There are a growing number of ways to protect your converter as the industry comes out with new solutions. There are some methods we recommend you avoid because they can cause harm to your vehicle.
Any aftermarket part should be designed in a way to minimize changes to the vehicle. Modifying the original equipment may harm the vehicle in the long run.
We recommend choosing the products that do not require changes to the vehicle. Ideally you want a bolt-on application that is fully removable in case you need to do maintenance on your car.
Should I weld rebar to my catalytic converter?
Welding material like rebar is not recommended. Some shops may offer custom solutions that require welding onto the exhaust system. While this may meet the goal of protecting the converter, it comes at a cost of harming the converter.
If you happen to have your converter stolen and replaced with an expensive original converter from the dealer, you will void the warranty if you weld anything to the exhaust and converter. Welding requires extreme heat and can damage the longevity of your converter. Welds can damage the matting and substrate and cause premature converter failure or cracking.
Should I make a custom shield for my catalytic converter?
Some things are best left to the professionals. When thinking about the right protection for your car, you have to consider two factors. Does this product protect my converter, and does this product not harm my converter. Most solutions and places are only concerned with the first part, and not the latter. Be careful of what material has been used when you choose a product. The wrong material can cause premature corrosion, create excess heat, and even bodily harm. We've seen some places use whatever scrap metal they have to fasten a shield onto a vehicle. However, there is no knowing if that metal is designed for this specific application. Here is an image of a custom shield from a shop that used any metal they could find to make this shield. The material trapped heat and stained the converter. It was also fastened by off the shelf material that was not secure and could have fallen off while driving.
This customer complained of terrible noise and the unsightly look of this custom job. We caution people to avoid products that are not designed or tested for your vehicle. At Miller CAT we put hours and hours of engineering and design into our products. No other company considers the protection and life of your converter like we do. Trust your vehicle with the best.
