Iāve been offered a used genuine Mazda Catalytic Converter for Ā£60.
Itās from a car thatās done 110k miles.
Whatās your thoughts?
TIA
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I have a 1990 Eunos and just put an MX5 parts stainless exhaust on I also purchased the cat back pipe to replace the cat but at 50mph it is too load sounds great below and over 50mph but could not live with it so I was going to buy a new cat from MX5 parts but the reviews said they do not last,
In the end I opted to put my old original cat back on as it was completely clear so all I had to do was give it a light rub down a coat of exhaust silver heat paint and it;s as good as new also sounds fantastic so if its as good as my cat go for it .
Probably not much help but thought I would let you know.
I would, but not for Ā£60. Thing is, I think the scrap value might outweigh what Iād pay for a used cat (which is Ā£20).
It would have to be in very good condition and make sure the flanges are not rotted. Remember it has been on the car for a long time, done lots of miles and presumably has no guarantee. In your position I would fit a new part with a 2 year guaranteeā¦butĀ
If the car it comes off has a good emissions history I would pay up to Ā£35 for a MK2 combined cat and middle box or MK2.5 cat and front pipe.
You will still probably need to buy gaskets, etc so at Ā£60 getting close to a new aftermarket part for the MK2.5 and more than the cat replacement on a MK2.Ā
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I fitted a new Klarius last year to get it through the MOT.
It failed the MOT this year.
Not sure if I can claim on the 2 year warranty as there is bound to be small print stopping me somehow.
I have a few options like:
Fit another Klarius to get it through the MOT.
Buy a steel monolith one from MX5 Bitz.
Fit another make like an atec.
Might want to look at the underlying causes. My 1.8 was munching through cats every 2-3 years, but it transpires the mass air sensor was slowly dying.
I thought that too.
I changed my MAF last year along with other sensors.
I contacted BBR GTI about having my car re-mapped.
They looked at my emission readings, from my MOT, and said it was my Cat.
What is the car Little Badger and what spec - looks like a boosted MK2?
I have little doubt that the Klarius cat has expired and needs replacing. Klarius are aftermarket but one of the best known aftermarket so doubtful that the cat has failed because of inferior product.
Having said that if it is rattling or there has been physical damage to the cat, there may be a good reason, other than the way the car is running behind this.
If your car for whatever reason is putting neat fuel or excess products of unburnt fuel into the cat, it will kill it, genuine Mazda, aftermarket, old, new, ceramic, steel, type approved or non type approved. With a standard car, the usual indicator is fuel consumption or reduction of, so any MX5/Eunos MK1/MK2 doing a consistent 30 - 34 mpg is likely to be running optimally with no misfire(neat fuel in exhaust) or excess carbon(soot) through partial combustion. All bets are off, if as I suspect your car has been modified. It has already killed the original cat and a quality aftermarket cat, so the likely cause is extra emissions from the modified car. I am no expert on tuning modified cars but perhaps the trade off for the increased performance is the need to replace the cat every year to get through the MOT? Seems dubious to me but BBR are experts in this area so should be able to answer this question truthfully. My guessĀ is that they will not guarantee any cat you now decide to fit?
If I am right and your car simply eats cats, you have to accept that and fit a new one every year or so to pass the MOT. You could also take the Klarius one apart and see for yourself if it is choked up with soot or melted. My guess is choked up with soot. Most cat warranty returns I have been involved with are car related. Either the carās emissions are way too high to negate a return or the returned cat has a melted or sooted up monolith - put simply the generic core has been chocked to death or throttled.Ā
Please let us know what the emissions were - MOT and BBRās readings and PM me or call at any time to discuss. I would be very interested to know what parameters BBR use to assess acceptable emissions in a modified MX5. We will not accept any warranty returns where the MOT emissions report hydrocarbon(soot/unburnt output) reading is above 60 parts per million.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
My original cat had been de-catted I did not know this until last year when they put the Klarius one on.
Since I had the car it was always difficult to get it through the emissions test and I think my original testers, for years, was getting it to pass using āother meansā but they understood it was supercharged causing the difficulty. Sadly they shutdown due to council redevelopment in the area.
I have the MOT results at home (in work ATM).
It passed on everything apart from CO which was in the 0.65 region when it should be 0.3% max.
When I had the fitted the Klarius I spoke to the fitter and we thought I would have to fit a new one every year any way.
I didnāt go to BBR they just looked at the MOT results and gave me a decision.
They did say if fitting a new one didnāt work then bring it in.
I can replace the Klarius for about Ā£38.
I may just bite the bullet and fit a new one every year for the MOT.
What do you think?
The specs for my car is in my Sig. Click on āThe Beastā.
I completely missed āThe Beastā but to be honest, car as expected.
You need to get an idea of the healthy emissions readings for this type of modified car. The MK2 1.8, even in standard form struggles the most of all MX5s to get through emissions. It is not every car but enough to realise that the problem is common.
Where can you buy a genuine Klarius cat for Ā£38 - that is an amazing price. Guess it has to be the cat part of the cat/mid pipe section that is fitted by mean of a sleeve if the original mid section box still in place?
Your CO reading at natural idle definitely indicates that the cat is not doing its job. It will still pass an MOT with hydrocarbons of up to 200 parts per million on fast idle. Obviously this figure is way beyond our warranty criteria and would quickly choke up the cat.
As an example my last MOT on a 1997 MK1 with an aftermarket cat fitted 13/14 years ago(only about Ā£10k miles though) has a CO reading at natural idle of 0.01% and hydrocarbon of 9 PPM at fast idle.Ā
You need to be sure that the figure for your car are expected whatever they might be as if emissions are higher, expensive engine damage as well as pollution will result.
If, it transpires your car is running perfectly and is a cat killer, I would fit the cat for MOT and remove afterwards. Ā£38 is not much to pay and I would have some guilt as to the effect on the environment. Something tells me that the car requires adjustments. Having said that the MK2 1.8s in standard form that have emissions problems seem to be very difficult to sort out.Ā Ā
Please post up the emissions when you have them - natural and fast idle.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
Iāll post up the results tonight.
Off the top of my head my Klarius is model 311411.
They sell them on Ebay for Ā£38 postage paid.
It is the sleeve version as I bought a new mid section at the same time as my mid section had a rusty connecting flange.
It failed on CO at fast idle and passed at idle.
I may also have the results from when I passed the MOT after having the Klarius fitted. That MOT was done by a very unscrupulous garage (F1 Autocentre) that would fail anything they could and try to get you to replace bits that didnāt need replacing (but thatās another story). So if it passed it was very good results.
Itās a real shame I didnāt keep the hollow original cat as I could have used that.
TBH Iām getting too old to go through the changing over process.
I looked at the Racing Beat cat and may save up for one of them, but if my supercharger is going to destroy it whatās the point.
Just had a message from the supplier that I bought last years Klarius from.
They want my emissions readings to see if I can claim on my 2 year warranty.
Just had a look at the MOT history.
It has had issues with emissions since the mods were done. The 2017 MOT was odd - over 1000 miles done between failures; now that is what I call a warmup:-)
The emissions report does not look too bad - surprised to see the hydrocarbons halving between fast idle tests. Based on the second fast idle test I would say your Klarius supplier would have to get it back under warranty. Who is it by the way - I canāt find anything near to your price listed on ebay?
My only other comment and this comes from a small amount of second hand knowledge. The Greddy management system on your car is quite old now and no longer supported if I remember correctly. Possibly an upgrade would make life easier for you.
Here we goā¦
http://greddy.com/tech-support/e-manage/
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Iāve sent the emission report to the Ebay seller.
BBR GTI say they can work with the Greddy Emanage. I couldnāt afford the upgrade ATM.
The car goes like a bat out of hell nothing else on the rest of the MOT no advisories either.
I want to order the cat but holding out in case I get a replacement under the warranty.
Just because it is slightly older technology and no longer supported does not mean there is any problem. The car has covered some miles over the years since fitted and if it drives well today there canāt be a lot wrong.
I think the newer stuff is a bit more flexible and the ecu is a replacement rather than piggyback but I guess you know all this. ECU alone seems to cost Ā£600+ so an upgrade would be quite expensive.
If it aināt broke, donāt fix it. Not sure if those in the know have upgraded. A few of these appeared cheap recently but probably off cars that have been dismantled rather than upgraded.
In my opinion the emissions report is confusing but indicates that the cat is to blame, so based on that the company should offer you the opportunity to return under warranty. Of course if they take the cat apart as my manufacturer would they will find evidence of any soot buildup or monolith melting. Between you and I the emissions report has worked in your favour but only tells part of the story. When you are thrashing the beast around who know what is coming through the exhaust system at a given time.Ā
Hope you get the MOT sorted soon.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
Good news.
They are sending me a replacement under warranty.
They havenāt mentioned returning the old one as yet but Iāll keep it anyway just in case.
Iāll report back after the next MOT.
I got the cat replaced.
Ran it in for a few days and did the MOT.
It was still high but the managed to get it to pass (cough).
Starting a new thread about an idea I have.
Hi Guys, I am the first oner of a MX5 2000 , not much expert at details but I still love my very 1st car. Unfortunately today they stolen my catalytic converter:( , any recommendations about where I should find a replacement one , or if itās better to buy a new one or a used one . Mine was original from the car as it only had 50k miles .
Any suggestions or recommendations, I would be grateful for .
Thanks