does my c220 really need a cat

[shaggy]

priced up a stainless steel exhaust today and the guy told me when he does it he wont be fitting a cat as he recons i dont need one :???:
he says the only reason its got one fitted is to meet with german emmision standards & its not needed on a diesel over here is this true??
the car is a 1995 2.2
i dont want to have it fitted and find out i fail the mot next year
also is £350 for complete stainless (downpipe to rear) a fair price?
cheers in advance

 

[SLinKyjoe]

yes you do...or maybes no you dont.....but if you search you will find a thread which may or maynot answer your question

 

[davidsl500]

Your going to get lots of conflicting opinions on this one Shaggy. The best advice is to go down to your normal M.O.T Test Station and ask them the question - and then double check this answer with another M.O.T Station. And make sure you speak to the Qualified M.O.T Tester not just a mechanic.

 

[shaggy]

ive done a search on the forum and MY GOD my head hurts :?:
the car has just passed the mot today but i noticed the exhaust is not in very good nick and won't last another year
the man i saw will do it for £350 pound notes(no vat :mrgreen: ) which seemed reasonable
BUT i have to make sure that it wont screw up the emmisions and the mpg
im now very confused as i would have thought it wouldn't have matered as much on a diesel as it would a petrol

 

[MondeoMan]

Something to bear in mind with stainless systems is that they're 'louder', because usually the steel is thinner gauge. Not sure that's something you'd want on a diesel Benz.

 

[Lauritz]

i think 350£ is a bit much, I got a quote for a complete custom build stainless steel exhaust from www.motorsportworld.co.uk at 280£, all included.

 

[shaggy]

i think 350£ is a bit much, I got a quote for a complete custom build stainless steel exhaust from www.motorsportworld.co.uk at 280£, all included.

thanks for that mate they gave me a number of someone in clitheroe so thats not bad
quoted me £270 all in BUT was talking about choping my down pipe in half under the engine because stainless doesn't fair that well with the heat from the engine :-x
still no definate answer on the CAT though he says take it off and worry about the test next year
not really what i wanted to hear

 

[panason1c]

Hi,
My opinion regarding the cat' question is that as long as the vehicle can pass the UK mot emissions test for its given specific category then the question of whether or not a cat' is actually fitted is irelevent........the point being, there is no necessity to have a cat' fitted on ANY vehicle, however, qualifying vehicles are unlikely to pass an advanced (a cat') test without a cat' fitted.........I would guess that you are more likely to get a 'pass' on your diesel without the cat' fitted than if it were a petrol engined vehicle without the cat'.




{Edit}...Just found this question specifically regarding the cat' which confirms my comment that a cat' is not a necessity, (the cut and paste below is taken from a question and answer page regarding the mot test)...


Question___ Your vehicle has had its catalytic converter removed and replaced by a normal exhaust silencer but passes the emissions Test. Does it fail the MOT because it hasn't got a catalytic converter when it should have one?

Answer___ No, if it passes the emissions part of the MOT that is acceptable.

http://www.motester.co.uk/motquizans.html

 

[shaggy]

seen three testers today and all say the same ie: in their opinion they would only check for emmisions not for the cat
one even said he didn,t know my model had cats fitted
so now onto the next thing do i have a big bore exhaust or a standard im more interested in fuel economy that speed

 

[pascal]

Does the Mot tester not check your emmisions against a maximum allowed for your paticular car? so a car fitted with a cat, as original equipment, has to have much lower emmisions than a non-cat model.

 

[SLinKyjoe]

stumbled into this

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=10064

and this

deleted....see next post.

and this too

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=9707

thats really what i was meaning by searching.....

 

[pascal]

Yea Joe, Remember the last one.

PS: Middle link is dead. TOO many nos at the end (97317) We're only just past 10100 threads(enough to move) at the moment.

 

[shaggy]

stumbled into this

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=10064

and this

deleted....see next post.

and this too

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=9707

thats really what i was meaning by searching.....

i looked at them m8 :grin:
my question is a little different mate due to mine being a deisel im assured it wont matter by the mot testers i asked today but now im wondering about what bore of stainless to have etc

 

[shaggy]

Does the Mot tester not check your emmisions against a maximum allowed for your paticular car? so a car fitted with a cat, as original equipment, has to have much lower emmisions than a non-cat model.

from what they have said they test it as a diesel so it dont matter as much as a petrol :razz:

 

[SLinKyjoe]

just thought they may have helped...as they may have mentioned something that helps.....oh well.....never mind....

 

[shaggy]

just thought they may have helped...as they may have mentioned something that helps.....oh well.....never mind....

they and you really do help please dont get all deflated again slinky babby cos we all luv ya on here ya know even if ya do smell of cheese 8)

 

[piestore]

disel kat

Hi

At present the only MOT requirement for diesel is the smoke test this measures the opacity of the smoke under no load acceleration any kat if fitted has no effect on smoke it only reduces NOX CO2 and a couple of others which i can't recall, the other consideration is wether there would be any adverse affect on engine managment, on the old CDI range there is no problem but if your vehicle has a particulate filter then the KAT is required for efficient engine managment

 

[shaggy]

Hi

At present the only MOT requirement for diesel is the smoke test this measures the opacity of the smoke under no load acceleration any kat if fitted has no effect on smoke it only reduces NOX CO2 and a couple of others which i can't recall, the other consideration is wether there would be any adverse affect on engine managment, on the old CDI range there is no problem but if your vehicle has a particulate filter then the KAT is required for efficient engine managment

i dont think i have one how would i find out if i had one?
just got this off the net ...
http://www.sovereign-publications.com/images/Auto/Mercedes%20%28Jurgen%20Hubbert%29.pdf#search='mercedes%20particulate%20filter'

 

[pascal]

The NCT over here tests for CO emmisions as a % of exhaust volume.

They also test HC as particles per minute at low idle.

Looking at the test result of my late 300ce

Low idle (660rpm) **** Oil Teperature: 110C

• CO:....0.24vol%......Pass....... (max allowed 3.5%)
• HC:....85ppm..........Pass........(max allowed 750ppm)

Passed by a mile

 

[shaggy]

The NCT over here tests for CO emmisions as a % of exhaust volume.

They also test HC as particles per minute at low idle.

Looking at the test result of my late 300ce

Low idle (660rpm) **** Oil Teperature: 110C

• CO:....0.24vol%......Pass....... (max allowed 3.5%)
• HC:....85ppm..........Pass........(max allowed 750ppm)

Passed by a mile

the same as over here i think, the thing is i can only find relevant web pages about de-cating petrols as ive said before mine is a diesel and it shouldn't in theory harm the emisions taking the cat off............BUT im sure someone may be able to tell me different, a merc mechanic perhaps?
ive spoken to mechanics but every one has a different point off view so its very very confusing :?:
anyway thanks for the reply's so far and any help is greatfully accepted