New MOT Cat regs.. BB4's exempt?

[jjmartin349571]

I understood that grey zone imports were all eligible for a 'non cat' test, as theoretically the car could be from a country where no emmissions equipment was required so would not have been factory fitted... Also, as mentioned above, the specs of grey zone imports won't be available on the DVLA database, hence why my 1992 BB4 is registered as a Prelude 2.0i Coupe 2.2

[bb1boy]

I have an old catalytic convertor here, I may cut it open, hollow it out and weld it straight over my current cat-less exhaust.

[bristol_bb4]

so based on that ^ if i took my bb4 (late 95) for an mot without a cat, the tester started to carry out a cat test i could stop him and ask him to find my serial code on the database and he couldnt, i could get away without having the test done?

[jjmartin349571]

That was just my understanding mate, I could be wrong though I thought the same applied to exhaust noise levels too, another bone of contention for some of us. Some police forces are apparently maintaining databases of decibel levels for car's based on manufacturer data, but grey zone imports wouldnt have any data available, so nothing for them to measure against..

[h10ndr]

My J plate import BB1 goes through with a decat fitted on a H22A7 no problem. Pre Aug 92.

[wurlycorner]

I love the planet, so I'm just leaving mine in place and magically this problem doesn't appear for me then, either

[jjmartin349571]

But don't the majority of catalytic convertors convert carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide

You're saving the planet by removing it but it won't do you any good if you run it in the garage too long!

[Ted]

k plate on a ukdm car needs a cat after some date i can't remember but my pickup had a cat and its jdm and a j plate. says to me that japan has some emmisions laws in place for it to have had one in the first place

[jjmartin349571]

k plate on a ukdm car needs a cat after some date i can't remember but my pickup had a cat and its jdm and a j plate. says to me that japan has some emmisions laws in place for it to have had one in the first place

Sept 1992 I think, as I understand that it became obligatory for manufacturers to fit them in August '92? That was also a big nail in the coffin of carby cars.

As for emissions equipment in Japan, I don't actually know what regs they have. But isn't the cat light on the JDM cars because they didn't measure emissions and so that's the only way you could tell your cat was mullered? But at any rate, grey zone imports can come from anywhere in the world, can't they?

[BMCC]

If the car was registered before 1st August 1995 (on an import that would be in the country of origin) and the tester can't find an exact match on the system then they have to put it in as a non cat test (hence my 1994 Pulsar is tested to non cat standards). If registered after 1st August 1995 and the tester can't find the car on the system then they still put it through a cat test. The max readings for co, HC, lamda, oil temp etc have been stated in this thread for both tests. A BB4 is not on the system so if reg before 01/08/1995 it would be tested to non cat standards, if registered after this date it would be to tested as having a catalytic convertor. Remeber the registration is taken as the country of origin.