s2 exhaust

[shane]

looking under car yesterday noticed exhaust not looking good.split in bendy pipe to front of silencer and rear of centre pipe very rusty also cat has been removed by previous owner [cut out and welded up]so looking for replacement system.heard of the turbo creep issues but i dont drive car hard and not on motorways.im not looking for extra performance as such and dont want to be looking at porting the wastegate atm[limited funds + i expect the exhaust wont be cheep,any suggestions please.

[rip]

I have been told by someone that:
MOT regs got changed a few months ago so that any car which had an OEM cat must now have one to pass.
Previously it only needed to pass an emissions test...which most de-catted S2s did anyway.

Unless you have a fault, you will only get overboost if you nail it close to maximum rpm so this does not sound like an issue for you.
I have an SE (so no cat) with 2¼" Piper with the optional 2nd silencer. I don't suffer from overboost. A cat will provide a little more restriction & therefore make overboost even less likely.
If I was in your position, I would go for a 2¼" Piper with a sportcat.

[shane]

I have been told by someone that:
MOT regs got changed a few months ago so that any car which had an OEM cat must now have one to pass.
Previously it only needed to pass an emissions test...which most de-catted S2s did anyway.

Unless you have a fault, you will only get overboost if you nail it close to maximum rpm so this does not sound like an issue for you.
I have an SE (so no cat) with 2¼" Piper with the optional 2nd silencer. I don't suffer from overboost. A cat will provide a little more restriction & therefore make overboost even less likely.
If I was in your position, I would go for a 2¼" Piper with a sportcat.

yes my mot tester agrees with what you say but he also says that any model of car that is considered to be excessively noisy for its type will now also fail and they are getting tougher on that.i was considering fitting a 2.25 inch cybox exhaust and incorporating a sports cat but he could not guarantee it would pass[noise] and if it did the way regs are going it may not pass in 1 or 2 yrs time

[rip]

Cybox is the Peco system. These are known to be a little noisy & some find its 'boomy' sound a little irritating when cruising. The Piper is quieter without the silencer. I have listened to with/without together & at tickover, the difference is marginal at best.

I understand your concern though: you don't want to change your exhaust for one which will cause your car to fail the MOT.
Quicksilver also do a stainless system for the Elan. I don't know very much about it other than it is a 2" system, which is the same size as the original.

[surfboardfiller]

Also, Turbo cars tend to be quieter than Naturally Aspirated as there is a lot of mechanics stopping the sound getting out into the exhaust pipe.
Did your MOT tester say what the maximum Decibel should be to pass? (Sounds like ambiguous rubbish to me). You are also driving a sports car so that would be expected to make more noise than a Fiesta

[shane]

Also, Turbo cars tend to be quieter than Naturally Aspirated as there is a lot of mechanics stopping the sound getting out into the exhaust pipe.
Did your MOT tester say what the maximum Decibel should be to pass? (Sounds like ambiguous rubbish to me). You are also driving a sports car so that would be expected to make more noise than a Fiesta

He said that the noise must not be excessive for the type of car,so yes the elan would def be louder than a normal car which is ok but if the noise was considered excessive for an elan then it will fail.he said he has had a couple of porche owners with uprated exhausts who have failed recently but it will catch out more of the boy racers with their modded saxo"s etc

[surfboardfiller]

Sounds like a very dodgy test criteria to me. Sad situation.
I'd go to a deaf tester or someone with more understanding if mine failed.

[shane]

Sounds like a very dodgy test criteria to me. Sad situation.
I'd go to a deaf tester or someone with more understanding if mine failed.

Yes,but he's passed mine the last 2 yrs and its obviously had the cat cut out and the box welded up which he pointed out so i dont think he's a particularly harsh tester.think they just tightening everything up and trying to ruin our fun.

[surfboardfiller]

Yes, its the part where 'modified' cars will be made illegal and race prepped road cars will be legal!
No more modified Golfs unless they are fully stripped out with full racing conversion carried out, that's a pass sir!

Prepare to see more racing cars on the road.

[j700tus]

Which garage do you use? My parents live in Rudgwick just down the road and i need a 'nice' tester as I have an s2 with a piper system and sports cat fitted.

Paul

[rip]

A Piper is quieter than a Peco.
I understand the MOT regs state something ambiguous like an afftermarket exhaust should be no noisier than the original one. That would be a bit difficult to judge with a car as unusual as an Elan unless it is ridiculously loud (which a Piper-fitted Elan is not).

[dapinky]

OKay people - please don't rush out and Panic Buy a load of OE exhausts

Now, this is all a bit new to everyone, so the first thing to realise is that there is NO definative answer

However, common sence MUST prevail (and it has done!) - the official advice to MOT testers is "for the first year of regulations for the test changing, any non-conforming item will be given a Pass and Advisory"

Onto the actual test criteria - there was initially no designated engine speed for the 'noise test', so it is now listened to at all engine speeds necessary for the emmissions test (seems bloody obvious/sensible to me!).

Testers have always had to look at the physical condition of the exhaust anyway, so one with a hole should fail anyway (unless its an OE 'design' hole for drainage), despite any noise level.

Garages are not being equipped with anything more technical than ears for this test, so there is a bit of cause for concern over the 'subjective' nature of the test.

The change was (and is) designed for the boy racers out there, not the masses of responsible adults......

....You will find that many Boy Racer-type shops sell exhausts which are clearly marked "Not For Road Use In EU" - this is because they do not comply with the Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations 1986, Reg 54, Con & Use.

They don't comply, 'cos they're too noisy - and/or have no/insuficient silencers.

Please don't confuse this situation with an Elan owner fitting a Piper with only one silencer - one is enough! (law says it has to 'pass through a silencer' not has to pass through as many as the original car had fitted).

Also, Piper are a 'Proper' company - they only sell products fit for use - and their exhausts are UK Road Legal.

Basically, if any item is Road Legal, then it has to be good enough for an MOT (often there are things which pass an MOT, but can still be illegal, but NOT the other way round).

As such, pull the ladder up, Jack We're okay.

It's a bit like when we go to a track day and have a noise test - ask yourself how can a car which passes that be considered 'too noisy' for an MOT? - I've never known an Elan to fail (with Piper, Peco, Cybox, Quicksilver or any other system) - it's only ever the cars with 'home-made' systems which end up with a bolted on mufler for the day.

[j700tus]

Where do i stand then as my Piper exhaust clearly has stamped on the cat not for road use? I am unsure what to do now as the mot is approaching! should i grind it off and invalidate my piper warranty?

[dapinky]

Hmmmm, simple answer is "I don't really know"

My understanding is slim, as i don't have to worry about cats on my cars....

...it still seems to be that any car which is required to have a cat (first used after 01/08/92) has to have a cat (unless the engine is from an older car)....

...but if it passes the Basic Emmissions Test, then whatever cat is fitted doesn't matter.....

...it is only applicable to cars which require a Full Cat Test

Newer cars (since March 2001) have to have a cat which is marked as suitable for OE standards, but older ones don't.

Sorry, but can't give any further guidance on that particular question (but i think it'll be okay)

[j700tus]

Thanks! I know it passed last year and the original cat was already beginning to break up so fingers crossed then!