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Decats and the law!!
- Thread starter V1NNY
- Start date
Basically your car has to pass its emissions test... so if it can do it without a cat being in place (and some cars can - especially if they have two and you take just one off) then it's all fine and dandy.
There's two probs with decats.
1) You take it out and get caught by the fuzz then your car is deemed unroadworthy - and they do roadside MOT checks these days to look at modified cars
2) If you don't tell your insurer about the decat and have a crash, they'll say it's a mod you haven't declared and won't pay up. If you do declare it and they're wise enough, they'll say they can't insure that modification as the car won't pass its MOT test.
So basically, for the sake of a few BHP, it ain't worth it. You could of course buy a sports cat! lol
There's two probs with decats.
1) You take it out and get caught by the fuzz then your car is deemed unroadworthy - and they do roadside MOT checks these days to look at modified cars
2) If you don't tell your insurer about the decat and have a crash, they'll say it's a mod you haven't declared and won't pay up. If you do declare it and they're wise enough, they'll say they can't insure that modification as the car won't pass its MOT test.
So basically, for the sake of a few BHP, it ain't worth it. You could of course buy a sports cat! lol
Mazda 3 MPS Mk1
either that or the police issue with a VDRS notive (vehicle defect rectification scheme) which gives you 14 days to get the problem sorted, tke it to a workshop and get it stamped, then return it to the police station. all garages when it comes to cats wont mind looking under car, seeing cat n stamping it
trust me
trust me
The chances of getting caught are remote in the extreme, and you ought to get a chance to rectify the 'fault', unless the car is well illegal or you give lip.
So drive a nice car well, and be nice if stopped!
So drive a nice car well, and be nice if stopped!
Fred2001Dynamic said:
Yes they will... Especially modified cars or anything that looks unroadworthy.
Chances of getting caught are slim, but they can fine you big time. Plus they can impound your car. They ain't silly, the coppers know you've taken your cat off to get more oomph and so they're gonna instantly class you as an 'unsociable' driver and cause you oodles of grief.
Oh and I guarantee you that if you stack your car big time and the insurers find out you won't get a payout, and they will check a crashed car if they think you've been naughty... and whats that, £12k down the drain for 5 extra BHP...
No they won't but their vehicle inspectors will... actually, knowing several coppers, some of them WILL crawl under a car. Traffic cops know what they're looking for and a decat isn't hard to find. So yes if your cat is knackered, but if not you might have difficulty claiming that when there's a blatant decat pipe.
Thing is, you've gotta remember that as young male car drivers, we're public enemy number one and public enemy number one A star if you drive a modded car. So they will blatantly have clue about who has a decat. My mate got stopped in his scooby, they found the decat pipe and they asked him to sort it out as they 'suspected' it wouldn't pass its emissions test.
If you do get stopped by coppers with a vehicle inspection team and they check your emissions cos they suspect you have a decat, they WILL impound your car as technically it is not in a legal roadworthy condition. You would be amazed at how far coppers will go to get someone busted... did you hear about the JCB driver in Bournemouth who tooted his horn at a mobile speed camera? He actually gave them a thumbs up sign but seven coppers in a wagon followed him a home and gave him a £30 ticket for using his horn incorrectly. Says it all...
Thing is, you've gotta remember that as young male car drivers, we're public enemy number one and public enemy number one A star if you drive a modded car. So they will blatantly have clue about who has a decat. My mate got stopped in his scooby, they found the decat pipe and they asked him to sort it out as they 'suspected' it wouldn't pass its emissions test.
If you do get stopped by coppers with a vehicle inspection team and they check your emissions cos they suspect you have a decat, they WILL impound your car as technically it is not in a legal roadworthy condition. You would be amazed at how far coppers will go to get someone busted... did you hear about the JCB driver in Bournemouth who tooted his horn at a mobile speed camera? He actually gave them a thumbs up sign but seven coppers in a wagon followed him a home and gave him a £30 ticket for using his horn incorrectly. Says it all...
Focus ST
Don't quote me on this but if you get pulled over and you think they are going to do a emissions test, you can opt to have the test done later. Claim you are late for work/girl friend in labour etc. They should give you a producer style document, then you have to get it tested in 7 days or something.
Plenty of time to get it changed back....
Plenty of time to get it changed back....
You'd be pretty hard to tell if a Janspeed de-cat was a de-cat or the real thing because it has the silenced box part on it.
As for the insurance. All you would have to do is claim it was part of the over all stainless zorst system.
And they dont seem go over the car with as fine tooth comb as someone said. I have a mate who works at a crash repair centre who works along side insurance companys. Its just the obvious things they tend to look for.
As for the insurance. All you would have to do is claim it was part of the over all stainless zorst system.
And they dont seem go over the car with as fine tooth comb as someone said. I have a mate who works at a crash repair centre who works along side insurance companys. Its just the obvious things they tend to look for.
Most insurance companies put down exhausts as non-standard exhaust/mainfold. that means you pay the same for a non standard back box as you would for a 4-2-1 manifold, decat and full cat back exhaust, so they WILL insure it. Vinny as I said last night, it IS worth it and ignorance is bliss
At the end of the day mate it's up to you... I wouldn't but that's my choice. And I really WOULD check with your insurance company though, they do keep notes on the modifications.
Reallistically, it's just gonna be shed loads of hassle if you have to keep switching it round. Chances are you ain't gonna get caught, especially if you have a 'friendly' MOT station - but then I'm pretty sure that they can't fake an emissions test results sheet.
Your call, you know the worst that can happen, but it prob won't...
Reallistically, it's just gonna be shed loads of hassle if you have to keep switching it round. Chances are you ain't gonna get caught, especially if you have a 'friendly' MOT station - but then I'm pretty sure that they can't fake an emissions test results sheet.
Your call, you know the worst that can happen, but it prob won't...
Fred2001Dynamic said:
^^ thats what i do lol. also, if you keep you real cat wrapped in bubble wrap in you boot, you can say "yeah i know, its a pain. thats the second one that gone in the last year! i just picked up a new one today and was going to get it put on tomorrow, its in the boot if you want to see it"...job done! zoom off you go lol
Megane Trophy
who cares
insurance assesors are useless anyway
when i had my second corsa it had a mantzek inlet, cams, de cat, was 140bhp and was insured as standard, had courtenay sport stickers all over it and they never even battered an eye lid and paid out.
The car even passed the mot without the cat!
Adnd i was also pulled by the police at southend who checked it and they never battered an eye lid.
To get pulled over in order for them to look you have to be driving like a loon really.
Get on with it and stick it on
insurance assesors are useless anyway
when i had my second corsa it had a mantzek inlet, cams, de cat, was 140bhp and was insured as standard, had courtenay sport stickers all over it and they never even battered an eye lid and paid out.
The car even passed the mot without the cat!
Adnd i was also pulled by the police at southend who checked it and they never battered an eye lid.
To get pulled over in order for them to look you have to be driving like a loon really.
Get on with it and stick it on
Not strictly true... the MOT is mainly a way that the government can keep tabs on the state of the nations cars. However if you go and have a crash and there's a jagged edge on your car bodywork, then your car is instantly unroadworthy - MOT or not, and it's the same for anything else that would make it fail an MOT. They can still ask for the emissions sheet with an MOT too, that's why they give you a copy.
But yeah, in the extreme they could impound your car for failling a VOSA test at the side of the road. Mainly as you say, you'd get a bloody producer...
by the way, anyone see that show on Men and motors with the New Zealand coppers? Now THEY are extremely harsh...
But yeah, in the extreme they could impound your car for failling a VOSA test at the side of the road. Mainly as you say, you'd get a bloody producer...
by the way, anyone see that show on Men and motors with the New Zealand coppers? Now THEY are extremely harsh...
