Uk owners-changes to mot test2012

Niffty please let me know what the thoughts are like a few of us I took my CATS off too

Late last night I learned that over here the bi-annual TUEV testing, similar to the MOT now has to include a test drive with a speed of at least 8kph.

No idea what this ought to remedy but I can tell that much... almost everyone over here knows of a testing station where you can get away with more or less everything - working or not, legal or Taiwan.
I have just recently heard of a car that was under a tarp whilst being approved roadworthy

The technical & immision tests are classic window dressing in many places. Costs are nearing 100EUR for a 5 minute cursory glance of the underbody, alignment check of the lights and brake function test. I am sure the new test routines will not lead to safer cars but rather more revenue only.

Before anyone thinks about scrapping a car only because it was de-catted - over here used factory cats can be had for reasonable prices - not for free though, the recycling industry values them @ ca. 100-150 EUR a piece only for the materials contained.

Cheers
Reinhard

Zitat von 8Tech;95430

One to be cautious of for the E31 is the AHK warning light on rear steer cars as this fault will now write-off all but the cleanest cars due to repair cost.

Nah that's not the way I'm reading it, they mention specific warning light failures, not any warning light is an automatic failure. Might depend on wether or not AHK falls under the catagory on Electronic Stability Control though.

how can a mot tell them the cats are empty? many people cut them open, remove the gubbins reweld and refit.
I have wokke chips. how can they tell they have been modified?

Zitat von koenig dave;95466

how can a mot tell them the cats are empty?

CO/HC values all over the place but not where they´re supposed to be. Easy to spot. Usually does not even require user input. Insert probe into exhaust and follow on-screen instructions.
Even 200 cell "racing" cats may be insufficent to achieve the required values, 100 cell cats usually don´t make the cut.

Empty cans: CO/HC values like a 1970´s Cortina

Cheers
Reinhard

The chips I removed had Koenig specials marked on them, so the BMW originals may have been changed in 1993,
The car also has EDC buttons that do not function because I have Bilstein shocks.
I wonder if Wokke can reproduce stock chips.

Zitat von koenig dave;95483

I wonder if Wokke can reproduce stock chips.

Fortunately, I kept my original chips when I installed the Wokke chips, so I guess an hours work before and after each MOT will be required. I will hopefully find out in the week whether there is any chance of the MOT station 'overlooking' the cat removal.

Good news

My local MOT station have assured me of the following.

All cars pre-dating 1993 (actually 1st August 1992) are exempt from Cat tests. This is because there is no criteria for a cat test to be done. In other words even if a 1991 850 still had its cats fitted it could only undergo a non cat test. The VOSA software automatically spits out whether the test is to be cat test or non cat test based on date of registration and not whether it had cats originally fitted.

1993 became the strict date because there were a lot of cars manufactured before 1st August 1992 without cats but only registered in 1993 and this caused a bit of an anomaly for a while. All cars were required to have them by 1st January 1993.

I have therefore been told not to worry and will no doubt sleep easier tonight

Cheers
Graham

Over here cat vs no-cat has massive implications in terms of taxes to be paid:

A standard M70´s (in Germany only with cat) emission class is Euro 1. This costs 15 EUR per 100cc annually in taxes (750 EUR = 600 GBP).
With some tools (Walker mini cat´s & other useless stuff) the M70 can achieve the Euro 2 emission class which currently cuts the above mentioned costs in half.

If there were (legal) non-cat 8ers in this country then the owners would have to cough up between 21 and 25 EUR per 100cc (1000-1250 EUR equaling 800 to 1000GBP annually)

De-cating a car in Germany is illegal. It is illegal because there is no way that a car with cat removed will remain in the same emissions class and any car has to conform to the emissions rules that were in place when the car was manufactured. If you do it nevertheless inofficially then (and this is heartstoppingly funny) if caught you will be fined for environmental reasons (5 EUR) AND tax evasion (5000 EUR)! (Figures just made up as probable reference points)

The interesting thing is that country laws will always beat EU laws so if you decide to drive your UK street legal de-cat car through Germany and they´d stop you, you might end up in big trouble because it has a modification illegal here

That is theory only. I doubt that anyone has ever been caught doing such highly illegal things.

Cheers
Reinhard

Zitat von stevep840;95547

Try talking to VOSA, then resume your anti depressants

You can't leave it like that Steve; spill what you found out

Zitat von stevep840;95552

It appears that whatever your MOT tester told you is not actually the ministry line regarding the Cats, No doubt there will be some testers turning a 'blind eye' so maybe there's nothing to worry about but I believe most will follow the new rules to the letter!

I think your deduction is spot on and supports the view that there will certainly be a degree of 'bloodymindedness' about it. If there is no criteria to test a pre '93 car fitted with cats then their insistence would only be 'because they can'.

Crikey ! Just checked in for my monthly dose of 8er and read this thread. I guess my car would have been well and truely stuffed! Good luck chaps, I've joined the masses and am now driving a Kuga.....

Oh well....

Just had a chat with my local Tester and he says that if a car is fitted from factory then the test machine will tell him to do a cat test and then the emissions will not fall within range and hey presto Bend over Mr M and grease up!!
He has no way of telling if the car has been chipped so stand back up!!
Cars equipped with headlamp washers and adjustable lights can have HID's

I'm going to check with another mate tomorrow who "Cough cough" is a little on the "You will get that done won't you" side

More to come...

Alex

I may have asked this before, but my memory just gets worse........

Where was I....? Oh yes. I have HID on my car and headlamp washers.
How do I get the washers to wash to test them pre MOT - they've never been tested before at the MOT station - but now I'd better be prepared.

If they don't work - is there a usual/common cause?

Zitat von ukzero;95581

I may have asked this before, but my memory just gets worse........

Where was I....? Oh yes. I have HID on my car and headlamp washers.
How do I get the washers to wash to test them pre MOT - they've never been tested before at the MOT station - but now I'd better be prepared.

If they don't work - is there a usual/common cause?

My present 8 doesnt have that feature but previously I seem to recall, dont you just put the headlights on and pull the windscreen wash lever to you?

Maybe I'm being dense! Not the first time

It's unlikely the headlight washers will be tested. The procedure to trigger them differs from car to car, and the washers are normally quite powerful and produce a lot of spray. Unless they want to soak up everything, they will probably only check for the presence of the headlight washers.

But the headlight washers are not your main concern. If the MOT is changing its tests to comply with the European testing directive all HID systems in the E31 will fail to pass the MOT because automatic headlight leveling is mandatory for HID systems. While the E31 does have electrical headlight level adjustment, it is not automatic... Here in Belgium it is impossible to pass the MOT with HIDs because of this. Of course, not all MOT employees check the cars equally thorough.

Zitat von sandwich;95404

I guess most of those are pretty normal but it's going to look like curtains for the HID crowd. I dont really understand the comment re bringing all of Europe in line...Varies so much from country to country. Ours must be the most stringent as it is

Perhaps I misunderstood you, but don't you mean the least stringent? Until now, the UK was considered a paradise for tuners. The Belgian MOT is comparable to that of Germany and very intolerant towards tuners. Any modification to engine and brake system is a certain fail to pass and any other modification is only permitted under strict conditions. That's why several exported their modified cars to the UK where - at least until now - it was a piece of cake to pass the MOT in comparison to Belgium. Once the car had passed the UK MOT, it could be reimported to Belgium because a loophole in the law says that a car imported from a European member state with valid MOT in that country, is also allowed on the Belgian roads including the modifications that are not permitted in Belgium. Some companies are even specialized in this export/import business to legalize modified cars on the Belgian roads. I guess it's over and out for them now...