K-Tec poor customer service attitude

[Fishfire]

Anyone else find K-Tec customer service lacking?

Not overly happy with their sports cat (emissions are over 5 times legal limit) and whilst their ad does say 'not for road use' (it doesn't specify why) I'd assumed it may be down to increased noise as at no point does it say it'll fail emisions/MOT, especially as I've had Sports Cats from other companies on previous cars which have passed emissions 🤷

If I'd misread or dropped the ball on this then fair enough, but I found their customer support to be 'lacking'.

I've had a few back and forth emails from customer support, but the bottom line is they may as well have said "that sounds like a you problem"

The fact I'm not happy with the purchase aside, the poor attitude from them has meant I won't be using them again.


Anyway, that's my morning winge over

 

[The Psychedelic Socialist]

Am I being slow here? What's the purpose of a sport cat if it can't pass an MoT on emissions?

 

[Louis]

Am I being slow here? What's the purpose of a sport cat if it can't pass an MoT on emissions?

Some races require a cat

 

[Clio_fool]

The founder sold ktec last year so maybe the new owners aren't as enthusiastic? In recent years they seemed to be building up a better reputation.
As for the cat, what's the point in selling one that does bugger all?

 

[Fishfire]

Am I being slow here? What's the purpose of a sport cat if it can't pass an MoT on emissions?

Exactly!

They did however say (and I quote)

Our KTR Sports cats are for off road and track use only, and aren't designed to pass an MOT test. Decats and Sports cats are illegal for road use in the UK which is why we list them as not for road use.

There are several race series that require cars to run a sports cat, which is why we offer this product.

 

[Fishfire]

Would've been handy if the ad had actually said it will fail MOT standard emissions but just got a load of attitude off them saying that 'not for road use' is explanation enough.

It's their attitude that's gripping me most. That, and I now have a £330 paperweight 😒

 

[Fishfire]

Some races require a cat

Their ad should reflect this tbh.

Had it said this I'd never have bought it, though I expect the number of people buying this, thinking it a good replacement because of the ambiguity of their ad must be quite high

 

[Short Norman]

I thought it was well known that if you've got a de-cat fitted, then your car will not pass an MOT

I helped my lad fit one to his mini, and for the entire time we were fitting it I was calling him a prick and telling him that I don't understand one bit why he (me/we) was fitting it.

 

[Fishfire]

It's

I thought it was well known that if you've got a de-cat fitted, then your car will not pass an MOT

I helped my lad fit one to his mini, and for the entire time we were fitting it I was calling him a prick and telling him that I don't understand one bit why he (me/we) was fitting it.

It's not a decat....it's a 200 cell sports cat.

I've had sports cats previously that once good and hot, will pass an MOT.

This catalytic converter was doing absolutely nothing and showed a rather large result of 1.28ppm where as the upper limit it 0.2.
For reference the standard cat went through at 0.03ppm iirc.

Tbh, for all it was doing, it may as well have been a full decat 🤷

 

[RSRowe]

I've had 100 and 200 cell cats in the past on other cars and they've been fine come MOT, but it likely isn't even worth getting wound up over.... just suck it up as a loss.

For ktec, the customer is always wrong.

 

[dann2707]

That's properly s**t that. I'd be well pissed.

 

[R3k1355]

Our KTR Sports cats are for off road and track use only, and aren't designed to pass an MOT test. Decats and Sports cats are illegal for road use in the UK which is why we list them as not for road use.

They are???

Isn't the standard catalyst on a 1*2 a sports cat?? A 400 cell job on the 172 and a 200 cell on the 182's???

 

[Fishfire]

They are???

Isn't the standard catalyst on a 1*2 a sports cat??

According to K-Tec 🤷

 

[Fishfire]

So, my complaint has been raised to the manager (Ayshe Sinclair).
Let's just say this only confirmed their lack of soft skills
Apparently I'm being slanderous...who knew! 🤷🤦

Anyway, as expected, trying to talk to K-TEC is getting me nowhere.
I think, having had a lil think about it I'll look at cutting out whatever it is they've used as a cat, and see about getting a Jetex item welded in potentially......unless anyone wants a barely used sports cat? 😂

 

[Brookie.]

I'm going a slightly different angle here...

You bought a product you know states 'not for road use' and I imagine your MOT tester has said it's 'not for road use'. Which is why it's failed.

Have I missed something?

 

[dangerous dave]

This thread should pop up in searches and they hopefully will never make a sale on one again. Sh1t product, sh1t description.

 

[Krarl]

I mean this thread goes to show that the male equivalent of a Karen is a *insert real name of OP here*

 

[RustyMojo]

The Ktec CAT is a waste of time… you can tell how much confidence they have in it by the warranty that comes with it. Aftermarket CATS are a problem we will all be suffering with soon. As the OE Cats are scrapped for value or just die a natural death. There are very few if any options! EBay CATS seem OK for about 18 months if used. I have looked for some options as my car won’t pass again with the current sports CAT fitted. But most of the aftermarket kit seems pretty hopeless.

 

[Fishfire]

Well, yes and no.

I accept it says not for road use, but having had sports cats previously that did pass MOTs as others have had too, so I assumed it may be down to increased noise.

To be fair, there's a few things you can put on your vehicle's which are 'not for road use' but will pass Mots. For example my exhausts on my Ducati are not for road use, and frankly they're ridiculously loud, yet at mot it just gets an advisory.

I feel their right up is not as forthcoming as perhaps it could or should be. If they're for a particular race series or FIM ruling, it absolutely should state that. I do wonder how many others have bought this thinking as I did " it's a free flowing cat...of course it'll pass emissions!"

But,more than anything, the response from their customer care has shown a distinct lack of soft skills and tack when it comes to dealing with paying customers.

Did I buy a thing knowing it said Not For Road Use? Yes

Could their write up have been better written? For sure

Does their customer service have the skills of a Harold Shipman? Damn right

 

[Fishfire]

I mean this thread goes to show that the male equivalent of a Karen is a *insert real name of OP here*

Not being a Karen (or is it a Dave?)and if I've dropped the ball here, then fair enough, but mostly their customer service is 'not great'

If a customer is wrong, there's a right and wrong way to deal with it.
I pretty much got a very polite "f**k off" tbh

 

[Mr Squashie]

I'm going a slightly different angle here...

You bought a product you know states 'not for road use' and I imagine your MOT tester has said it's 'not for road use'. Which is why it's failed.

Have I missed something?

On the other hand, if you replace a 200 cell cat with another 200 cell cat, you would expect them to perform similarly, no?

 

[Fishfire]

I'm going a slightly different angle here...

You bought a product you know states 'not for road use' and I imagine your MOT tester has said it's 'not for road use'. Which is why it's failed.

Have I missed something?

It didn't fail in the fact it wasn't type approved, or was a sport cat 'not for road use' it failed because it's emissions were redonkulously high.
Had emisions been within perimeters, it would have passed. Other 200 cell sports cats can, and do pass mot emisions standards.

 

[seb]

What exactly do you want KTEC to do?

It says on the website "not for road use" I don't know how much simpler and obvious it gets.

 

[RustyMojo]

It’s semantics, but what does “road use” have to do with anything? You expect it to work as a catalytic converter should, maybe less efficiently 🤷‍♂️. If the OP tested his car without a cat and then with this cat and the result were the same then it’s not doing anything at all to the emissions. If they stated clearly that it’s not designed to pass MOT emissions tests then fair enough.

 

[Mr Squashie]

What exactly do you want KTEC to do?

It says on the website "not for road use" I don't know how much simpler and obvious it gets.

Perhaps a simple line saying "will not pass emissions test"

I've fitted numerous "not for road use" things to my cars, but they've all passed MOTs. The phrase doesn't mean anything by itself without a clarification of why it's not suitable.

 

[Fishfire]

What exactly do you want KTEC to do?

It says on the website "not for road use" I don't know how much simpler and obvious it gets.

I've got to just suck it up that I've taken a risk based on passed experiences with quality sports cats, and it's bitten me on the arse.

What I want K-Tec to do us update their write up on this particular item to state that it categorically will not pass mot standard emissions OR that it's designed for 'X' race series/FIM approval, so that no one else buys this thinking it'll scrape an MOT pass.

As I said above, there's quite a few things which technically aren't for road use, yet will pass an MOT.
And others with other manufacturers sports cats can and do pass Mots ....is it a reach to think this may also pass emissions?

 

[Ol’ Tarby]

I've personally always assumed that any sort of sports cat was less restrictive than an OEM, but still able to pass emissions, otherwise what's the f**king point in it lol

Poor product description really

 

[Bluebeard]

I’m in your camp here. A sports cat that doesn’t do any actual catting is just a pipe, no??

If they’re selling sports cats that can’t pass emissions tests then it needs to state that clearly on the advert. ‘Not for road use’ seems a little bit weak as a description imo.

 

[Louis]

It's interesting when you go back in time to old 2011 and see a different description on the same item 🥴

K-Tec Racing - Renault Tuning Styling Motorsport Specialists

 

[Fishfire]

It's interesting when you go back in time to old 2011 and see a different description on the same item 🥴

K-Tec Racing - Renault Tuning Styling Motorsport Specialists

That's interesting.

Suggests to me that the catalytic converter they're using is perhaps of lower quality than previously used?

 

[Louis]

That's interesting.

Suggests to me that the catalytic converter they're using is perhaps of lower quality than previously used?

Must be, which is fair as the costs change I suppose. This was 12 years ago

 

[seb]

I'm no mechanic and I don't know your situation but was it only the sports cat you purchased to fit to your existing exhaust?

My mechanical presumption would be that the emmissions is not only down to the peorformance of the cat but of how it is fitted and how fucked/not fucked the rest of the exhaust system is?

So you could fit it to numerous different clios and prob get different emmisison results?

I'm sure someone else could give a better opinion on this.

 

[RSRowe]

I think, having had a lil think about it I'll look at cutting out whatever it is they've used as a cat, and see about getting a Jetex item welded in potentially......unless anyone wants a barely used sports cat? 😂

Bang it on eBay

 

[RSRowe]

I'm no mechanic and I don't know your situation but was it only the sports cat you purchased to fit to your existing exhaust?

My mechanical presumption would be that the emmissions is not only down to the peorformance of the cat but of how it is fitted and how fucked/not fucked the rest of the exhaust system is?

So you could fit it to numerous different clios and prob get different emmisison results?

I'm sure someone else could give a better opinion on this.

The rest of the system will have no effect on the emissions if it isn't leaking

 

[Brookie.]

It didn't fail in the fact it wasn't type approved, or was a sport cat 'not for road use' it failed because it's emissions were redonkulously high.
Had emisions been within perimeters, it would have passed. Other 200 cell sports cats can, and do pass mot emisions standards.

So maybe you would say, 'Not for road use'.

As per the advert.

 

[Fishfire]

I'm no mechanic and I don't know your situation but was it only the sports cat you purchased to fit to your existing exhaust?

My mechanical presumption would be that the emmissions is not only down to the peorformance of the cat but of how it is fitted and how fucked/not fucked the rest of the exhaust system is?

So you could fit it to numerous different clios and prob get different emmisison results?

I'm sure someone else could give a better opinion on this.

Fair comment.

Correctly fitted with new Renault doughnut gasket and mated to a full stainless K-Tec recessed cat back exhaust system.

Chris @ EFI remapped the car after I converted it to a turbo and the AFRs are bang on.

The old OEM cat passed emisions at 0.03ppm (iirc) but failed on exhaust leak at the flange as it's the original 20+ year old cat.

I think it's safe to say the only thing that's changed is the K-Tec item, which on the face of it, simply isn't performing as a catalyst 🤷

 

[Fishfire]

So maybe you would say, 'Not for road use'.

As per the advert.

My exhaust system isn't for road use, yet passes MOT. As has been said, it's semantics.....it should still act as a catalyst yet doesn't.

 

[R3k1355]

The rest of the system will have no effect on the emissions if it isn't leaking

Unless the primary lambda is guffed?

I seem to remember when mine was fucked I failed the MOT pretty impressively.

 

[Fishfire]

Both brand new Bosch items and Chris at EFI has done some mapping wizardry to get AFRs bang on

 

[SharpyClio]

I bought one of these CATs when the wording stated that it wont pass an MOT or similar, but I wasn't really fussed as I only really wanted it so that if I was stopped for any reason by the police and the gave the car a cursory check over it would have a CAT of some sort and that would likely be enough, it was de-catted before but it was too noisy and I didn't like the idea of having nothing.

They seem to have finessed the wording quite a but to make it seem more like a road going sports cat though, previously they had 2 types, this one and a Euro IV one advertised, the latter be suitable for MOTs although that seems to have gone now.