1989 325i cab m20, to have a cat or not that is the question

Sun May 22, 2011 6:17 pm

im abit unsure as to whether my e30 has a cat or not, im going to have a custom made exhaust on monday 19th of june, now if my car doesnt have a cat it is £400 if it does it is £350, can anyone tell me if it does or doesnt?
all help appreciated thank you

Sun May 22, 2011 6:18 pm

I've no idea from here whether your car has a cat or not, but it definitely doesn't need one.

Sun May 22, 2011 6:31 pm

no need for a cat Ali

Sun May 22, 2011 11:02 pm

so dose that mean i can take my cat off and replace it with a normal silencer?? dont know how that would work with co senser??

Sun May 22, 2011 11:04 pm

im not gettin a cat fitted and if it does have one its gettin taken off but i just wanted to know if it had one or not thats all, thanks guys!

Sun May 22, 2011 11:07 pm

if your car has lamda sensor then it has a cat.anyway u do not need it mate

Sun May 22, 2011 11:20 pm

The M20 ECU will use a default value for the lambda sensor signal if no lambda sensor is present.
The chances are you do not have a cat, but the easiest way to check is to feel under the battery tray for a socket that's clipped up there. If there's just a blanking cap on the end of it, you don't have a cat. If you do have a cat, you will also have a lambda sensor, and this is where it plugs in.

Sun May 22, 2011 11:42 pm

yeh its a small saving of 50quid if it dont have one, currently my baffles are gone they rattle really bad, plus my exhaust sits too low on the rear doesnt look right and sits too far out, so im gettin a custom system made up on it, the one on it i will sell its from the midpipe back , the previous owner said it was a scorpion when i get it off i will check it out properly and sell it on here

this pic you can see how far it sits out

Sun May 22, 2011 11:48 pm

Doesn't matter in the slightest if you have one now or not (other than the old one would sell for good scrap money). A non cat exhaust can be fitted in its place, with no mods, other than the CO adjustment on the air meter might need tweaking.

Sun May 22, 2011 11:51 pm

i will see how it runs but hopefully alot better than what is on there!

Mon May 23, 2011 12:16 am

I'd certainly be considering a system sans cat. Are you going all the way from the manifold?

The current back box, I agree sits a touch too low but I think it doesn't protrude 'that' far out.

Mon May 23, 2011 12:25 am

in real life george it does hang out alot, if i dont have the cat it will be manifold back and if it does have one it will be removed so direct from the mainfold, im gonna keep the same pipe design i like them or if anyone has a better idea that suits a cab except for upswept dtm style yuk

Mon May 23, 2011 12:27 am

Don't think you'll have a cat mate.
PM'd

Mon May 23, 2011 12:31 am

from the looks of things it seems i dont have a cat no pussy for me

Mon May 23, 2011 12:33 am

ali50ferrari wrote:in real life george it does hang out alot, if i dont have the cat it will be manifold back and if it does have one it will be removed so direct from the mainfold, im gonna keep the same pipe design i like them or if anyone has a better idea that suits a cab except for upswept dtm style yuk

I think the rounded edge design looks the best, however I am biased.

BMW OE exhaust with chrome tips:

Mon May 23, 2011 12:37 am

yeh george i now know YOU have the o.e.m fetish lol but i prefer the rounded style aswell hence i may keep the original style on the custom exhaust.

Mon May 23, 2011 12:45 am

ali50ferrari wrote:yeh george i now know YOU have the o.e.m fetish lol but i prefer the rounded style aswell hence i may keep the original style on the custom exhaust.

That's the style you already have and I think it suits.

If it ain't broke...

Mon May 23, 2011 12:47 am

thanks george, unfortunately the middle section is knackered baffles are gooone rattling really bad june the 19th and 400quid out of pocket lol

Sun May 29, 2011 11:22 pm

Any one else got an idea for the exhaust tips, was thinking 2 square tips? all ideas welcome. . . .

Mon May 30, 2011 1:11 am

E30 cat Nair!

Mon May 30, 2011 1:14 am

George have got a oem part number for those tips?

Mon May 30, 2011 10:04 pm

thanks for hijakn ma thread mate. . . .
Any one else got an idea for the exhaust tips, was thinking 2 square tips? all ideas welcome. . .

Sat Jun 04, 2011 8:15 pm

the 20th is the day i gt ma custom exhaust its a toss up between round tips similar to whats on it or squares goin for a deep tone not loud and annoying boy racer noise! anyone got any other suggestion?

Mon Jun 20, 2011 7:31 pm

i got the exhaust done and fookin hell its deep sounds so much better and drives smooth as! i didnt have a cat either! my old box is up for sale on here with afew o.e.m friendly parts!!

Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:01 pm

Why do people remove the cat from an E30? Does it increase power significantly? Does it cause more pollution?

Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:25 pm

Cats typically cause a minor decrease in power (maybe 0.1 sec on 0-60MPH), and increase fuel consumption by a couple of MPG.
Emissions are increased, but as long as diesel engines are allowed, my conscience is clear on that!

Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:12 pm

Is there not a cut off date where cars registered after that must have cats if they came out the factory with one ? I'm thinking 1993 K ?

Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:15 am

No car has to have a cat, but ones with engines built AND first used after 01/08/1992 will have to meet much lower emissions outputs than those with either an engine that is built before, of is first used before that date.
Exceptions to this are E30s which are fitted with engines types that were never fitted by BMW, and those that are converted to run on LPG. These can have engines that were built and be first used after 01/08/1992.

Tue Jun 21, 2011 12:57 pm

Ali
400 quid is good for custom built,which company are you using?
I've heard of a company in Walsall that are meant to be good, MJ or something similar.
By the way thanks for the pm, but i don't really want a Scorpion.

Nick

Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:11 pm

Hey nick i imused a company in st.albans called topgear, they work with powerflow exhausts that is what i had fitted yesterday, it has made a difference i like it alot, yeh its not a scorpion mate its unbranded the guy reckons it may have been an old powerflow one but it is unbranded or marked mine never had a cat on it

Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:15 pm

ali50ferrari wrote:Hey nick i imused a company in st.albans called topgear, they work with powerflow exhausts that is what i had fitted yesterday, it has made a difference i like it alot, yeh its not a scorpion mate its unbranded the guy reckons it may have been an old powerflow one but it is unbranded or marked mine never had a cat on it

I know the place, next to the miniroundabout right?

£400 for downpipe, centre section and rear box? Did it include the manifold?

Stainless steel?

Could you specify how loud it was? Was there a choice of tail pipes?

Tue Jun 21, 2011 1:18 pm

Yup stainlees steel i went for a straight through one, it was from the downpipe back, for manifold and downpipe its 650 fitted manifold comes with a year guarantee but the downpipe n exhaust is life time, there is a choice of tail pipe design i stuck to my original one i had plus now its sittin properly it looks sweet as, because mine is straight through it is very deep toned when it is on my drive parked in reverse the door knocker vibrates so i would say it is loud!Yeh george near the esso petrol station london road