Moray

What MOT station was it and your reg then we can report him for passing illegal car

David Lock

AFAIK cars don't have to have cats by law but they do have to meet certain emission levels. A lot changed between Aug 1992 and Aug 1994. Some 1993 cars did not have to meet new emission standards but after Aug '94 every vehicle was covered. Without a cat the engine will struggle to pass the CO pass reading at slow idle which is around 0.3%. If it is this low without any cats then it is running very lean and may put HC reading up as unburnt fuel could pass through the system. For most standard engines the CO reading (without cat) would be around 1 - 1.5% (the old pre-cat limit was 3.5%) . dl

bzz

Just been checking up on this. In 1993, the EU introduced into the law, the compulsory fitting of catalytic converters on all new vehicles within Europe. So if your car is 1993>, you HAVE TO HAVE A CAT - its the law. If a garage has issued an MOT for a vehicle without a cat (1993 on; K-reg i think), they have broken the law, and if caught, would be heavily penalised!!

David Lock

Thanks bzz, I'll look into this as I am still not convinced - but if I am wrong I will post an apology Can you give me any reference points? dl

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

That rule is for MANUFACTURERS of the car....not the owners (why do you think you can only do PPP's on pre-registered cars? - manufacturer's emissions regs )

I think people are mixing rules up with law.

pnbond007

iTrader: (1)

Tonyflow

So my August 1993 build 'L' plate wrx-ra would get through an MOT, emmissions are in fine fettle

Liddo, bet it aint as clean as mine.....


PNB

David Lock

Being trying to unravel this "must have cat" debate. Didn't get very far but found this on Dept for Transport site which rather supports my view that the car must meet emission requirments which can possibly only be achieved by using a cat (rather than having to have a cat). This was under import into UK section.

Emissions

Vehicles sold in several parts of the world (especially the Middle East, Africa and South America) often do not meet European emissions standards. Please note that petrol-fuelled cars manufactured from August 1992, and other vehicles manufactured from August 1994, might be required to meet a standard that can usually only be achieved by a catalytic converter. Details of vehicles needing to meet such a standard may be found in "In Service Exhaust Emissions Standards for Road Vehicles" which is available from The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, Berkley House, Croydon Street, Bristol, BS5 0DA , telephone 0870 60 60 440. All passenger cars with up to 5 passenger seats and up to 2,500kg gross weight manufactured from August 1995 will need to meet the "catalyst" emission standard to pass SVA / ESVA.

========= dl