Cat help needed.
 

Hi all just after some help please, my car recently just failed MOT on emissions after further investigation I've found out that the CAT's on my car have bee hollowed out by the previous owner, this would have been the first MOT while in my possesion so it defo weren't me lol.

Just after some recommendations for some refurbished CAT's or some cheap one's I only need them on for the MOT once its gone through I'm going for decat straight through.

I need both CAT's one for the downpipe and one for the front centre. I've got a 2006 WRX. Any help appreciated. Thanks.

just buy a sports cat for the downpipe and decat the centre section , it will need a remap , each time you go for an mot with no cat you will simply fail is it worth the hassle ? there is a minimal loss as in a few bhp of a 200 cell sports down pipe cat v a de cat 👍

Original cat may been knocked out for a couple of reasons 1 is that blow by clogged it or its running too rich.
I would get get the map checked by someone reputable. (thats whole different subject) as the car is new to you.
You could buy a new cat and pass the mot and then be in the same position 12months down the line.
Its just a thought from me that i know can happen.

This would be your best option, don't get sucked into a 100 cell CAT either, may as well have a straight through pipe. Even with 200 cell CAT it will need gentle encouragement to pass emissions, but it saves all the hassle of swapping for MOT's etc and makes little difference to performance over a straight through system.

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions, really appreciated.

japspeed do down pipes and probably the up pipe cat delete , the quality looks good , the japspeed cat on mine has passed three mots so far , needs a bit of heat and help but that’s normal for a 200 cell cat , but as above that’s the exhaust system sorted for good and no mot hassle , and a bit more grunt after it’s mapped , you need to map or risk engine damage after you change a cat and or delete a cat , you can see if it’s running rich as mentioned above , i think cat been cut out more likely by how you describe it 👍

If anything, the mixture might lean out after fitting a sports cat as far as I understand.

So when the garage said the cats were hollowed out is that general wear and tear that could happen over time due to all the gasses etc that pass through the exhaust system. In my mind I was thinking previous owner did it for some reason.

the 2.5 sti you always need a remap after a sports cat has been fitted , if nothing else to preserve the engine , no point putting a sports cat on unless you map it as you won’t produce more power and likely to get boost spikes and hit the boost cut , on the 2.5 wrx again no point fitting a sports cat unless you remap , risk of engine damaged is less as they don’t run as much boost , sometime they are fine with out a remap , so a very minimum of a map check , but by not mapping a 2.5 you are playing with fire as it’s just giving the engine a much better chance to pop , then a 5 or 6 k rebuild 👍

Why not go for Prodrive sports cat?

Been looking at different Race Cats from the Afterburner Sports/Race cat to the Cobra race cat with the downpipe they are all coming in around the £500 mark which is a lot for me just before Christmas. I’m not sure if I’m wording this right but is there any lesser known company’s that do a half decent one abit cheaper or is it a question of you get what you pay for? I have been trying to find a second hand one in good condition but not many around. Any advice appreciated

Bite the bullit Bud, just get new, a tried and tested brand.
Theres plenty of people that could advise you on here.

Yeah your right I guess for piece of mind and all that knowing it’s going to last. We must love our cars we spend so much on them lol.

Their expensive for a reason thats why toe rags nick em lol.

an example the japspeed one is better than the Fsti standard cat , but clearly not as good as a decent sports cat , it is making the same model of car less powerful and less responsive v the better sports cat , the brand of cat i don’t know as it came from jdm as is , it’s a 200 cell sports cat and goes straight through an mot , the japspeed needs more help but does pass , has had three years of mot’s , prodrive used cats are another route but not always a lot in it price wise v a new one 👍

Depending if it'll fit your setup MB has a prodrive sports cat in the breaker section for about 300 I think it was. I'm in the same boat, failed on emissions due to a so called friendly tester being a ****, buying a cobra sports cat in the new year for emissions purposes. May rent it out when I've got it haha

Going back a few years I lived up North now living down in the South West, but whilst up North I had a friendly MOT tester due to the car I had then having no CATs. I wonder if it’s a sign of the times that there are fewer and fewer friendly MOT testers around these days, not sure if they can be prosecuted if found out etc or fined, perhaps it’s not with the risk for them to take.. But saying that it would’ve saved me a lot of hassle if the friendly MOT tester was still around lol.

I've got an OE downpie cat off a 2003 WRX (blobeye 2.0) and an uppipe one. I'm not sure if it will fit your engine but if it would I'd happily sell it to you rather than scrap it. They're worth a considerable amount though.

I haven’t got a clue if it would fit or not :-( how much were you looking for it?

For 2006> 2.5L models, they changed the design with the the joint directly at the base of the cat and angled

https://katalizator.xyz/_data/i/uplo...lysator-me.jpg
so a matching 2nd cat pipe is needed
https://katalizator.xyz/_data/i/uplo...lysator-me.jpg

Oh that’s a shame but thanks for the offer and thanks for the advice, much appreciated to you both.