the law and no cats

does anyone know how you stand if you get stopped running no cats? apart from not passing an mot.

I had a chat with the MOT bloke, who UNDERSTANDS the import/mot rules. I have a 93 J-Spec TT with no cats on, and he passed it as it was an import. however all imports from 95 MUST have cats on. If you have a UK car, cat on, no question. I know this doesnt really answer you question but - oh well

I had a chat with the MOT bloke, who UNDERSTANDS the import/mot rules. I have a 93 J-Spec TT with no cats on, and he passed it as it was an import. however all imports from 95 MUST have cats on. If you have a UK car, cat on, no question. I know this doesnt really answer you question but - oh well

Strange, as my last J-spec had 2 MOT's by me and it was a 93. Went to 2 different testing stations (one was import specialist) and they both insisted that an MOT had to be done and it goes on the chassis number, the fact that it was an import did not stand it had to have cats in to pass.

I think it depends if the testing centre is by the book really.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/vssafety/importsapproval/howtoimportyourvehicleperman4559?page=2

Extract:

"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."

So they can't say!! But post August 1995 must pass the catalyst test.

By the by, if you're caught using a car that should have cats on a public road and they've been removed, the potential penalty is VERY high. £2k IIRC.

Right, I called the number in my post above & we almost have this nailed.

If it does an emissions test and fails the 0.3% CO & 300 ppm HC at idle (or the 0.2% CO & 200 ppm HC at fast idle) and it is pre August 1995 then it has to do a "cat test" which involves the tester looking in a big book for the manufacturer's emissions levels specific to that model. If the vehicle is not listed in the book (listed by Manufacturer, vehicle code & engine code) then it reverts back to having to pass the pre-cat emissions levels of 3.5% CO and 1200 ppm HC.

The JZA80 with 2JZ-GTE is listed in the big book, but the guy on the phone didn't know if the Jspec chassis number differs from the Euro spec number in the book.

So, the question is..... does the Jspec chassis number differ from the Euro spec?

If it does it may not be in the book, meaning that Jspec pre August 1995 cars won't need catalysts (for MOT at least!).

The JZA80 with 2JZ-GTE is listed in the big book, but the guy on the phone didn't know if the Jspec chassis number differs from the Euro spec number in the book.

 

So, the question is..... does the Jspec chassis number differ from the Euro spec?

Both times my J-Spec went in for an MOT they both wrote down the chassis number and punched it into their computer just before emissions test.

Right, I called the number in my post above & we almost have this nailed.

 

If it does an emissions test and fails the 0.3% CO & 300 ppm HC at idle (or the 0.2% CO & 200 ppm HC at fast idle) and it is pre August 1995 then it has to do a "cat test" which involves the tester looking in a big book for the manufacturer's emissions levels specific to that model. If the vehicle is not listed in the book (listed by Manufacturer, vehicle code & engine code) then it reverts back to having to pass the pre-cat emissions levels of 3.5% CO and 1200 ppm HC.

 

The JZA80 with 2JZ-GTE is listed in the big book, but the guy on the phone didn't know if the Jspec chassis number differs from the Euro spec number in the book.

 

So, the question is..... does the Jspec chassis number differ from the Euro spec?

 

If it does it may not be in the book, meaning that Jspec pre August 1995 cars won't need catalysts (for MOT at least!).

chassis NO's here http://mkiv.supras.org.nz/specs.htm

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/vssafety/importsapproval/howtoimportyourvehicleperman4559?page=2

 

Extract:

 

"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."

 

So they can't say!! But post August 1995 must pass the catalyst test.

mine was registered on the 31 march 95, looks like i dont need cats then.

mine was registered on the 31 march 95, looks like i dont need cats then.

Depends if its 'in the book' or not

And it may be just a technical-get-out of the MOT emissions test, not necessarily legal on the road (but may be). A trial may be needed to determine its legality if there is no current case law

God damn August 1995 car

Sorry I'm a little confused. So as I have a '93 TT import, does mine have to have a cat in for an MOT?

Mine failed on the first MOT I took last year, and had to have one put back in for the second test.

It would save a lot of bother if I didn't have to worry about that.

chassis NO's here http://mkiv.supras.org.nz/specs.htm

Bl00dy good link that one.

Has anyone ever heard of anybody ever getting stopped and subsequently fined for not having cats in place?

Sorry I'm a little confused. So as I have a '93 TT import, does mine have to have a cat in for an MOT?

 

Mine failed on the first MOT I took last year, and had to have one put back in for the second test.

 

It would save a lot of bother if I didn't have to worry about that.

It depends if Jspec chassis numbers are in the 'cat test' book. I think a trip to the MOT station is in order to check if it works or not.

I thought it was computerised a the MOT stations & the chassis number was entered and compared against a database?

Edit: According to this its the engine code, and it can't find it so default is the no cat test.... unless they've updated it to include Jspec?

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?p=1531078&highlight=mot+number#post1531078

It depends if Jspec chassis numbers are in the 'cat test' book. I think a trip to the MOT station is in order to check if it works or not.

 

I thought it was computerised a the MOT stations & the chassis number was entered and compared against a database?

Poo. Yeah you're probably right

Mine was an early car and came up as a MA70 on the testers computer. Still required a CAT test though, albeit at the lower level.

To answer CJ's question, the green lobby have more of an ear with Govt now than at any time previously. There is already legislation in place to test certain vehicles at the roadside for emissions, so I would expect at some point in the future, for there to be a broader application of that legislation.

Mine was an early car and came up as a MA70 on the testers computer. Still required a CAT test though, albeit at the lower level.

 

To answer CJ's question, the green lobby have more of an ear with Govt now than at any time previously. There is already legislation in place to test certain vehicles at the roadside for emissions, so I would expect at some point in the future, for there to be a broader application of that legislation.

Maybe a high performance cat is in order. I know they exist

It depends if Jspec chassis numbers are in the 'cat test' book. I think a trip to the MOT station is in order to check if it works or not.

 

I thought it was computerised a the MOT stations & the chassis number was entered and compared against a database?

looks like ive started something here kranz, does that make up for the agro i caused you last night?

Does anyone on here use a racing CAT? which i would guess circumvent all these problems.

All JZA-80 chassis numbers are now in the computerised MOT emissions database

Does anyone on here use a racing CAT? which i would guess circumvent all these problems.

we have a guy we use for all our mots, he is a good lad if you know what i mean.

we have a guy we use for all our mots, he is a good lad if you know what i mean.

Unfortunately i've never come across a "friendly;)" MOT in London

looks like ive started something here kranz, does that make up for the agro i caused you last night?

 

Just this once

that says to pass sva/esva?