New MOT laws for 2018...

[GeneralPurpose]

Guys, just in case any of you haven't seen this or heard about it. The much vaunted MOT regs changes come in later this year. Watch out for the DPF inspection law change in May of this year!

 

https://www.confused.com/on-the-road/driving-law/motoring-laws-2018-roundup?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=11449895&utm_content=Newsletter26022018

[xman]

Also much more thorough headlight check. Beam pattern and check for aftermarket hid conversions.

[JGrindel]

35 minutes ago, xman said:

Also much more thorough headlight check. Beam pattern and check for aftermarket hid conversions.

HID kits have always been a negative point in MOT law... I doubt it will really change things. DPF's though, I am sure this will catch a lot of people out

[Bertie90]

aren't dpf checks only for vehicles that have euro5 engines and onwards?

[Ootohere]

No new equipment in test centres.

A visual check as now to see if the DPF has been removed or the internals stripped and then the examiner has to know for sure the DPF is empty and not just been opened and welded closed again.

They are supposed to know because of 'Any Visible Smoke',   well seeing as how often cars with a DPF & the Emission Control Devices in place have Visible Smoke 

that will be an interesting one.

[GeneralPurpose]

Mostly the emissions themselves tend to be a give away if the dpf has been removed, although not always. I've always been able to tell if the dpf is in place or not without a smoke test and I'm about 99% right most of the time. If the tester is smart, and most are, there are some nice little things they can do that will expose no dpf without even looking at it. I expect they will be pretty hard on that aspect now. New equipment will be gradually rolled out to mot centres over the next year or two to make sure they are ready for the next Euro level of engines so they can properly check nox and other stuff against the new regs that will apply to those cars. As xman says, there is other stuff they wil be checking for too. On the whole these are good changes and will help us all breathe better.

[GeneralPurpose]

2 hours ago, Bertie90 said:

aren't dpf checks only for vehicles that have euro5 engines and onwards?

 

No, some euro 4 engines have them and if fitted they must work correctly. For example, some Toyotas have dpf's fitted from 2004 onwards. However, I suspect there may be some little bit of slack given on those earlier cars as the standards were a bit different back then, just as long as the dpf is in place. And to be fair I haven't carried out an mot on a car for several years so I'm not exactly fully in the loop now. 

[Ootohere]

Until there are Webcams / ANPR (VIN Scanners) looking at the Test Bay in every test station checking that the vehicle away to be passed is the one being tested there will still be hooky MOT's done in the UK.

Those dodgy ones caught are often by HMRC / DWP and not the DVSA.

 

Then more roadside checking, as many many have parts on for a MOT then changed after the pass.

Not just Registration Plates, Headlights or Wheels / tyres. 

MOT special notice 01-18_ inspection manual and in-service emission data - GOV.UK.mhtml

The MOT test is changing – here’s what you need to know.mhtml

 

 

Edited 13 March, 2018 by AwaoffSki

[Bertie90]

you can spot a car without a dpf from miles away, just follow the cloud. So what's happening with all the mk1 VRS's on here that have a straight pipe? and the stage two remaps that come with it? All reversed? 

[delta925]

I had my MOT a couple of weeks ago. The car is now 7 years old and approaching 50000 miles. The car has not had the emissions ' fix ' and I have no intention of having it.

 

A clean pass but where as every test before the printout for the emissions tests showed all readings zero or almost zero this time

Oil temp 60 degC

tA(s) 0.40, tH(s) 3.19, nIS (/min) 980, nCS (/min) 2540, k(/m) 0.66

Zero Drift 0.07 ( limit 0.10 )

Mean Valve 0.59 ( limit 1.5 )

FPT mean value 0.59 ( limit 1.5 )

 

First this was at the start of the very cold weather and second possibly a DPF regen was in progress.

The idle speed was recorded as 980rpm rather than 780 rpm as all previous tests. In the summer this would indicate a regen in progress but in the winter low temperatues also cause the higher idle speed.

 

Would these readings still have been a pass if the new regulations were in place ?

 

As to visible smoke that is subjective and under what conditions e.g. tickover or 2500rpm ?

 

 

[Bertie90]

8 hours ago, delta925 said:

First this was at the start of the very cold weather and second possibly a DPF regen was in progress.

The idle speed was recorded as 980rpm rather than 780 rpm as all previous tests. In the summer this would indicate a regen in progress but in the winter low temperatues also cause the higher idle speed.

 

chances are that it wasn't a dpf regen during the cold weather. Mine did exactly the same, and it was for various reasons.

 

1. the cold air requires more fuel due to it being more dense, so until the ECU adjusts you will see the car starting at higher revs then slowly dropping (within minutes)

2. the car needs to warm itself quickly so it revs up to 980rpm.

3. even if the temperature gauge was lets say at 70C and you turn the heating on then it will rev instantly from 780 to 980rpm. The temperature outside has to be below 4c otherwise none of this will work. once the engine is nice and hot then none of this will happen, it will idle smoothly. I know this because i tested it 5/6 times.

 

I don't think the cold weather will affect an MOT unless you removed the DPF completely

 

[Ootohere]

You maybe want to visit MOT stations in the North in winter with the workshop doors wide open.

(Lots of the old shed type places are no more, but not all of them, and not all have a space heater,...)

There is a reason that people take vehicles for a good roasting before arriving for a MOT maybe first of the day booked.

Also why after a fail people give vehicles an Italian tune, and take it for a hard drive before the retest.

[mrgf]

Gonna be a whole lot of busses and lorries taken off the road then.. Never see one go by WITHOUT a plume of smoke! This is, unless the rule is just for cars. This in its-self will be unfair as its well known that industry and shipping cause more pollution then cars.

[JGrindel]

@Bertie90 MK1 VRS only had a CAT and no DPF so they are different! Diesels are being killed off slowly, nothing we can do other than drive them and enjoy them for what we purchased them for and then when trade in or new car time comes move over to petrol. I doubt HID's will be really an issue but who knows. 

[GeneralPurpose]

On 13/03/2018 at 23:12, delta925 said:

I had my MOT a couple of weeks ago. The car is now 7 years old and approaching 50000 miles. The car has not had the emissions ' fix ' and I have no intention of having it.

 

A clean pass but where as every test before the printout for the emissions tests showed all readings zero or almost zero this time

Oil temp 60 degC

tA(s) 0.40, tH(s) 3.19, nIS (/min) 980, nCS (/min) 2540, k(/m) 0.66

Zero Drift 0.07 ( limit 0.10 )

Mean Valve 0.59 ( limit 1.5 )

FPT mean value 0.59 ( limit 1.5 )

 

First this was at the start of the very cold weather and second possibly a DPF regen was in progress.

The idle speed was recorded as 980rpm rather than 780 rpm as all previous tests. In the summer this would indicate a regen in progress but in the winter low temperatues also cause the higher idle speed.

 

Would these readings still have been a pass if the new regulations were in place ?

 

As to visible smoke that is subjective and under what conditions e.g. tickover or 2500rpm ?

 

 

 

Notice your engine oil is just 60c. Far from fully warmed up. It's simply the fact that the engine is far from normal engine temperature and if the inducted air is really cold, it does cause a richer mixture for a while. Best advice is always to rock up to the test centre with a really hot engine. You don't need to worry about your car not passing future mot's. It will. 

[threadbear]

Watched a JCB Fastrac towing a 30ft trailer of tree trunks yesterday in a queue of traffic and as he pulled away he was chucking out an fair amount of black stuff. Maybe running on red agricultural diesel? Are they going to clamp down on the farming industry? 

[Ootohere]

?

Clamp down on food production in the UK?   How will that work, no need to grow food, there is plenty in the shops?

Red diesel is no more smokey than Derv without a Dye / Marker.

Agricultural vehicles, Heavy Plant, HGV's, Ships, Diesel Trains etc keep the country running, people feed, clothed and housed.

So that is not changing because TESLA are going to Transport Batteries in Battery Powered Trucks and Barges.

Electric Forklifts and Last Mile Transport vans / goods vehicles will do the job though.

Edited 17 March, 2018 by AwaoffSki

[Bertie90]

not the same as deliberately removing a DPF

[delta925]

On 15/03/2018 at 16:41, Estate Man said:

 

Notice your engine oil is just 60c. Far from fully warmed up. It's simply the fact that the engine is far from normal engine temperature and if the inducted air is really cold, it does cause a richer mixture for a while. Best advice is always to rock up to the test centre with a really hot engine. You don't need to worry about your car not passing future mot's. It will. 

 

Thanks for your comment. If it was a sign of looming DPF or some other major failure I would be looking to swap the car over the summer.

 

Every test has been at 60/61 degC. The difference this time was the low temperature and 980rpm tickover.

 

It is a small independent garage around the corner from where I work. I drop off first thing and they test as and when it fits the schedule so they start from cold.

 

Generally the working environment can't be great in the winter.

KiwkFit, National Tyres etc must be worse as with the big roller doors permanently open the staff are virtually working outdoors.

Edited 18 March, 2018 by delta925

[Titanium_Man]

On 13/03/2018 at 17:10, Bertie90 said:

So what's happening with all the mk1 VRS's on here that have a straight pipe? and the stage two remaps that come with it? All reversed? 

No reversal needed as we don’t have a dpf. I’m certainly not worried. 

[MarkTB]

Revising this thread to ask if anyone thinks the suspension dust covers/bump stops would be a MOT fail with the new regs akin to this? SWMBO's Fab is due and I don't want to replace if not truly necessary, but also don't want a failure to have to deal with and arrange a retest for.

 

[JGrindel]

21 hours ago, MarkTB said:

Revising this thread to ask if anyone thinks the suspension dust covers/bump stops would be a MOT fail with the new regs akin to this? SWMBO's Fab is due and I don't want to replace if not truly necessary, but also don't want a failure to have to deal with and arrange a retest for.

 

Its not leaking so I doubt it will fail but you might get a minor advisory due to dust cover incomplete stopping ingress of dirt. Bit like when you have a CV boot split. Could always get a garage to look at it before the MOT ? 

[rum4mo]

I’d take the view that something has broken so should get sorted sooner than later, and if MOT is soon why not get it sorted before then?

I have always taken the view that while MOT testers are using a manual, they are still humans and if they see that you don’t bother to keep on top of things that are needing sorting, then if they find an area or issue that is a “grey point/condition” by proving to them that you don’t really bother too much about some parts of the car, you might just be forcing them to hand you out a fail?

[delta925]

On 15/03/2018 at 16:41, Estate Man said:

 

Notice your engine oil is just 60c. Far from fully warmed up. It's simply the fact that the engine is far from normal engine temperature and if the inducted air is really cold, it does cause a richer mixture for a while. Best advice is always to rock up to the test centre with a really hot engine. You don't need to worry about your car not passing future mot's. It will. 

 

Last week I had the next MOT on the first day possible so worst case a month to swap cars but a clean pass.

 

This time my local VAG independent specialist as they now MOT test in house plus ~9000 miles since the last service so due.

 

The test form for emissions is different and less detailed but, as I interpret it, back to virtually zero emissions. I do think last year a regen was in progress, if so it proves the emissions during this are still within the MOT limit.

[UrbanPanzer]

On 16/03/2018 at 09:29, threadbear said:

Watched a JCB Fastrac towing a 30ft trailer of tree trunks yesterday in a queue of traffic and as he pulled away he was chucking out an fair amount of black stuff. Maybe running on red agricultural diesel? Are they going to clamp down on the farming industry? 

 

Not all, but lots of tractors, heavy plant etc which used to be exempt are now in the scope of HGV annual testing.

To be honest, as much as you often see "smokey" heavy vehicles, in general very few fail current emmision standards and Euro 4/5 and 6 limits are so low for them to pass, they have to be tip top or they fail, often when the Adblue systems are faulty etc and they are VERY costly to repair.