Best catalytic converter anti-theft device, Gen 2?

We had the top of the line Miller Cat Shield installed on our Prius and wound up taking it off. Our mechanic spent over a week trying everything he could think of to get it to stop rattling before he even allowed us to take it home. We finally couldn't take the rattling anymore so now the shield just sits propped up against the wall of the garage, waiting for us to either figure out something to do with it or donate it to one of the local thrift shops and make it someone else's headache. Nice idea but a total waste of money.

 

Any kid in high school shop learns that a flat sheet of metal will flop around like a flag in the win.

Adding longitudinal folds or crowning the sheet like they do with body panels on cars gives the sheet metal structure and rigidity.

Simply bending three longitudinal radial flows with the lowest part under the exhaust pipe of cat totally eliminates contact from vibration as the car is driven.

I did this with the flat cat shield that I put on my Prius v. The same can easily be done with ant Gen 2 cat shield.

 

Hey all! I may have an additional solution to your cat being stolen through our business Muffler Tech in Sacramento. We now fabricate and sell Locking Exhaust Bolts ( attaches up near Exhaust Manifold and down by rear muffler) Over the years and evolution of helping customer protect their own parts this has been a game changer. You can check out this helpful video to see how they work, what they look like and where they are located. Give us a call or IM me if you need a set. ( Set or 4 locking bolts with Key = $150 shipped anywhere in the 48 states)

 

Fast forward 2.5 years, my daughter's cat was stolen again last night from a crowded area parked on the street near Hartford CT. I thought that stealing cats was a thing of the past, but evidently there is still demand for my poor little Prius's palladium/rhodium/curium pellet cache. Going to have to revive the temp fix before I get a cheap aftermarket cat to reinstall. Glad I still had access to this thread.

 

You lucky your not in CA.
IMHO: any cheap visible plating/armor down there should deter most CAT thieves. That along with a cheap motion alarm - they need to jack up the car to get to it. So if the visible armor doesn't deter them, maybe a car horn & flashing lights going off as soon as they start jacking up the car. I used a $10 12VDC motorcycle alarm and spliced it into my horn and parking lamp relays. The thieves should go looking for easier targets at this point; unless they don't care if they get caught - three hots and a cot.

 

Yeah, the CA smog is pretty intense.

 

I liked my second Gen so much I got one for my daughter who is in CA now. She was in SF visiting her boyfriend and got her Cat stolen. CA sucks for the smog crap. Getting an aftermarket cat is not an option and a CARB one is worth as much as the car. She is looking on market place for a used one but debating if its worth it to get a cat shield or not. I did reccoment a motorcycle motion alarm but man what a mess.

After that happened Im looking into a cheap way to protect my cat cheap. Any ideas ? I saw a vid that even with a cheap shield they can cut front and back and not loose much time.

 

Sell the Prius and buy a "less desirable" car.

California = $$$ cat, which = more incentive to steal. Cheap ($) shield = quick & easy to defeat (very little deterrence). Expensive ($$$) shield, only somewhat more difficult to defeat (some increase in deterrence, but likely not much).

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

A garage.

 

Helps a lot, still: sooner or later you're going to park outside somewhere, and that's when bad things can happen.

I wrapped the rear cut point on ours with heavy chain, secured with nuts/bolts on every wrap or two, with the outermost one having permanent thread lock. Also engraved the VIN, nice and big. "Might" make them move on.

 

I had my local Toyota mark the cat so it’s traceable if stolen. And they put stickers on the car to show that the cars marked. My Prius is also lifted, so cat theft is more of a risk. Lucky, no incidents yet with my Prius.

 

You lifted a Prius?

 

Yes, 1.6” all round. Much better in terms of potholes, kerbs, driveways etc.

 

That’s sick what spring setup did you use?

 

Stock spring height. I used:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/355791425332?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=8c53nlvztne&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=9ikZqXxmRBy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

and

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354401835105?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=iy0fBlUFSJi&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=9ikZqXxmRBy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Ideally I’d have gone with Prius Offroads spacers, but they are more expensive, and funds didn’t allow.

 

The problem is these cheap aftermarket cats that are under $100 smell bad from the exhaust because they barely work.

 

CAT exhaust shouldn't smell; if they do smell like sulfur - then ingredients are entering the reaction - burning out.

Just my 2-cents....

 

It didn't smell bad from the OEM cat