Oh, life does get complicated!

I was just about to order a new backbox for the Forester when it was suggested that a new downpipe was a better idea. According to one supplier this would release an extra 20bhp BUT the draw back is that it removes the cat from the original system (although supplier thought some Foresters had two cats fitted?)
If the cat is removed,what happens at MOT time as the car will not pass the emissions test. I was told that to remove original and fit new is approx 3 hrs of garage time-surely I don't have to refit in order to pass MOT-or do I???? It's going to be very expensive.

How do those of you with this modification overcome the problem?
Answers much appreciated.

Thanks

Brian

 

Well...
No DP cat can cause problems - if the Forrester is the same as Impreza (presumably it is ) the centre cat might get you through, if driven hard before & working perfectly.
To get round it - drive like a nutter before the MOT & hope, or 'borrow' a specially made centre section that has 2 cats in it (primary & secondary - or just a primary - rather than the standard centre's secondary only) for the test (a couple of specialist places do this), or swap the DP back in again for the test. It takes a long time the first time round, as the heat-shield may have to be cut, and the bolts will probably have seized, along with the lambda sensor... but if you keep jiggling those bolts every 3 months or so (to keep them from seizing) it's a fairly easy job to swap the decat back to the original. Can take a while, though, so would still be expensive if a garage did it.
So. There you go - a few options