nice guy

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated.

93 WRX, just failed on emmissions, I'm running a full magnex with no cat. Thing is, it's the been mot'd at the same garage, same person for the past 3 years. Today he told me i will have to fit a cat before he will pass it !

I pointed out that the co2 readings were exactly the same as last year, (still had them in glovebox), but he was having none of it. I enquired if it actually qualified for the cat test with it being a 93, he said if it was a 92 model it would pass no problem.

Do i really need to put a cat in, is what he is saying correct, i always had the thought that 93 and older did'nt need a cat, and was put through a different test for emmissions.,,,,,,,,,,,,, Please help.

p1mark

To get my MY00 decatted car through, they put it through a 92 test so i assume thats the year they changed over.

Dont forget with the new mot laws and computerised system, its probably too risky to pass decatted cars now for a lot of inspectors, so you may have to wack a cat on at mot time.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

It acutally dates back to 1989, if the car was fitted with a catalytic converter from then, then it needed one to pass the MOT, it wasnt until 1993 that all cars required them, hence the 1993 you hear about, so yes, in theory you need a cat fitting or go to another garage who is catless friendly

Tony

Stephen Pope

I have a standard mid section for sale if you are interested, off a MY98 UK turbo stephen.pope30@ntlworld.com or 07968 035 756

360ste

iTrader: (1)

The requirement for a catalytic convertor to be fitted to a vehicle is from August 1992 when L registration came into being. i know this as I used to own a J plate renault 19 16v and that was able to have the cat removed. I agree the new computerised system means the test can't be as diverse as they used to be. Even if the examiner finishes 10 minutes early you still have to wait the allotted 45 minutes to get the ticket. At least with the new system you only need to minimise scoobynet to allow yuo to re-tax your car online.

nice guy

Hmmmm Thanks chaps.. P1 mark, you must have a friendly mot man !!!

I've been speaking to another scooby owner who lives nearby and he takes his to the same place, and knows them quite well. He's been good enough to say that he will have a 'quiet' word in mr mot mans ear and see if we can sort something out.

Really hoping this is a case of, 'it's not what you know, but who you know'.

wrxpablos

You say its a 93 wrx so its an import and i think there is a sva related clause aloowing jap cars of up to 1995 to get away catless on mots. Really you need to get hold of a copy of the construction and use book which the mot rules adhere too to be able to argue this point effectively. GOOD LUCK!!

RON

The dilemma is though, that the online form asks for the info..... i suspect that a blank box brings up an error message..... i know it shouldn't, but i bet it does!!

theotherphil

Mine has passed the new test with no cats. It is all down to the tester and not the new system.

ZEN Performance

There is no requirement for a cat to be fitted on the car for the MOT test. The requirement is for the car to be SOLD with a cat, and that the car must pass the relavent emissions test. Not having a cat alone doesn't mean it will automatically fail, some testers will say otherwise, however the VOSA do no stipulate a cat.

I would ask the MOT tested to specifically look up your WRX by reg number or chassis number as see EXACTLY what emissions it must obtain to pass the MOT. Remember the car has to be an exact match.

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/publicat...id=43dd168c174

StiX

iTrader: (4)

I had this problem with a MY95 WRX failing the cat test, even though I had put the centre cat back on for MOT.

I didn't know what to do until someone gave the same advice as noted above.

i.e. Pre September '95, if they have not got an exact match on their database for the model, it can go through the non-cat test.

So WRXs, STIs etc. pre 95 DO NOT need to pass the cat test, only non-cat (which is massively easier of course).

Worked for me, took it back and chatted to the main tester and flew through non-cat test.

nice guy

Thanks for all the advice guys, i was speaking to the tester today, apparently he is going off my vin number alone, and is trying to tell me my car is a 1.8 GL.... WTF !

I would be worried if i did'nt have an HPI cert to say otherwise !

It's now in the hands of the garage owner, who told me not to worry, he would get to the bottom of it. Turns out he has an Evo 320, so ended talkin for about half an hour.

Just keepin my fingers crossed now.

Thanks for the 'vosa', document Zen, that may come in very useful if i dont get a resolve.

Walwal

I've had the same problem very recently. Going to make some phone calls tomorrow.

Fingers crossed the info is correct (not that I doubt it), but doesn't change the fact that I've had to mess on putting my centre cat back on, then had to pay to get my lambda sensor changed.

Still hasn't passed.

Andy.

SC008Y

I have exactly the same problem, I asked the person if he could just by-pass it or let it slip through and he said that he use to be able but not anymore with the new systems. He said that I will have to get a cat converter.

It turned out to be that the car already had one on there , also took it to a different speacialsit that helped me in some way to reduce the emission. They put some fluid into the fuel tank saying there is a 80% chance that it should be lower now. Also bought some RS Oil with a new fuel and oil filter.

Went for a re-test and was told its still failed and that the emissions are on 3000 whereas they are suppose to be showing 200

Does anyone know a place in birmingham that will let me car pass without having to remove my magnex backbox ?

pwhittle

IIRC some RAs were imported as 1.8 GLs, something to do with import quotas probably

jaytc2003

iTrader: (1)

yes, a lot of imports will show as a different model. The 1.8GL is a common one.

Walwal

Mine's going in tomorrow for a no cat MOT.

Bloke wouldn't believe me until I phoned VOSA and the girl on the other end of the phone explained it all to him.

Just hope it passes the no cat one now

Thanks for the advice everyone

Andy.

silent running

There is one loophole still open. If you are using a pre-cat engine then you are allowed to have it tested against the pre-cat emissions benchmarks. There are plenty of cars whose engine numbers are impossible to get at and which were upgraded to a catalysed emissions system in the early 90's e.g. Clio and R19 16v. So if you can claim that it's an older engine that you installed as a replacement for your original, then you're in the clear.

Otherwise it's put your cat on every MOT, or run a sports cat all the time. The days of bent tickets are almost gone.

SC008Y

Alright andy,

Have you happen to have the phone number as my MOT is being help up due to the emission test.

Cheers,
SC008Y

Walwal

Sure, it's 0870 6060440 and you want option 3.

It might ring a while until someone answers (it day today ), but if you get the same result as me in getting the proper test done, it's worth it.

Good luck.

Andy.

Walwal

Went in for the test again today.

It passed

Thanks again to everyone for their advice, wouldn't have the ticket without the great help.

Andy.