ScoobyH

Does anyone know anywhere in Northamptonshire, where I can get my scoob through its MOT without a cat.

pslewis

Not legally, no ......

You need an Illegal Tester and thats a different question, not something anyone would want to post up here.

Pete

pauld37

Wrong again!!!! Mine went straight through an MOT with a total decat

[Davey]

No car requires a cat as such.. it just has to meet the maximum emissions level for the year and model in question... Trouble is most post92 cars need a cat to achieve this

Just find a garage who is willing to give you a little "margin for error"..

pslewis

You know thats bollox .... we shan't go into the details about 'how' a car can 'appear' to pass .... but a car registered after about 1993 cannot pass the MOT without a CAT - it is simply impossible!

The fact that it has no CAT is also illegal and an MOT failure ... therefore your MOT is null and void - hope you don't get caught out!

Pete

vindaloo

For a UK car, I'd probably agree. Different rules for imports though and different rules for SVAing them over the years...

mart360

Pete thats bollox and you know it,

there is NO legal requirement for a car to be fitted with a cat, the law states that all new cars produced after 1992 must be fitted witha cat, it does not however state that the cat must be fitted at all times. only psuedo legal requirement is that it must be fitted for an mot to enable emmissions testing..

or would you like to try and explain why my car, with cat fitted (no lambda sensor fitted!! sailed straight through?? and it was a computery test too)

Mart

stick to radiation its the only thing you seem to get right

peachy wrx

i believe if the car being tested is warmed up properly and then tested straight away the emissions are much much lower,very hard to do unless you know the guy doing it!

pslewis

Your stupidity amazes me sometimes

We bottomed this debate out a month or so ago ..... if a car was fitted with a CAT when sold then it MUST legally retain that CAT!

What was the Voltage on the MOT of your Lambda then??

You, Sir, are a raving lunatic!!

Pete

silent running

The regs state that the car's emissions must stay below it's allotted emissions limit, as manufactured. There is NO rule about how, mechanically, this should be achieved. A cat is NOT a requirement for cars that were originally fitted one. However, almost all 90's cars that were fitted with cats will struggle to pass the emissions test without their factory cat, therefore people have mistakenly thought that it is the cat that is the requirement, not the emissions level.

It makes perfect sense. If it were not so, then you could get through an MOT with a knackered cat which was not performing properly, just by physically having it fitted. This is clearly not so. The actual emissions result takes precedence, not the presence or absence of a cat.

I have no vested interest in encouraging people to drive around without a cat - I don't think it's right, and I personally have replaced my old downpipe with a sports catted one, not a decat. But as far as the regulations go, you DO NOT need a cat. But 99% of people who drive around all year without one are driving an unroadworthy car.

There are all kinds of weird rules surrounding MOTs and trust me I've delved into them a bit. You're allowed to NOT carry a spare wheel at all, even if it came fitted with one at the factory, but an under-inflated spare is a MOT fail straight away. You can go straight through an MOT in a car with the back seats stripped out, but missing or faulty rear seatbelts with the seats still in place are an immediate fail etc etc.

As far as the lamba goes, that should be retained whether you run a cat or not. I can't see any reason not to have it.

ScoobyDoo555

Pete, seems like this month hasn't been one of your finest in terms of posts!!


Shall assume that it's purely down to a "blip" and normal service shall resume once you've had your Werthers Original and Sanatogen

Dan

mart360

the voltage on my Lambda when i had my mot was 0, zero, nada, zip, nothing, nil.

and it sailed through,

i would suggest you actually read my post and then put the brain into gear before jumping in with rash comments.


Mart

D-an-W

iTrader: (1)

I am a former MOT tester and still work in a Garage where MOT's are carried out daily. Whats this voltage talk all about, the voltage of the O2 Sensor isn't measured on an MOT, just plain old exhaust gases (However the voltage of an O2 sensor once it has entered "Closed loop" should vary between (roughly) 200mv and 800mv).
Also, an MOT is only TRUELY valid at the "Time of test", you cannot fail an item if you think it might not pass an MOT next week.
What you really need to be careful of these days is the Ministry of Transports roadside checks, they carry out Emissions checks etc and actually impound cars that fail (Not all maybe, but the Supra guy I saw stood next to his car on a trailer last week wasn't too chuffed). They can also connect to the EOBD socket and tell how long faults have been present so "It only came on this morning Officer" won't cut it either

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Cant you say the car is having engine problems at a road side test, so they give you two weeks to have it tested.

Or is this another rumour?

mart360

thats providing they have the required leads to connect to an eobd socket!! and that the eobd port talks to there software..

i know for a fact mine prolly wont!!

Mart

scubbay

iTrader: (61)

Cant stand cats meself. Unfriendly buggers a dogs much better

D-an-W

iTrader: (1)

Thats the whole point about EOBD, one plug fits all and the same software works on all cars.
They can tell how long those "Running Problems" have been happening for, so if it says it's been like it for 6 months...

ScoobyH

Looks like i'll have to invest in cat then.

hades

Then you either haven't had a remap that alters the threshold for the cat below efficiency warning, or haven't fitted a CEL fix for the rear 02 sensor.

Btw, I'm running with a sports cat, so not advocating de-cats, illegal emmissions, etc etc - just pointing out that the OBDII codes will only be any use to anyone regarding cat efficiency if you haven't done the fix. A lot of people on here have done so.

mart360

cant wait for the guys to plug eobd into my car thats assuming they have the right connectors


and afaik the software dosent run on all cars, just check out al the small adds & trade papers for the multitude of systems needed.. the leads& connectors alone would be weighty buundle for them to carry round

Mart

kingofturds

iTrader: (1)

My scoob passed last year without a cat, i only found out when I de catted it that someone had smashed the cat out of the old downpipe.That was before all this computerised mot malarky came into play though so might not be so lucky this time around.

MY93WRX

I second that!

D-an-W

iTrader: (1)

If it needs another plug or different software then it isn't EOBD...I forget the exact year it was all standardised, mid ninetys it began to be introduced if not before...

You do need different software to erase & diagnose faults etc, all the roadside check people can do is check the legal stuff etc...

newby

iTrader: (2)

SPEAK TO PAUL AT ZEN PERFORMANCE IN WELLINGBOROUGH THEY ARE TOP GUYS.

robbie96315

im an m.o.t tester, and as long as the emmissions are ok, then you dont really need a cat. as long as c.o is within range depending on the year of car and lambda is within scale it will be fine. personally i havnt had the experience to test a non catted scoob so not sure how clean they run. go have a word with the mechanic at your local and see what he is like.

mart360

I gotta cat but no lambda, and it sailed thru,

no winks no friendly mot testers, just turned up payed my money and bobs your

Mart

RedRexWRX

At the end of the day. If you have a cat fitted or know there is one on. You should know the chance that meeting emissions tests could not be very good. I know of 3 options. 1 fit a cat. 2 fit a cat for the test. 3 Get a friendly mot guy to pass it dependant on the emissions and that they are not massively high, this also saves you time because you dont have to change your cat for the test and change back...

But out of interest if decat exhausts are not road legal or mot passable, how come i can insure mine??? Aswell as alot of other people!!

MARTIN GAVIN

Good point Red

timuk1

I have a MY04 which has 3 cats on it as standard, I had prodrive fitted last year in which one of the cats is removed remap ECU and a new prodrive back box fitted, I made sure that the car would pass the MOT test before going down this route.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Some cars can pass the emissions test quite easilly get below the critical 0.5% CO limit. My old escort did this countless times when the cat was removed. K-series and Hondas usually fair quite well too.

Subarus however...with their pathetic 8.0:1 compression usually haven't got a prayer