Exhaust gas "recirculation"
 

I found some strange hoses hooked up to my Pug106's 1.1 engine, so I looked for documentation and it is labelled as EGR, but... I always thought that EGR was exhaust being pumped back into the intake manifold, while here it is fresh air being pumped (by an electric air pump) into the exhaust manifold, just before the catalytic converter.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1431976180

I assume this is solely for emissions control, as I don't see how this could effect fuel consumption.

Would removing this have any effect? Now, I want my emissions to be clean, but I am starting to suspect that the car's previous owner may have removed the cat, plus I have no way of knowing whether this air injection gizmo works at all, let alone if it is doing its job. My SGII throws up a cat error every so often.

Its not real common, but I've heard of it. It is for emissions and I'd imagine its to help the CAT out.

Here is some info:

Secondary air injection - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

More or less what I suspected. My mechanic will have look at the CAT while replacing the head gasket this weekend. Hopefully it is still there and in working order...