I was just about to take my car for its MOT test.

I have been informed by a number of places that as my car was not in the emissions data I could do a Decat MOT test. Howeever I am now informed that the sti's (my local garage checked it) are included and are tested juts like the UK turbo car.

As my car has no Cats it will inevitably fail the test.

Before I could have messed about a bit with the fuel on the ecu to ensure it passed

That said, other than trying to find a 'dodgy' MOT place, if I replace the centre pipe with a Sports Cat system will this pass the test - course this is expensive as I'll only ever have it on for the test and take it off straight after!

Will this be enough......?

You cannot fail for not having a Cat but if your emissions go through the roof without it then it will fail.The Evo VI can pass on some occasions the emissions without the cat,not sure on the scoob.Best advice is take it to a garage that won`t be to bothered about emissions.There are enough of them out there.....

Tim,

Can you explain 'donor' vehicle? I have heard of garages putting a cat on so the vehicle will pass but are you saying some garages actually use a different vehicle to pass the emmissions part of the test?

Si.

Sillysi

Yeah you are correct.... they swap the car so that they have for their records a car with MOT emissions that pass - totally illegal and probably could be shut down

I need to find one of these garages in and around Bristol!

Evo6

Haven't yet found a garage that will be lenient on the emissions side!

What are the penalties for driving without an MOT - other than the difficulty in obtaining a tax disc and the problem is asked to produce all documents (including the MOT)
My MOT has now expired............

Then again I've got a tax disc without valid insurance before!

Steve,

My friend runs a MOT station and he has had undecover inspectors bringing cars in to be MOTd, he knows they were undercover because he has another friend who works in the dept and tipped him off. If they catch this sort of thing they will be shut down instantly and not be allowed to operate again. The new computerised system is possibly going to have a video link to record the car actually having it's MOT, I presume to prevent the 'donor' situation.

Si.

I think it invalidates your insurance, and you won't be able to update your tax without one...

I know someone who runs a garage in Bristol and he wont even cheat his own car through... does it by the book... but I spose when its your livelihood at stake....

You are correct in what I meant by donor vehicle. I didn't want to be swapping downpipes about, but then it passed anyhow so it was all irrelevant to me!

22B's I don't think are actually listed on the database so are technically exempt!

Tim

Bit of a shame as I know the garage really well and they know I'm not an 'undercover' agent.

Didnt really fancy having to buy a Cat let alone the hassle of fitting - I'm nearly as good fitting the old scooby exhaust and testing then changing back- but then I'd have to take the downpipe off

Does the sti exhuast come with a center cat that will get me past the test?...

My STi4 failed with a de-cat downpipe and the rest of the exhaust original :( I couldn't be bothered with the swapping or trying to find a dodgy place so I went down the expensive route and bought a PE catted centre section which works fine and feels better than the standard centre :) did cost £400 though :(

I have heard of other STi's passing with no cats though - especially if they're very hot before the test.

Get it tested first then decide what to do - you may get a pleasant surprize !

Might be worth a try I guess - very hot - so I have to have thrashed the car for a while before hand (i.e. normal driving)

Certainly dont fancy spending £400 - if its that much I'll put the original exhaust back on....

The dowwnpipe is the real pain though to change - might take a while - and is bloody stupid - as I'll be getting the garage to take the exhaust off - put the old one back on then get them to do the same thing again - how stupid the MOT emissions test is...

Someone email me offline if they know a fairly lenient garage in the Bristol area - totally confidential of course! as I wouldnt want anyone to get into trouble over this...

Steve,

A few UK cars are reporting that they have passed easily with just the centre CAT in place. You can replace this a lot easier than the downpipe as I'm sure you're aware.

maybe you could borrow a centre CAT from a UK car

So the sti does not have a centre cat??

I have the full original exhuast in the garage

I don't know. I would think though you could use one from a UK car as they will be better set up to meet the UK test. I know you used to travel up near Wakefield. If you wanted to borrow my old centre and back box you could

The STi has a cat in the downpipe only, the centre section is a resonator.

Does anyone make a performance downpipe with a cat?

Steve, just had mine mot'd 2 weeks ago, and it passed no probs. With it being an import it's not an official car, so on the display for the emmissions it say's others as well as turbo etc. The mot station should put it on that setting and it finds it's own parameters for the emmisions. Can't think why they're saying it's the same as the turbo, unless they're thinking that because it's an STI it's the same as a UK STI? Good luck m8!

CRAFThttp://216.40.249.192/mysmilies/otn/wink/thumb.gif

It depends on the testing station. Strictly speaking if a car has a cat, then it must be working, and they must be fitted after Aug/Sep 92.
However, some places may just test the emmisions, to the 3.5% CO, and 1200ppm Hydrocarbon limits. A Subaru without a cat, should easily be able to pass this. The CO on a subaru should still be around 0.1% CO at idle, due to the lambda controlling the fuelling. The hydrocarbons should also be very low, due to very mild camshafts etc.
WIth a functioning cat, both CO and HC should be virtually zero.

A center section cat should be sufficient to pass the MOT.
If, with no cat fitted, the cars CO is above 3.5%, then something is wrong with the car, and likewise with the 1200ppm HC level.

I borrowed a catted centre section for my decatted STi5 after it failed its first MOT, but only just, on emissions. Flew through afterwards.

i am lucky to have a mot test place that still has a old co2 test and he has told me it does not have the software to test a jap scooby so it is tested as a pre cat car. so blitz nur spec r and de cat down pipe here i come !!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure the garage said that the new 'MOT' book they had got 2 weeks ago included the imported sti's rather than the UK one -

They said they could no longer test the car to the 3.5% rule, as that had changed 2 weeks ago... they would now have to test my sti 'import' to the new 0.3% rule....

They said it would almost certainly fail the test if it had no Cat...

Can anyone else confirm that the MOT emissions change is for the sti UK and excludes the import - as this would naturally become an issue for a lot of people - unless they know a dodgy MOT station that uses donor cars, etc


Sti wanna subaru
Thanks for the offer - I may have to take you up on it if the car fails

Elmer on here has a dual centre section...he's in South Hampshire and makes it available to all Hants Scoobys - so I'm sure he'd do the same for anyone who fancied the drive...

Jen

steve, if you get stuck drop me an email, as you can get an mot in leeds..

David

sti

Any chance of boorowing that centre section for a week?? - I can take it later on next week and give it back after the weekend....

Steve

At least I should be able to change that myself! so will save a bit of money..

rasher
Prodrive

bet that aint cheap!

Steve,

No problems. I work in Hunslet, Leeds and live In Mirfield so let me know when you want to meet. Drop me an e-mail if you want.

Cheers

Guy

stuart

yes you are right - 97 is the cut off date (I was told by a garage that deals with imports all the time.... mines a 99

Cheers Darkblueturbo,
Does that mean I would have to approach the dealership, because Prodrive will not deal with us mortals as a rule?
Any ideas how much? Do you know anyone that has one of these fitted?
Sorry for all the questions, but as you can see from this thread it's a bit of a pain in the arse come MOT time

Cheers Nige:D