LCR 225 failed MOT - emissions, advice please

[AlanUK]

Hi there,

I'm after some advice / opinions on the fact that my car has just failed it's MOT on emissions.

Here's the car spec & modifications:-

Leon Cupra R 225 ’05 102K mileage now on the clock, owned from 6.5K
Full Seat service history / VAG specialist
Remapped by Bill (Badger 5) 279BHP 275lb/ft March 2013
Bill’s 3 inch TIP & Jetex cone filter fitted by Bill March 2013
Forge DV with service kit done by Bill March 2013
Cobra turbo back exhaust with 3 inch downpipe & 200 cell sports cat fitted before the remap by Cobra March 2013

MOT results:-
Oil temp 101 degrees
Fast idle test min limit Max limit Actual value Pass/fail
RPM 1/min 2450 2850 ----- Not checked
CO %vol ----- 0.300 1.457 Fail
HC ppm vol ----- 200 98 Pass
Lambda 0.970 1.030 0.964 Fail

2nd Fast idle min limit Max limit Actual value Pass/fail
RPM 1/min 2450 2850 ----- Not checked
CO %vol ----- 0.300 1.498 Fail
HC ppm vol ----- 200 99 Pass
Lambda 0.970 1.030 0.962 Fail

Natural idle min limit Max limit Actual value Pass/fail
RPM 1/min 650 870 ----- Not checked
CO %vol ----- 0.500 0.718 Fail

Would these figures suggest that the sports cat is not working, or has there been a sensor failure?
I have two weeks to fix this for the MOT retest, but I also need some feedback if it’s purely down to the cat that’s not doing it’s job. I have one years warranty left on the sports cat but I need some assistance on making sure I have a case that it’s the cat & not something else.

Many thanks.

Alan

 

[dazjstuart]

Not an expert but sounds like the cat isn't doing its job. Was it MOT'd before or after the exhaust went on last year? How close was the HC to the fail, cant remember but 300 seems to ring a bell for the limit.

 

[JDUB 20V]

If remapped it will fail emissions (depending on map), im in same situ.

 

[Alexis27]

Eh?

 

[rasco]

so what do you do in this situation, if you have a 200 cell sports cat & the car is remapped?

 

[AlanUK]

The car had the exhaust fitted 9th March, the MOT was 13th March, the remap was 16th March 2013.

The text has not been formatted well when pasted from word doc. however in the figures I have listed the limit is 200 for HC & my results were 98 & 99, so passes.

 

[CJRamze]

If remapped it will fail emissions (depending on map), im in same situ.

What you mean is, if its been mapped badly and its overfuelling then it will fail emissions.
I'd be more worried about your engine that the MOT.


OP
It sounds to be me like you need a better cat, Like suggested is this the first MOT since the exhaust was fitted?
Sounds like either the CAT's not doing its job properly or you need a higher cell.

 

[nd-photo.nl]

I passed MOT (dutch version) without problems with lc180 remapped without MAF, with 3" DP and Magnaflow sportscat (200cpi). I would think the emissions tests are quite similar. Have you checked for air leaks and leaks in the exhaust, which can suck in false air and tampering with the results?

 

[AlanUK]

Yes, this will be the first MOT since the exhaust was fitted last year.

How do you check for air leaks, is it a case of back to the garage for advice?

Thanks.

Alan.

 

[ben450]

Mapped cars will pass fine on the mot so nothing to do with that. Hope you get it sorted so glad ive got a couple of friendly mot peeps so I won't be having a cat.

 

[Sprogpole]

Go for a hard drive to get the CAT really hot, then straight in for a re-test without letting it cool down too much. They only work properly when fully up to temp.

 

[ibizacupra]

If remapped it will fail emissions (depending on map), im in same situ.

no it wont

 

[tonycane]

I have a 200cell cobra sports cat, midland vw said they will just have to get it very hot to get through the emissions..

 

[JDUB 20V]

Double post ooops

 

[JDUB 20V]

Mine failed emissions - thought it was down to map, reason i thought this was because the car passed fine the year prior before remap. Im still on standard cat though.

Or is it the type of map chosen Bill? Or is my cat shagged?

 

[ibizacupra]

Mine failed emissions - thought it was down to map, reason i thought this was because the car passed fine the year prior before remap. Im still on standard cat though.

Or is it the type of map chosen Bill? Or is my cat shagged?

unless your map is asking for other than lambda 1.00 on idle... which no decent map would, then its wont be map..

cat may well be ineffective.

any air leaks upstream of their tailpipe "sniffer" will hinder results also..

HC and CO is engine and cat health.

 

[JDUB 20V]

Maybe cat near dead i guess then - Learnt something new today.

 

[AlanUK]

Thanks for all your input guys, I'll see what Cobra have to say about it. I just have a feeling that they'll just fob me off that it's not the cat at fault but do I need more evidence than the MOT emissions test output?

The oil temp was at 101 degrees but do you think the car needed to be run harder before the test? I'm not sure they'd be prepared to do that to be honest. I dropped the car off at a garage to get work done on it & they took it around to the test centre. He did say they tried their best but still failed.

There appears to be no fault codes using my torque scanner as I don't have VAG.com, but would that flag any errors with regards to lambda sensors etc?

Bill, the map you put on has been fine so it must point to the cat being ineffective.

The garage I have taken it to is a VAG specialist in Derby so would you think they would know how to do an air leak test to try & rule that out?

Cheers,

Alan.

 

[paulos44]

When mine last failed i was told to stick a bottle of FUEL SYSTEM CLEANER in with the next fill up.A few days and a good run later it passed.

 

[Grayboy]

Put mine through a Terraclean a couple of weeks back got about 250 miles on it since so i'm going to get it tested again (MOT was a week before) see if it is as good as they say for emissions.

Will post up results.