MOT testers
 

Hi All just wondered if any friendly MOT testers around the Swindon Wiltshire area for my de-catted car.
Not looking to upset anyone by posting this so DM me if you use anyone or know anyone. Thanx x

Be careful because I had someone say they were "friendly" and they shafted me on missing catalytic converter and exhaust excessively loud lol. Currently have a new sports cat on order for mot purposes as haven't found anyone I trust and not worth another failed mot, I say another, that was its first ever fail, wanker.

It's virtually impossible to do this now unless you are a close friend with a bent tester......why would a business risk losing a significant part of their bread and butter work? You could be an inspector for all they know, and that happens more than you might think.

The DVLA or whoever have really cracked down. Gone are the days when anyone could wander in and say "Mate, I need a fake MOT doing, here is an extra tenner for your troubles."

You need to know someone if you want.

Garage local to me is a "friendly" garage shall we say, not that i'd use it for my Subaru but the old boy who owns/runs it don't fail bugger all, it's fair enough getting a car thru emissions by sticking the pipe up another cars exhaust to get a pass but ive actually been up there with a mate and his car and the car has literally just sat on t hoist for half hr or so and the old boy ain't checked nowt, well he might of given the tyres a quick look over as he walked by it, stuck the pipe in another car for the emissions to get a pass then gave him a new ticket:Suspiciouwouldn't sit right with me for peace of mind that the car is still safe to drive being as he ain't actually checked sod all:nono:

I've heard that cameras in MOT bays may come in the future.

An ex neighbour of mine had a decatted Subaru about the time i got mine and he found a place that would pass his car every yr, I think one of his mates owned a garage and he inturn had another mate at a MOT centre, im pretty sure his mate with the garage would bill him for an hrs work pre MOT to refit the cat which he obviously didn't, then split the money with the tester, that way if the ministry got involved he/they had some kind of proof it was tested with cat in place, like been said he's who you know i suppose.

I’d be very surprised if anyone helped the OP out with this issue lol. Not sure any tester will take the risk of passing a complete strangers car for the sake of £35 or even double that.. Good luck

would it not be easier putting a sports cat in , ie a used prodrive one or a new one , i never look forward to an mot , as i’m thinking what’s going to cost me this time , on the flip side if somethings wrong i want to know and get it sorted , hopefully at not too much expense , my fairly cheap japspeed down pipe cat has passed 3 mots so far just needs a bit of warming up , my other Fsti has an unknown branded sports cat on which is a better cat and goes straight through an mot , they say a sports cat v a decat is only a few as in less than 10 bhp loss , a loss you would not notice any way 👍

Never can understand the problem with passing MOT if mapped correctly they fly through.
Full 3" exhaust, id 1050 injectors, numerous other mods.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...404c1b720d.jpg

they can fail you for having no cat present, so as above easier just to have a cat fitted 👍

I have to also agree, just get a sports CAT fitted, it is worth it to get rid of the stress of the impending MOT every year. It makes little difference to performance and in my experience, it can still struggle to hit emissions unless the tester is willing to heat the car up properly to full driving temp for the testing, so you still need a willing tester who understands the car, but it is all above board.

You can gut a CAT so visually you have one fitted but obviously no internals. Seems a bit pointless though for the sake of a few HP.

My MOT centre is 'friendly', mainly because I've used them for over 20 years and they know me and my cars though.
However, I decided to keep both of mine catted now as I heard a story about an insurance company refusing to pay out because the car had no cat and it's impossible to declare it as decat as that's illegal.
That wouldn't bother me if I had a rusty wrx but I'm not taking the risk with the spec c's, way too much to lose if some prat rear ends me.

As above, just get a good sports cat.

Aside from anything to do with the hassle who wants the poxy smell on your clothes!

Currently running 323hp on a 2.0L with a hybrid TD04 with no exhaust housing porting, no exhaust manifold porting and no FMIC (so probably a few more hp in it) on TDR's dyno through a Cobra sports cat which isn't even a low CEL one that's borderline for the MOT pass.

On such a small turbo any restriction would be likely to hold it back a lot, so I think it's fairly safe to say that a good quality, high-flow sports cat is not very restrictive. Yes, a decat is even less restrictive and much cheaper but I really can't be bothered with the hassle of not being street legal in a police magnet blue impreza and I even know a "friendly" tester.

Also the market has very much shifted towards either standard cars, or ones modified with quality parts to a high standard, and very much away from WRXs with CELs and unmapped in decats. So I would like to think the outlay is offset by preserving the vehicle's value.

That being said what are the best options regarding a 200 cell sports cat on the market these days if people don't want hassle of having/finding a "friendly" tester, Cobra, Japspeed, Milltek or something from some one like Haywood & Scott:wonder:.

been some negative reviews for H&S in recent times for build quality and their products have certainly gone up in price. If you can find a prodrive one second hand it will save some money thats for sure

I have used this guy 3 times in the past and never had any issue with his craftsmanship. Last time I used him he built a full 3" turbo back system with a sports CAT in place of the other CATs for the WRX, maybe over 12 years ago and his prices were competitive at the time. I still own the car and the system is as it was when he fitted it, it also comes with a lifetime guarantee. I am sure the CAT will need replacing at some point in the future as they don't last forever, but I will be going back to him for the work.

He may not be local to everyone, but worth a shout if in sensible driving distance.

http://www.pro-speedexhausts.com/pag...lic/index.jspx

Yeah there's been a couple of Prodrive ones on eBay this wk, but their still priced at 300/350 for a sports cat that's probably well over 15yr old age wise, still a fair chunk of change to shell out for a second hand unit.

I think the Cobra systems are well made but the price may put some people off. I have used H&S for years and will continue to do so but I have seen some of their quality issues in recent times. I think it was @hedgecutter who had a truly awful down pipe from them. I have a japspeed on one of mine and the fitment is very poor but I heard other say the fitment is fine.

Yeah ive always used H&S to be fair, but i had an up pipe fail on me last yr, was only 5 yr old and hadn't done many miles, a large crack appeared in it, but as they offer a lifetime guarantee they just sent me a fresh one:thumb:

i think matty had a ppp sports cat for sale for 280 or something like that? Looked like the newer version too (without the fibreglass jacket around the cat)

Also I'm "watching" the 350 ppp one on ebay, and the seller sent me (and other watchers) an offer of 315 a while back, so he/she might well take an offer of something more reasonable. It's been on for a long time.

No connection what so ever with this seller (so dyor), but there’s a ppp cat here for 275
https://www.facebook.com/groups/suba...4264217124500/

Had my MOT retest today had a brand new Afterburner Sports Cat Downpipe fitted and remapped.
It failed but get this my MOT tester said to me do you know any friendly MOT testers you could take it to lol, I asked him if he knew any but sadly he said the ones he grew up going to are no longer in the business, alternatively he said put an OEM full exhaust system on with both CATS.
Everyone has said that a sports CAT will get you through an MOT but in my case wasn’t meant to be.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...e269851e6.jpeg

Mines just passed today with a cobra sports cat no problem, drove it for about an hour, it sat idling for about 20 mins before he tested emissions but it passed first time no issue. Now to decide if I can be arsed removing it, maybe I'll rent it out so others can use it for mots lol

there’s no reason a 200 cell sports cat should not pass , it needs a good drive before the emissions are tested plus kept running and warm before the test , if you think that’s bad a monaro often just scrapes through which is very normal , the tester can raise the revs for the fast idle part , it seems to be a sweet spot rev wise at 3 k not 2.5 , but it’s never easy getting it through 👍😁

Bit more than a cat at fault..the cat only exists to clean what the engine produces; Assuming the engine is running cleanly...

That print out suggests its running rich, so your HCs (unburnt fuel) are too high and overwhelming the cat...it can only clean up so much. Especially sports cats.

I have an 1982 5.3 V12 Jag with no cats that produces less Co and HCs than your 2.0 four pot with a cat!!


One main cause is the engine isn't hot enough (especially in winter..with heaters on which prolongs warm-up and can even over-cool when at idle). And not enough preconditioning.

All it may need is getting it PROPERLY upto operating temperature, turn down the heater and a short drive at medium revs immediately before testing and then a precondition by holding it at 3000rpm whilst stationary for at least 3 minutes.

If it's still a issue, then there maybe another issue. Check engine at operating temp using either OBD data or a laser thermometer...the gauge is NOT accurate so hides sticking thermostats. There maybe a fault code stored...iffy MAF, OS sensor, air leak, worn spark plugs, oil burning, bad mapping etc...all these will throw out emissions.