ULEZ compliance

[Rob Bell]

The test result is a rolling road NOx readout , I have PMd the person who had it done to see if he has any more information.

Michael Global Moderator C90Club.co.uk 17,500 plus members .

Brilliant, thanks.

I've not heard back from the IVA testing centre I contacted. I'll chase them again next week.

[CubMG]

I have a message back from the person who had his Honda 90 passed ,this is a bike with no fuel injection or catalytic converter . The results are sent straight to TFL ,and all he got was a read out of the results .
Perhaps the testers are a bit wary of another company coming along and taking their monopoly ,,rumour has it that London and surrounding district is a bit large and there may be a lot of customers out there .

[Rob Bell]

Thanks - and yes, as well as confidentiality, I am sure that there is a degree of protecting business interest involved

I'm trying to get a response from a privately operated IVA testing centre at the moment. Will keep you all posted.

[Rob Bell]

Finally got a reply from MyCarImport, the only privately owned IVA test centre in the UK. The news is not good: they don't do NOx measurements.

Which I found kind of odd?

Does that mean IVA-approved cars cannot be driven into the ULEZ without paying the tax, irrespective of whether they're clean enough or not?

The company suggested MIRA or Milbrook. At a likely £3000 a test. Not good.

Not sure on what tack to take next?

[mgtfnut]

Rob, perhaps not strictly relevant, have a look at this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/id ... ar_exhaust

My interest was in the emissions from the VAG diesel in my Skoda Yeti, but it makes interesting reading. It seems that testing is possible, but it looks expensive, and possibly difficult for a F/TF with all that stuff on the back!! It would appear from this piece, that "official" testing is not definitive, but different takes can be made depending on what you want to make public - the truth is out there

The www can be useful, but stuff you read may not what it seems - so it's sometimes difficult to make an assessment of a stated view. It may be "fake", or it might be a slanted view given in good intent based on a personal opinion. I could go on, but you get my drift

Good luck.

[Rob Bell]

Thanks - I'll have a read!

As it happens, we may have an avenue into Millbrook and their testing facilities that should enable us to test a car and see whether a pre-2001 car can pass the low NOx emission level of 0.08g/km. I'll let you know how this progresses!

[Mykel]

Interesting stuff, as we are practically in the same boat over here in the West of Germany, too! Various local authorities in NRW had created exclusion zones for petrol cars rated Euro2 and older, some of them including motorways as well. For the time being, this is off the table now, but you never know …

But back on topic for the London ULEZ. I have collected all the relevant data for our cars and the result is quite interesting:

You can see that even some of the Euro3 models (particularly the VVC models and the older TF 135s) will not comply with the 80mg/km rule. For Euro2 this can only be estimated, as there are no specific NOx emission values available. My guess would be that the Mk1 MGFs will not be able to comply, and by a considerable margin. This means taking the car to a testing station to spend hundreds only to get a negative result might not be the best of ideas.

IMHO there are just two options left to meet the stricter standards, both of which will not please you very much, Rob.

Option 1
Get a complete drive train from a Euro3 car (preferably from a 120 bhp MGF) and retrofit this to N7. This needs to be certified - the donor car’s V5 must contain the engine number and the emissions values. I know this has been recorded for TFs, not too sure about Euro3 MGFs, though.
The whole drive train including gearbox and exhaust needs to be transplanted, as emissions are calculated against distance, therefore gear ratios are important. ECU and parts of the wiring loom need to be swapped as well. Not an easy task, especially if you go for a Pektron equipped donor or even a SAIC TF, but the latter would at least give you peace of mind, as you might even get it into the Euro6 class. BUT the originality will be gone and this may cause issues when N7 would be eligible for historic vehicle registration.

Option 2
Buy a compliant F or TF whilst they’re still cheap, and mothball N7 until she’s ready to be registered as historic vehicle. On the up side, this will enable you to do some thorough restoration work on the car over the years. It might get you in trouble with Yimmy, though.

[Mykel]

Found some more values, and those for the later (Pektron equipped) TFs have been checked against the records in various V5 documents I have:

Next I checked various cars I know on the TfL website. It appears that Euro2 VVCs are eligible to enter the ULEZ without charge, while MPis are not. This is kind of strange, as the VVC values are “worse” than those for the MPi. Could have something to do with the different gear ratios. Maybe swapping the MPi engine for a VVC might do the trick then?

Anyway, here are the results:

MGF MPi 1996

MGF MPi 1998

MGF MPi 1999

MGF VVC 1999, which I don’t really understand

MGF MPi 2001

MGF Trophy 2001, as expected

MG TF 160 2005

[Rob Bell]

Very interesting - your search has revealed the inconsistencies of the TfL database I think; as I see it, they've lumped all EU3 K4 engines into the "pass" category (of less than 0.08g/km/ 80mg/km).

My plan, at the moment at least, is to pursue the Millbrook emissions testing route - assuming it won't be ruinously expensive for me to do this (and risk a fail/ re-test). I have the facility to replace the catalyst with an EU3 type if necessary and the pscan can tweak the ignition/fuel trim. If that doesn't work, I can retrofit the EU3 spec MEMS3, wiring loom, injectors, inlet manifold and catalyst. A bit of a pain, but not too difficult. Or fit that K-sereis turbo (I need to check the emissions on this engine, but I think it'll work!)

Mykel, would Millbrook emissions data on the New European driving cycle protocol be adequate for the authorities? If so...

[colintf]

.......Mykel, Turbo TF ???????

[talkingcars]

My mk1 1999 MGF VVC 143 is chargeable.
My wifes 2002 MG ZR VVC 160 is compliant.
Our works 2015 works van is chargeable.

[Mykel]

.......Mykel, Turbo TF ???????

Aaargh, don’t move off topic … no progress yet. (hangs head in shame)

[colintf]

.......Mykel, Turbo TF ???????

Aaargh, don’t move off topic … no progress yet. (hangs head in shame)