WELCOME TO R103

Q. Does this legislation cover Scotland and Wales?

A. Yes, the legislation covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Q. Do imported vehicles registered after 01/01/2001 require replacement converters to be type approved. These are personal imports, Japanese, American vehicles that have to go through SVA tests?

A. These are exempt from the scheme.

Q. Can the R103 number on a converter bullet that has been type approved for a 2.0Ltr vehicle application, be used on any vehicle application with the same, or smaller cubic capacity engine?

A. Different engine varients would need to be tested seperatly. Section 5.2.3 of Regulation 103 states "Where approval is applied for different types of vehicles from the same car manufacturer, and provided that these different types of vehicles are fitted with the same type of original equipment Catalytic Converter, the type I testing may be limited to at least vehicles selected after agreement with the technical service responsible for approval" therefore if the original equipment catalyst is the same on all engine varients we would only need to test two.

Q. My car has just failed its MOT emissions test, if I fit an R103 cat will it pass?

A. An R103 cat is tested and certified to perform as well as an original equipment cat, this does not mean that it can/will disguise an emission system problem that is caused by say an engine management fault , which your question suggests.

Q. Will an R103 cat make my car quieter?

A. Two points here 1, a catalytic converter is not a silencer 2, One of the most common complaints associated with aftermarket cats is that of increased noise. An R103 cat has been tested and certified to have the same noise emission level as that of an OE replacement. If your car has been fitted with a non type approved aftermarket converter then the chances are quite high that fitting a type approved one WILL reduce the noise levels.

Q. I have just bought an aftermarket cat for my car, it looks different, does this mean its not type approved? How can I recognise an R103 converter?

A. No, the exeternal appearance may be different to standard, as long as it fits and performs to within a certain standard it could be type approved. The real test is to look out for the “R103 identification stamp, along with a part number specific number which relates to the vehicle it was designed for.

Q. Will a "red label” cat increase my emissions?

A. No, it is still a high quality converter, it has simply not been through the procedure of type approval testing