Is My Catalytic Converter Required By Law?
Discussion
It's a fuzzy "yes and no" There's a law stating that you should not remove any of the emissions equipment on ANY car... but it's more of a "if they can't see it, it doesn't matter" ... one of the first mods you do on an S1 is to rip the cat out. Most modded exhaust systems do a cat replacement.... that means that should emissions testing ever be brought in, it'll just be a 30 minute swap-over every 6 months to put the cat back in..... simple as.
Ditch the cat, it's not needed
And it robs you of power... if you want the ideal solution, do what Andy is doing and get a sports cat... best of both worlds.
Removing the cat will make it a bit louder too as most cats (even sports ones) have some silencing effect... once you hear Andy's with a Larini, then you'll be sold!
Ditch the cat, it's not needed
And it robs you of power... if you want the ideal solution, do what Andy is doing and get a sports cat... best of both worlds. Removing the cat will make it a bit louder too as most cats (even sports ones) have some silencing effect... once you hear Andy's with a Larini, then you'll be sold!
Esprit said:You don't tend to find the word 'should' too often in regulations.
It's a fuzzy "yes and no" There's a law stating that you should not remove any of the emissions equipment on ANY car...
It will more likely be a 'must', 'shall' or 'may'.
Nit-picking words aside . . . I agree with everything George says . . .
. . . usually.
The answer is actually a pretty clear no. There is nothing in law at this time saying that that a catalytic convertor must be retained.
However, if you do remove it, it would probably be a smart idea to keep it somewhere safe in the back of your garage just in case the law changes in the future...
However, if you do remove it, it would probably be a smart idea to keep it somewhere safe in the back of your garage just in case the law changes in the future...
Hi guys I've just fitted a sports cat to my S1 111s VVC (cat by pass results in a loss of horsepower on VVC engines and an exhaust thats way too loud)
I have to say it's a complete bastard of a job to do. Even though I had a new manifold fitted a while back, the bolts where still seized solid. With very restricted access I spent about 4 hours cutting through rusty bolts with a "Dremel" and miniture cut off discs.
Combined with a Hurricane 160tb Janspeed manifold and exhaust the car now pulls very cleanly in any gear and the acceleration feels scarily quick again for the first time in four year of ownership.
I'd recommend purchasing some undertray clips mine where pretty rusty and one broke before I got the tray off adding to my grief.
Ho hum new wheel bearings another day!
Steve
I have to say it's a complete bastard of a job to do. Even though I had a new manifold fitted a while back, the bolts where still seized solid. With very restricted access I spent about 4 hours cutting through rusty bolts with a "Dremel" and miniture cut off discs.
Combined with a Hurricane 160tb Janspeed manifold and exhaust the car now pulls very cleanly in any gear and the acceleration feels scarily quick again for the first time in four year of ownership.
I'd recommend purchasing some undertray clips mine where pretty rusty and one broke before I got the tray off adding to my grief.
Ho hum new wheel bearings another day!
Steve
kiwikid said:
Check with Ken about sensors,I seem to remember him telling me there was a sensor in my cat when I suggested taking it out and replacing it with a straight through piece.
On the S1 you can just replace it... there's a Lambda sensor in the Manifold and that's it... it's well before the cat (unless the S160 is different)
As for the S2, there's a lambda sensor before and after the cat... if the sensor after the cat picks up errant readings (as usually happens when you remove a cat) then the MIL light comes on... you can get an eliminator for this though that tricks the sensor back into its normal range.... as for the 'yota engined versions, I wouldn't have the foggiest.
Photochromatic said:
Advice from Ken is to get the Sports Cat and not risk the Lambda's getting screwed, as that can be a world of pain....
Only really applicable on the 111R from what I know.... on the S1, there's only one lambda, before the cat. On the S2 there's one before and one aft... but the second one can be "tricked" with a "MIL light eliminator" into reading acceptably. The ECU doesn't pay too much attention to it anyway..... in the 111R, it can really trick the ECU if the lambda is reading wrong, so as you say... until someone comes up with a better fix, a sports-cat is probably the best option.
Short answer.... sell the 111R and get a Decatted S1..... you KNOW they sound great Richard
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