estimate I would say OEM weighs 3-4x what the Berk weighs.

Originally Posted by Ski Killset

Where did you get it for $360 shipped?

speed-freaks.net was having a sale. I just looked at my email and it was $368 shipped to my door.

[Ski Killset]

Nice. I'll keep my eye out.

[Exile]

The oem hanger mounts. Fun stuff eh?! Get the $13 hanger removal tool from amazon. Put some wd40 on the hanger and slide the mount back and forth to work it inside. The tool will make the 2hr job to literally 2 mins. Just my .02

[Miko226]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

What is the weight difference between OEM and this?

Probably a good 20-30lbs

[BGR]

Originally Posted by Exile

The oem hanger mounts. Fun stuff eh?! Get the $13 hanger removal tool from amazon. Put some wd40 on the hanger and slide the mount back and forth to work it inside. The tool will make the 2hr job to literally 2 mins. Just my .02

I definitely used WD40. And a screw driver and pliers. It didn't help that it was in the mid 50s so the rubber wasn't exactly malleable. I should definitely get one of those tools.

The indy BMW shop near my wanted to charge $150-$200 for the install. Definitely worth my time to do it myself.

I'm actually going to try and get some audio clips tonight from outside of the car. I still can't believe how good it sounds.

[CHITOWN1series]

Originally Posted by Exile

The oem hanger mounts. Fun stuff eh?! Get the $13 hanger removal tool from amazon. Put some wd40 on the hanger and slide the mount back and forth to work it inside. The tool will make the 2hr job to literally 2 mins. Just my .02

You were right about them being a bitch. I actually unbolted the hangers from the frame and took them off once the exhaust was off then put them on the berk and bolted everything back up.

It seems like mine is touching the driver side rear subframe however

[BGR]

Originally Posted by CHITOWN1series

You were right about them being a bitch. I actually unbolted the hangers from the frame and took them off once the exhaust was off then put them on the berk and bolted everything back up.

It seems like mine is touching the driver side rear subframe however

I actually did unbolt the very right rear hanger. I also removed the plastic cover at the bottom of the cover for easier access.

Now that things have settled, I'll get the car back up on ramps to see how close the exhaust actually is to subframe.

[CHITOWN1series]

I feel like where the berk mids and berk race meet I have an issue. It is like the flange does not want to mate properly together like there is another 1/4"-1/2" it could go in

[Miko226]

Originally Posted by Zombie1

nice review! i want to swap my street version over to the race.

Do it!

[BGR]

When I was out driving this evening I heard it rub a couple times on the rear suspension mount/subframe. I won't have time to crawl under to see how tight it is until tomorrow, but here are some audio clips. They don't really do it justice and sound more raspy than it actually is.

135i Berk

[BGR]

Here is a picture of he clearance between the exhaust and lower suspension arm. As it sits, there is about 1mm gap, but you can see it has already rubbed.

I've emailed Berk to get their suggestions but I may remove the exhaust and tap that area down with a ball peen hammer. Not elegant, but I doubt it would impact sound.

[BGR]

Zoomed out version. I put some high temp grease on the contact point so if it does rub it will hopefully slide more so than grinding.

I can't consistently recreate the contact, but both times it has happened during slow speed tight turning situations.

[Exile]

Yeah that's how mine was when I had mine on my vert. A fix for this without re-welding new hangers is to go to Home Depot or a hardware store and get hose clamps.

Same type of clamp fitting on a intake or intercooler coupler but a 1" size, not the larger diameter size. Just snip off the extra length if it's too long.

Then play around with the hanger placement on the hanger mounts. And put the clamps on both sides of the hanger so it doesn't slide around.

Off the top of my head, I think you need to push the hanger IN more at the mid. This should give more clearance. You can move the rear hangers but it won't be sitting flush with the bumper cutout then

[shmorgan77]

Originally Posted by Zombie1

nice review! i want to swap my street version over to the race.

How do you like the sound of the street. I want to get an exhaust but everyone option is drony. I need my stock exhaust note just more of it. 24 pounds of boost through the stock exhaust makes it sound like a monster

[BGR]

Originally Posted by Exile

Yeah that's how mine was when I had mine on my vert. A fix for this without re-welding new hangers is to go to Home Depot or a hardware store and get hose clamps.

Same type of clamp fitting on a intake or intercooler coupler but a 1" size, not the larger diameter size. Just snip off the extra length if it's too long.

Then play around with the hanger placement on the hanger mounts. And put the clamps on both sides of the hanger so it doesn't slide around.

Off the top of my head, I think you need to push the hanger IN more at the mid. This should give more clearance. You can move the rear hangers but it won't be sitting flush with the bumper cutout then

Any pics you have would be great.

[Rob Daman]

Here's my stock and Meistershaft axle back and when I first got the new one I was like wtf there's a dent in it but when I pulled out the stocker it had it too.

This explains why it's there.

[BGR]

Yup. I saw the dents in my OEM and was like "wow who ran over what to dent this?"

Turns out it is there for a reason...

[Exile]

Unfortunately I don't have any pics. That's what I did to my old car. Same exact situation. When I had my berk it rubbed a little as well.