Hi all,

I bought a cat back exhaust system a couple of years ago, and now I'm at the point of wanting to upgrade the downpipe and cat.

The pipe diameter I require is 63mm, I know that much, but what do I need in terms of a cat to keep it road legal?

I've searched around a bit, and I keep coming back to a 200 cell cat priced at around £400. Is this what I want? Can I find it cheaper anywhere else?

Also, when it comes to replacing the component on the car, can I do it just by jacking the car up and bolt on/bolt off? or do I need to start removing engine sub-frame components and so forth..?

Many thanks in advance!

Andrew

i got my de-cat downpipe from ebay circa £100 then got exhaustuk in sheffield to fit a 200 cel sports cat £175 as like you say a decent off the shelf one is £400+,

you can do it with the car jacked up and resting on axle stands (NO WAY would i attempt on just a jack). will take about 45mins to an hour to do

something like this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DOWNPIPE-DECAT-3-SKODA-OCTAVIA-MK1-1-8T-TURBO-/320633208673?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4aa73a7f61

Edited 12 January, 201115 yr by sivrs

i got my de-cat downpipe from ebay circa £100 then got exhaustuk in sheffield to fit a 200 cel sports cat £175 as like you say a decent off the shelf one is £400+,

you can do it with the car jacked up and resting on axle stands (NO WAY would i attempt on just a jack). will take about 45mins to an hour to do

something like this http://cgi.ebay.co.u...=item4aa73a7f61

That's not a bad idea! But the only cheapish downpipes I can find, are all 3" pipe.

I want to stick to a 2.5" pipe since I'm fed up of using pipe reducers to make up the difference, which I am at the moment.

Cheers..

Hi There, as Sivrs states the normal price for a performance sports cat is around £400. They are an expensive part and yes you will see it labelled as cell 200. (meaning the structure of the inner honeycomb material or something like that) and normal VRS is around cell 600 i think. Cell 100 are available but are for track use as less restrictive and may fail MOT.

It is worth changing that part as that is the most restrictive part of your exhaust.

You could get a decat pipe / downpipe as sivrs also states and get a cell 200 cat section welded into it at a much more reasonable price. It just so happens i have a brand new decat pipe if interested PM me. Mine is a 2.5" one piece downpipe/pipe not like the 2 piece 3" ones

P.S I also did a DIY fitting guide and posted it on here somewhere for one of mine sportcat/exhaust and as stated really easy to fit. Especially if you have ramps.

Edited 12 January, 201115 yr by Bowders1

if you go with the idea of a de cat downpipe and have a sports cat welded in whoever does it will sort the reducers so no need to mess about. get them to fit the downpipe while it's there to save any messing

my milltek system is 2.5" and the downpipe is 3"

Edited 12 January, 201115 yr by sivrs

if you go with the idea of a de cat pipe and have a sports cat welded in whoever does it will sort the reducers so no need to mess about. get them to fit the downpipe while it's there to save any messing

my milltek system is 2.5" and the downpipe is 3"

nooo what he needs is a 2.5" downpipe right Si......

nooo what he needs is a 2.5" downpipe right Si......

yes mate agreed

Might be getting somewhere now then..

Is this the sort of cat I should be looking at?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SPORTS-CAT---200-CELL---OVAL---63mm-inlet-%20-outlet_W0QQitemZ280407315060QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=197365698815&rvr_id=197365698815&cguid=adcda4e11290a0aad343f4b3fddecba7#vi-desc

Edited 12 January, 201115 yr by andrew_lumb

ive got the milltek d/pipe and sports cat ... never had any issues with mot with it at all and i have the milltek single box cat-back exhaust and not the double

ive got the milltek d/pipe and sports cat ... never had any issues with mot with it at all and i have the milltek single box cat-back exhaust and not the double

Thanks, it's useful to know that I stand a chance of passing the MOT!

I have the blueflame cat back system, which is two boxes. I guess that can't be a bad thing as far as emissions are concerned

Might be getting somewhere now then..

Is this the sort of cat I should be looking at?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SPORTS-CAT---200-CELL---OVAL---63mm-inlet-%20-outlet_W0QQitemZ280407315060QQcmdZViewItem?rvr_id=197365698815&rvr_id=197365698815&cguid=adcda4e11290a0aad343f4b3fddecba7#vi-desc

That's not bad but you'll still need someone to weld a section to either end as by the looks of it there's not a lot to join it to, which will bump the price up when it comes to fitting,

My sports cat is also a lot smaller than that, at the moment I've got a de cat and can swap over at mot time

Thanks, it's useful to know that I stand a chance of passing the MOT!

I have the blueflame cat back system, which is two boxes. I guess that can't be a bad thing as far as emissions are concerned

i wouldnt worry .... my emissions are always at the bottom end of the scale .. my mot station ( local ford transit garage ) always say things like ' it aint doin bad for a car with 118,000 miles on it lol .. theyve mot'd it for the last 4 years

just out of curiosity .. what do u think of the ap coilovers on ur estate? ... this is next on my to do list

Edited 13 January, 201115 yr by 550_VRS

i wouldnt worry .... my emissions are always at the bottom end of the scale .. my mot station ( local ford transit garage ) always say things like ' it aint doin bad for a car with 118,000 miles on it lol .. theyve mot'd it for the last 4 years

just out of curiosity .. what do u think of the ap coilovers on ur estate? ... this is next on my to do list

Cheers, the only thing that was near the limit last time I went through an MOT was the lambda, I think because there was a leak in the exhaust at that time.

The AP's completely transformed the handling. It could do with a rear anti roll bar as it does under-steer a little, but it gives a very positive and confidence-inspiring drive

The adjustable height is useful, but takes a little setting up - I must have adjusted it 10 times to get to where I am now stance and handling wise..! Not difficult though.