Car is due for MOT soon. Not had a problem with emissions in the past but its not something I can check at home before I take car to garage like I can with lights etc.
Just wondered is there any benefit in my adding something like Redex to the tank prior to going for the test? Our fitter in work suggested it would be a good idea, they did it with the workshop van when it failed on emissions, but it them passed the next day after adding it and driving around for a day.
|
Bit hit and miss...:-)
If the vehicle has been properly serviced and maintained then there should really be no problem.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Given the chance, a garage will tend to tell you that the emissions are a bit high and that £12 worth of additive will sort it.
Same with the headlamp alignment, which is done on stiff threads and won't have moved since last time unless you've had a bump to the front end or a headlamp has been removed for some reason - "£10 to re-align them guv".
Of course, in either case you've no way of knowing if it really needed anything doing, or if it was really done. Or if fuel additives do anything at all.
But what can you do?
Hence my desire to find a place that does tests and tests only.
|
>>But what can you do?>>
I can understand your cynicism but over a period of 41 years of driving I've only had one bad experience with an MOT testing centre - and I knew there was very little wrong with the particular car.
Result. I contacted the Vehicle Inspectorate and provided them with all the facts after the car passed the test on the same day at another outlet less than 200 yards away without drama. It passed its test successfully four more times afterwards before it was replaced (well it was 13 years old and I was offered a desired replacement by a car salesman friend at a particularly keen price).
The outlet concerned, a branch of a nationally well know chain, was eventually taken over and today apparently provides much better service.
I've also posted before about a business friend whose signed van was put in for an MOT and he was informed about £1,000 worth of work was required.
Like me he was, to put it mildly, somewhat surprised and took it elsewhere. Result, a first time pass and the purchase of two new tyres as he was advised that although those on the van were legal, their lifespan was coming to a close.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
i used to go to a mot testing station that only tested not repaired.
if youve got the time there a good idea.
you paid your money and if the car failed you could take it back within 7 days for another free check?trouble is now everybody wants to take the car and get the mot at the same time.its done with but can be very expensive not being able to get prices or doing the repair yourself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
As long as its put in some time before the test, and the car given a good brisk workout (Italian Tune up - get it hot and work it round the rev range a few times) it wont hurt.
|
|
Yes, give it a 20-mile hardish drive on the way to the test.
|
|
|
|
i know a garage were freinds go and if their car fails the mot they give them a new one and tell them what needs repairing.wonder how many garages do this for so called freinds!!
|
|
|
|
If it's a "10 squid to re-align your headlamp Guv'nor" then you can ask to be shown how out of alignment it actually is, and this ins't difficult since the piece of kit used is quite straightforward. Other things might not be - so this depends very much on how 'forward' and confident you are - but if you have any doubts over the MOT station thn don't go there :)
As for fuel additives, this is a very old debate like oil additives. My father swears by Slick50 engine oil treatment and I have seen a smokey rattly engine quieten down and reduce emissions - but then this was in a 1980-something car back in the 1980-something. Engines and fuel systems and indeed fuel have moved on much more and most 'modern' engines can do without - but like everyone else has said, the 'odd' shot here and there shouldn't do much damage and could 'help' with the messions test. Is yours a diesel or petrol? If diesel then it's certainly worth ensuring the engine is nice and warm BEFORE you take it for the test and have given it, as someone else so eloquently put it, given the Italian Tune Up test ;)
|
The bottom line on this for me is that owner's handbooks tend to state that no additives are necessary. And I'm yet to see any science that properly explains what's in them and how they work.
The book for my 1972 Triumph Spitfire even goes so far as to warn you away from such things, explaining that they're a rip-off aimed at those who don't know better. I guess manufacturers were more forthright back then.
Someone mentioned on another thread a while back that writing 'VOSA' in the dirt on the bottom of your car tended to help ensure a fair test. Has anyone tried this?
|
Someone mentioned on another thread a while back that writing 'VOSA' in the dirt on the bottom of your car tended to help ensure a fair test. Has anyone tried this?
Maybe so, but I can envisage this backfiring (sic) if the tester imagines there might be a deliberately induced obscure fault and gives it a more thorough test than usual as a result.
|
|
|
|
Its a petrol engine (m reg corsa 1.2). I will be taking it for a run before I go to the garage as I will have to drop my other half at work first. Suppose like you say a bit here and there cannot do too much harm. Says on the bottle its supposed to clean the injectors.
Just to change the subject slighly, I did hear its a good idea to use a higher detergent fuel or an additive in the 16v models as they have a habit of having sticky valves .... presume Redex is the sort of thing they are on about???
|
Use Sheel Optimax or Texaco. no sticking valves, no need for additives.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
|
Texaco? nothing special in Texaco
|
Ask HJ - he seems to recommend it?
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
|
Don't have a texaco station anywhere near to us ... as for Shell Optimax (sorry to sound thick here) I though that was 97 RON and the manual clearly states you should only use 95 RON grade fuel otherwise it will cause pinking. Only say that because we had to pop it in our M reg once when the garage had run out of the normal stuff - and the car was not happy!!
|
Daisy
97 Ron (actually its 98 for Optimax I think) is better than 95 Ron and will do no harm at all. 95 is the minimum your car can take and any higher will be harmless and may produce slightly improved performance and economy. Lower and it will cause problems. Optimax should produce a smoother engine and a cleaner one as well.
Some of us on here like it, others think its a waste of time and money. If you read HJ's column in the Telegraph you will see that people who have problems with sticking valves used supermarket fuel and the problems disappeared when they switched to a better quality fuel like Shell.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
What i do before an MOT is you should put an additive (like Redex or STP) or even better fill up with a tank of Shell optimax . Then give the motor a good run with plenty of revs (once the engine has fully warmed of course!)& you zoom throu the emmisions test!
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
|
I finally found what is in a fuel system cleaner additive...
Ingredients:
Heavy Aromatic Solvent Naphtha, Hydrocarbon Mixture, 2- Ethylheyl Nitrate; Amines, Polyethylenepoly, Tallol Fatty Acid; Heavy Aromatic Solvent Petroleum Naphtha, Low Viscosity Petroleum Oil; Sweetened Middle Petroleum Oil; Halogenated Hydrocarbon Oil; Aliphatic Petroleum Oil; Corrosion Inhibitor; Aromatic Petroleum Naphtha.
Tallol Fatty Acid = not suitable for vegetarians I think!
So there you have it, lighter fluid, white spirit, machine oil, and a few other things ;o)
|
So there you have it, lighter fluid, white spirit, machine oil, and a few other things ;o)
Old newspapers, sloanes linement, fiery jack, Stale guiness. Hang on a mo', this sounds like what I used to smoke....
WTM
|
|
I can only say that Millers Diesel Power Plus worked fine for me. I slung some in my 320d prior to the last MOT and the emissions were so low the mechanic had to check it a second time to make sure the diagnostic kit was still working ok.!!!
|
I think HJ's line has always been that these injector cleaners can work, but if you use good petrol regularly you don't need them. Begs the question of course what is a "good" petrol.
But there other little things it's worth doing for an MOT anyway.
Clean out the air intake, throttle body, the crankcase ventilation system, any flame traps, little orifices into the inlet manifold, etc. Do an oil change. New plugs, check the HT leads, etc.
|
|
New air filter, or possibly remove the filter if it's really marginal.
|
|
|
