Need a catalytic converter to pass MOT..borrow?

[markw996]

Pure bloody Lotus strikes again, my Esprit S4 has just failed the emissions part of the MOT due to it having a cat replacement pipe instead of a cat. Pure Lotus put it through an MOT before I bought it, so either it was a dodgy MOT, or they switched out my cat.

I'm now stuck with an MOT fail and a potential unexpected cost of £295 plus VAT that I haven't budgeted for.

Does anyone have any advice, or even better a cat laying around that they could lend me for a few days?

GST would be swapping it out so you wouldn't have to worry about it getting damaged by my spannering

No time to go back to Pure Lotus as I need the MOT quick while the car is still with GST.

Thanks,

Mark.

[MartinL]

Not all S4 require a cat, my early car never had a cat, my mot test man consulted a book of numbers and declared it was made pre-cat requirement, worth checking engine/vin numbers.

Might be worth a call to Pure Lotus to clarify situation.

[Vanya]

Errr...dude.... Turbo SE '89 onwards came with catalytic convertors as standard.

 

Some countries overlook cats when MOT:ing a supercar though so a lot of folks get away with decat pipes. Mark, I'd give Pure Lotus a right bollocking because the UK does not give special treatment to any car no matter how awesome...

 

Anyhow I'm running the Sports Cat from SJ Sports Cars and it passes the Swedish MOT. I "warm the engine up" right before the emissions test so that the cat is flaming hot when the probe goes in and I pass no problems.

 

You'll also get a more throaty growl from the engine. Just check whether you need to buy an O2 sensor as well when ordering - my car used to have the stock cat and an O2 from the 90's so it had mated itself to the cat with rust. Took something like 200 Nm and a long arm on the torque wrench to free it, and it still got broken in the process

[dodge1979]

Mine goes through without a cat too..

[markw996]

GST Performance tried their best to get it through, but it just failed on emissions

Unfortunately mine is a 94 and requires a catalytic converter.

 

Steve Strange has a rusty old cat for £250 on eBay, but for the extra hundred I'd be better off buying new.

 

I have a feeling this will be a very expensive month for me

Edited July 31, 2014 by markw996

[andydclements]

Mine goes through without a cat too..

It shouldn't as of recent changes. It used to just be a matter of having to pass the emissions limits, now the cat has to be present where originally fitted.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_710.htm

[fflyingdog]

I had this exact same problem last year ,so in short I bought a hi-flo cat (Magniflo £123) and cut my de-cat pipe and inserted the new cat and had it  welded it up, I now have a clean mot and absolutely no difference in power and it does seem to sound a tadge throatier.

[markw996]

After a bit of internet research it seems like I won't have any comeback against the dealer as the car is pre-1995 and it passed the MOT without a cat fitted prior to sale. The car has not failed due the cat being missing, it failed on emissions.

[jonwat]

What about a fuel system cleaner????

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/fuel-oil-additives/cataclean-475ml

[markw996]

If it was any of my other cars I would, but I don't want to have to worry about this one come MOT time each year

On Gerald @ GSTs recommendation I'll have a 'sports cat' fitted and hopefully that will be the end of it.

 

It was mentioned that the car should backfire less on the overrun too, which it currently does quite a bit.

 

It could be worse, I knew when I bought it that I wouldn't be able to (or want to) run my dream car on a shoestring budget...

Edited July 31, 2014 by markw996

[Alex Carter]

I can help but you'll have to get the car down to me I got a guy

[Vanya]

How the heck did you guys manage to pass without cats at any point?

 

Here in Sweden they put a probe in the exhaust and watch the CO/Nox/HC values for like 20 seconds - if they're not stable or if they start drifting, it's an automatic fail. Were the emission limits in the UK previously so high that certain cars could sail through the MOT with unadulterated exhausts, or was it a matter of the MOT bloke turning a blind eye?

 

Edit: Mark, my car is running a free flow cat and sports exhaust and pops like a mother****** on overrun.

[Bibs]

It's pretty much the same here but for cars that were built pre-93 (when cat's became compulsory) it's just hydrocarbons and CO that are measured and it's a more liberal pass figure, I think! 

[Vanya]

Ah! Thanks for educating me on that Bibs. 93 was pretty late - In Sweden cats were mandatory from '87 onwards...

[Chillidoggy]

Having just had my car's emissions checked, with no catalytic converter fitted the best CO reading was about 0.47% against the maximum MOT figure of 0.2%, all other readings were in the green.

[Vanya]

Wow! Good stuff...did you toast the probe by spitting flames at it from the pipe during the test? 

 

I wrecked my MOT dudes probe last time round

[Chillidoggy]

The guy who did it is a mate of mine, he only managed one backfire which was pretty pathetic, so no, it all ended well!

I'm guessing that the addition of a cat would bring the CO down, but as he didn't seem too worried, I'll deal with that if and when necessary.