MOT due - emissions up, new cat required - but whats the different on £56 or £176? 1995 Audi 2.0E 8v

[Jonnovision]

Hi Gang,

So - the MOT is due and I've had the emissions checked on my 1995 Audi 2.0 E and they are 0.9. Although low, it needs to be 0.3 or lower, so I suspect that the either the catalytic and/or the lamda sensor needs replacing. Euro Car parts have ones for between £150 - £176. BUT, GSF have them for £56...Fundementally, do you get what you pay for with these things? Would there be any big differences in quality?

All advice on a post card please :beerchug:

[scotty33]

I had this dilemma once. I ended up buying the cheapest option which was a cat made by 'Fuelparts'. When it arrived it was considerably smaller than the original and I suspect this makes it a bit of a restriction in terms of hp and emissions. Worst part was that it was not a straight drop in arrangement, but needed the mounting point removing from the old cat and welding on. Oh and the first one that arrived had the O2 sensor mounting boss welded on so badly that it was unusable!
Other than that it was fine for approx 2 years until it broke up/melted the substrate inside.

Probably a bit of a needle in the haystack thing but best cheap option is to look out for a new old stock genuine one on E bay, if you plan on keeping the car.

[fourringsrus]

Yo Jonno, I know mine is a 2.6 abc v6 but I was lucky enough to find a brand new genuine Audi cat on a wrecker at a specialist for £40,so as scotty suggests it's worth a hunt or scavenge
Good hunting

Stuart