So here’s a thing. I had the exhaust manifold changed to a IL Motorsport 4-1 and ECU remapped. The results are awesome.
However, whilst admiring the new manifold it dawned on me that the heat shield hasn’t been refitted. Do you think this is going to cause me problems.
I’ve read somewhere the OEM heatshield is there because the original had the catalytic converter is incorporated and generates loads of heat. The IL Motorsport unit doesn’t have lugs or mountings to attach the OEM heatshield.
Hi Derek it’s Dave i bought the midpipe from you, i’ve seen some people putting heat resistant tape on the back of the alternator to stop it getting to hot, i’ve got a IL Motorsport 4-1 on mine as well and i’ve done over 12k since it was fitted with no shielding and haven’t had any problems.
by the way you weren’t joking about the midpipe being loud i’ve got a small single exit exhaust and with the midpipe on it was deafening…lol
need to rethink my back box.
I’ve got the BBR manifold and complete exhaust system. BBR reinstall the heat shield bending it over slightly so there’s a larger gap enabling you to just see the top of the manifold.
In view of the recent change to the MOT testing criteria for cat removal I think you may be better off getting a new heatshield fabricated to completely cover the manifold preventing the tester seeing that the previous manicat has been removed. Unless of course he knows what to look for in which case you are probably in trouble…
I have the IL 4-1 and wrapped the individual pipes in heat wrap prior to installation, also I made a little pork pie hat out of flexible heatshield material and fitted it to the top of the alternator with foil tape. The foremost pipe is only about 2cm away from the plastic top of the alternator so I think something needs to be there to protect it. for good measure I also added a layer of heat shielding to the brake insulator, again fixed in place with foil tape.
The maniverter was very restrictive regarding the aspiration of the engine but the shielding itself was very effective, really thick material and completely enclosed the manifold.
[quote=alben]
In view of the recent change to the MOT testing criteria for cat removal I think you may be better off getting a new heatshield fabricated to completely cover the manifold preventing the tester seeing that the previous manicat has been removed. Unless of course he knows what to look for in which case you are probably in trouble…[/quote
The top of the manifold is only just visible and the hestshield could be bent slightly over to hide it if necesssary.
If he does know what to look for then yeah I’m in trouble as a lot of mk3 owners in the club will be! Not to mention BBR etc as their business would be seriously effected moving forward…
Not heard of any five failing an mot on this so far. Anyway I kept the old manifold so I guess it would have to go back on.
It seems that there has not been a problem with the MOT, emissions or potential technical(missing cat) with the manifold mod on the MK3.
The front cat(maniverter) would restrict exhaust flow increasing heat buildup and the bulk of the cat cannister would probably place that increased heat nearer to vulnerable areas, hence the requirement for a heat shield. Earlier MX5 front pipes, cats and catbacks typically had heat shield attached whereas the aftermarket replacments typically do not. I have not heard of any issue with this and parts have been fitted for 15+ years now in some cases.
Enough people have this worthwhile mod on the MK3 now - has anyone had issue with heat associated damage from the replacment part?
dave65 - have to warn you that your car has no chance of passing an MOT. With no catalytic converter fitted it will fail on both emissions and on a technical basis.
Someone on the Facebook pages has had their NC fail for a missing CAT on the BBR Super 200, it passed emissions fine, but failed due to the missing CAT. BBR now offer the upgrade with a new manifold with a sports CAT.
Mark, someone on the Facebook groups NC Super 200 has failed, BBR have a new manifold with a sports CAT and is now included in the latest upgrade - See the BBR web site.
Cheers Vaughan. Will have to see if she fails or not. Good to know there is an option to have a BBR manifold cat fitted if necessary. No doubt that will be at my expense, even though the convesion was done in august by BBR, after the change in mot regulations. Im not blaming BBR but they are going to have a big queue outside the door of cars needing the change if its really going to be an issue. Perhaps mx5 parts etc should stop selling manifolds that do not meet current regs or at least identify that they are not for road use?
Vaughan beat me to it!
I think that up to now VOSA has taken a lenient view on post registration modifications on most vehicles, however with more emphasis from Governments on Vehicle Emission regulations I think they are under pressure to make sure that vehicles remain as close to the Type Approved specification as is reasonably possible. Take the case of the dreaded DPF on Diesel engines. Up until recently most MOT stations were passing vehicles that had this either removed or destroyed - not any longer, the merest hint of smoke on a vehicle that should have a working DPF and it’s a straight fail. In addition there are now proposals that the VOSA computer should be linked up directly to Test Stations, this could well mean that the vehicle itself could be read directly from the OBD port and report any changes to the mapping or any other information they might deem to be “of interest”. There could also be a check list of things for the tester to look for which could be vehicle specific - you can probably guess where all this could lead to…
Enjoy it while you can, Big Brother could be watching you very soon.