Originally Posted by LeaUK

For the reference of others in the UK there is one slight variation in UK emissions testing that I have recently found: most garages (if not all), for turnover reasons I suspect, perform a Basic Emissions Test (BET) first.

This allows the tester to measure emissions without the need to know the engine code or specific model data of the tested car - no need to follow any flow diagrams to find the exact test limits!

So in the UK this BET limit has changed to match the newer bread of car (September 2002) and is:

CO <=0.2%
HC <=200ppm
0.97-1.03 Lambda

If a car fails this test, it doesn't necessarily mean the car fails, it simply means the tester has to now follow the flow charts to locate the exact emission limits for that exact vehicle and retest to those limits.

Of course this is excellent news for us with elder cars with Cats, as although our cars will be subject to the new BET limits, if the car was first used post July '92 may still only have to pass non-cat limits


Lea