DE-CATTING

[Critical_Mass 10]

Can someone tell me what the last year was that a cat on a car wasnt a legal requirement. Thinkign about de-catting my '91 J reg G60. What is the last year, i thought it was 91, when in '91 is it. You can get early 91 reg being a H. Or a late '91 which is a J?

[jonny-5 0]

i'm pretty sure it's early 1991 cos i've got a 1991 h reg 16v adn it aint got no cat

[g60greeny 0]

mines a j 91 and was ok at mot time

[RACK 0]

You can de-cat a car as long as it's before 92 K-Reg. 92 J's just scrape in, my G60 was J '92 and was ok

[g60greeny 0]

yeah thats right,i remember my 1.8 16v clio which was a 93 k and had to get my cat put back on for the mot

 

yes thats right a CLIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah 92 K sounds about right......

 

I notice in Hayward & Scott's recent advertisments that they state that all cars with cats fitted as standard won't pass the MOT without it from March 2006.....something to do with all MOT stations becoming computerised...what ever that means/entails! So that's not good news for us 'bypassers' :?

[Neil VR6 0]

My cat's in a skip somewhere. I didn't even think to keep it. Still, strictly speaking all cars with oil breather filters should fail the MOT. I reckon it'll be down to the competency and/or leniancy of the tester unless it says very specifically in the rules that all cars which came with a cat regardless of age must have one fitted.

[Critical_Mass 10]

hmmm so the verdict would be, itll pass MOT if its before 92 k. Whats this about march 2006 and MOT stations becoming computerised. First ive heard of it

[dinkus 10]

I'm fairly sure that owt before 92 is just a visible smoke test, so the computerised measuring whatnot won't make any difference.

[Critical_Mass 10]

you sure about that? i always thought they stuck a probe up the rear pipe (oooh eerr) to test the emissions.

[Neil VR6 0]

They always stuck something up my exhaust ;) I got lots of reading on the test slip, I think one of them was CO?

[andy 0]

Yeah 92 K sounds about right......

 

I notice in Hayward & Scott's recent advertisments that they state that all cars with cats fitted as standard won't pass the MOT without it from March 2006.....something to do with all MOT stations becoming computerised...what ever that means/entails! So that's not good news for us 'bypassers' :?

 

Yep, the test is performed online now, the tester has to log on to a website, enter the car details etc and enter the results of the tests "live" as they go along. There's little scope for letting a car go through with a dodgy bulb/tyre as long as its fixed within or day etc. There are also no free retests for this very reason.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Blimey, they're cracking down big time. I think it's a good thing as it will hopefully remove some of the unroadworthy bangers that litter our roads.....but what about the 5-10 percenters that don't give a f'ck and have no ins, tax or MOT.....nothing will change there?

[dinkus 10]

TBH, I think MOT testing is generally pretty good, so the extra measures won't do much to keep junk off the roads.

 

It's like the new ANPR system to deter people driving without insurance/tax - they're also the people that don't bother to MOT their car and don't care if it gets scrapped :roll:

[Neil VR6 0]

Does this mean I'll have to go and buy a cat then just to get it through the test? My car runs very clean anyway so should pass emissions tests. Does this mean I'll have to find a "friendly" MOT'er?

[catch_twotwo 0]

Well according to MOT Tester magazine (yes they have a magazine for everything now)

 

6. Your vehicle has had its catalytic converter removed and replaced by a normal exhaust silencer but passes the emissions Test. Does it fail the MOT because it hasn't got a catalytic converter when it should have one?

 

A) No, if it passes the emissions part of the MOT that is acceptable.

 

http://www.motester.co.uk/

[Neil VR6 0]

That's good news then! I had visions of having a "forum cat" which gets passed from member to member when it comes to MOT time!

[Critical_Mass 10]

lol may have needed more then one of those cats mate. So give me a yes or no answer........ fitting a cat by pass on my '91 J G60 will be ok when it comes to MOT?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

If it left VW with a Cat, it will need a cat come March 2006, regardless of what may have been 'overlooked' previously. I have a sneaky suspicion the new system was designed to clamp down on people decatting for 364 days of the year. The cat absorbs HCs, which is part of the test.

 

To spare myself of the yearly ball ache, I've fitted a 100 Cell sport cat, which only saps around 2-3hp over a decat.

[Walesy 0]

which only saps around 2-3hp over a decat.

 

Saps a bit more than 2-3 quid out of your wallet though, if I remember correctly the 'sport cat' to go with my system was 2/3 of the price of my full de-cat system fron tto back!.

 

This clamping down here and clamping down there, it's enough to drive you out of the country.

[Taggart 0]

Yeah, y'all should come and live on the Isle of Man where we have none of your stupid MOTs.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Saps a bit more than 2-3 quid out of your wallet though, if I remember correctly the 'sport cat' to go with my system was 2/3 of the price of my full de-cat system fron tto back!.

 

Yeah, don't remind me! Think my Milltek was £265 + the SHAT.

 

Sport cat's don't last half as long as standard ones either, hence why they're cheaper than OE replacement cats. They work like sparkplugs in a way, every cycle burns a bit of plug away, and so it is with cat elements as the zorsts passes over it. Fewer cells = less life, but more flow. Life is just one big compromise!

[AND7 F 0]

After spending ages trawling throught the exhaust threads I think I have found the right place for my cat question...

 

I have a Magnex on my 94 2.0 16v and the cat is making a terrible rattling noise for the first 20 mins or so until it warms up

 

A trip to my local Kwik Fit and I was quoted 300 just for a replacement cat, I thought this was a bit much and wondered if there are any other options

 

I was thinking of de-catting and then putting it back for the MOT but is that out of the question now? Am I right in thinking it would make it faster but louder? (It's already a bit loud for my liking) Is there anything else I need to know if I go down this route?

 

Or do you know where I can get a replacement cat for a decent price?

 

I was also thinking about replacing the whole exhaust with a standard unit as the Magnex is the only non-standard bit on the car - how much would this set me back and do you think it's a good idea to do it all at the same time?

 

Cheers for your help,

Andy

[h100vw 0]

28296 EXH RUBBER HANGER MOST MODELS 0.50 Add

28296B EXH RUBBER HANGER-REINF MODELS USING 28296 2.00 Add

21246B SILENCER-FRONT+DOWN PIPE CO 16V 4/89 > 125.00 Add

21508 CATALYTIC CONVERTER CO G60 >1/91 185.00 Add

**************************************************************

21513 CATALYTIC CONVERTER CO 2.0 16V 9A Eng. 8/91 > 96.00

***********************************************************

22234B SILENCER-FRONT(BQ) CO 16V All 23.50 Add

25328 SILENCER-REAR CO 16V >7/92 82.50

 

Problem solved??

[Banana Man 0]

My mate is an MOT tester and he's done a few of my mates cars with decats in the past 6 months and he just puts his work beater on the emmisions tester instead of our cars and hey presto no problemo!!!

 

It's not what you know it's who you know :D