European emissions laws...
 

Specifically Belgium, though I am fairly certain they follow the same Euro Union codes as the other countries....

Anyone: what do you think the odds are a person could pass catless?
FWIW: I have no CEL, but they do perform the sniffer test; the limits here are nothing like they are in the states, much lower here*; have heard many a tale that the procedure is to simply test at idle; *in fact i have met folks who drive vehicles that burn enough oil that you see the exhaust plume a good 8-12" out the end of the pipe - and passed emission portion of inspection

I can lean it out a small bit more at idle, but no more under load, and not even much more at idle...

input from anyone with euro inspection experience is a big plus

see if you can pay the shop to use a different car's exhaust.

no can do. if it was the old days(like a few years ago here) i could just leave a bottle of nice whiskey in the trunk and not even worry about it, but new officials have changed all that. and besides, the guys that have been living here the last couple years... no one has seen another RX-8 within a hundred miles of here. getting some random other cars pipes to even bolt up would be a serious challenge even IF it were something i could sway them into accepting

Would it be possible to put on a CAT just for the test?

possible yes, will i do it no. like i said it wouldnt be convenient since there isnt another 8 nearby, and i refuse to buy a cat just for testing purposes. if i have to buy one i'm buying an HJS WRC 1279/10 PE and leaving it on

I'm not so much concerned about methods of defeating the test or what options i have, as i am with simply figuring out just how strict the limits are on the emissions test. I mean i HAVE the documents with all the numbers etc, but i have no idea what any of them means, or how they relate to the real world. what I'm really interested in is just how much adjusting fueling affects emissions, especially at idle.


to give you a better understanding of my posotion: Moved to Belgium, car gets here next week. Facing roadworthyness inspection in January which means emissions however strict or not they are here. I have not cat currently, there is none in the region that would be convenient to borrow. I am not buying anything that will be taken on and off everytime I find myself in this spot in the future. If i have to buy one, I'm buying one rated for temps(see above) and leaving it on. My intent for loosing the OE cat was never flow/power based, but more about being comfortable running a bit leaner than stock and not having a cat there to get burned up. Soooo... with the pricing of the HJS cats, I'm just curious if i should wast the 20 euro in attempting to pull every last drop of fual i can at idle and see if i can get it to pass.

of course, this assumes, that the test is truly done at idle like i have heard, and also that the emissions here are a total joke as i have heard, and as it seems(remember cars burning massive oil/exhaust plumes.. that pass)

HJS cat FTW!!! :)

yes i agree, the thing is eventually i'm going to have to have a cat somewhere i get stationed. so HJS is a definate at some point, but if i can get away without spending $875+ for a couple more years, that would be cool