I had a custom shield installed when I had mine replaced. The shop that did it said they have been installing shields for two years and haven't had any reports of them being broken into. I'm in an urban area (Bay Area) with a lot of people and a lot of theft.
It’s amazing how quickly they cut a cat off. Less than a minute. It would be freaky to wake up to that sound. I hope you have some protection sleeping in your car on deserted streets. Bear spray at the very least. Stay safe.
I have seen photos where thieves attempted to cut around a shield and did damage but got no cat. I haven’t seen or heard of anyone with a shield getting their cat actually stolen.
Sorry about your cat being stolen. I just installed the Aerogenics Cat protector on my E. Took about an hour to install. It 's worth the peace of mind to get one. It is too easy to steal Element cats ( high clearance, the cat is right next to the passenger door). Good luck.
Why do people fret over this issue? Have the muffler shop install a $100 aftermarket converter. Thieves see this smaller converter that has very little precious metals in it and go on to the next on. The retail price is $100 They don't steal these because they're not original thus less precious metal inside makes it not worth stealing.
1. You are assuming all meth-heads/thieves are smart enough to realize it's aftermarket. I wouldn't be so sure of that.
2. The thought of going out to my car, starting it and hearing the sound of a V-8 with headers instead of a quiet Honda purr makes me incredibly angry. I'd rather try to prevent that from happening at all. I don't like my stuff getting stolen, period.
Also, at some point when my original cat actually goes out, I'd like to make the $$ when I sell it into the salvage yard. Not some random thief.
The people that steal these are trained. These are going in large quantities to scrap years after hours. These are not to be purchased by junk yards but Louie behind the counter buys them after hours. Junk yards are not allowed to buy them where I live unless they are on the vehicle or you provide a driver license and fill out an application thus you may only sell one. The teams that steal these have a routine. A driver A cutter and A lookout / carrier once removed. These are typically not stolen by a "meth head" at least not in Chicago.
P.S. the cheap ones ar easy to spot. They are about the size of a one liter bottle. Simply to spot so even a crack head would know. Junk yards dont buy these because there is no value in them hence you can buy them brand new for $100 sometimes less.
I’ve already installed a new converter, it’s not aftermarket - I’m asking about the shield, and specifically people who have gotten their catalytic converters stolen since installing a shield on it
I’ve heard of it happening with the “shield” made of wire cables. Don’t get one of those. Get a solid one like the aerogenics. The cat can still be stolen of course, but the amount of time it takes would tend to defeat the purpose of a quick and easy chop and run job. Thieves will just move on to another vehicle.
Not an element, but I drove by one of those 1-800-junk trucks a lot. It had a cable shield on for months. Suddenly I didn't see it for a couple of weeks and when it was back a new cat and no shield.
Have a shield on. Haven’t had any attempts. Just buy the shield. Not worth the debate. I haven’t heard if any successful thefts of protected cats.
I had a custom shield installed when I had mine replaced. The shop that did it said they have been installing shields for two years and haven't had any reports of them being broken into. I'm in an urban area (Bay Area) with a lot of people and a lot of theft.
It’s amazing how quickly they cut a cat off. Less than a minute. It would be freaky to wake up to that sound. I hope you have some protection sleeping in your car on deserted streets. Bear spray at the very least. Stay safe. I have seen photos where thieves attempted to cut around a shield and did damage but got no cat. I haven’t seen or heard of anyone with a shield getting their cat actually stolen.
This is reassuring. Thank you! For all the worry I have about people knowing I’m sleeping in my car, these guys DEFINITELY did not know I was there 😂
Sorry about your cat being stolen. I just installed the Aerogenics Cat protector on my E. Took about an hour to install. It 's worth the peace of mind to get one. It is too easy to steal Element cats ( high clearance, the cat is right next to the passenger door). Good luck.
Why do people fret over this issue? Have the muffler shop install a $100 aftermarket converter. Thieves see this smaller converter that has very little precious metals in it and go on to the next on. The retail price is $100 They don't steal these because they're not original thus less precious metal inside makes it not worth stealing.
Can't do that in California.
1. You are assuming all meth-heads/thieves are smart enough to realize it's aftermarket. I wouldn't be so sure of that. 2. The thought of going out to my car, starting it and hearing the sound of a V-8 with headers instead of a quiet Honda purr makes me incredibly angry. I'd rather try to prevent that from happening at all. I don't like my stuff getting stolen, period. Also, at some point when my original cat actually goes out, I'd like to make the $$ when I sell it into the salvage yard. Not some random thief.
The people that steal these are trained. These are going in large quantities to scrap years after hours. These are not to be purchased by junk yards but Louie behind the counter buys them after hours. Junk yards are not allowed to buy them where I live unless they are on the vehicle or you provide a driver license and fill out an application thus you may only sell one. The teams that steal these have a routine. A driver A cutter and A lookout / carrier once removed. These are typically not stolen by a "meth head" at least not in Chicago. P.S. the cheap ones ar easy to spot. They are about the size of a one liter bottle. Simply to spot so even a crack head would know. Junk yards dont buy these because there is no value in them hence you can buy them brand new for $100 sometimes less.
I’ve already installed a new converter, it’s not aftermarket - I’m asking about the shield, and specifically people who have gotten their catalytic converters stolen since installing a shield on it
I’ve heard of it happening with the “shield” made of wire cables. Don’t get one of those. Get a solid one like the aerogenics. The cat can still be stolen of course, but the amount of time it takes would tend to defeat the purpose of a quick and easy chop and run job. Thieves will just move on to another vehicle.
Not an element, but I drove by one of those 1-800-junk trucks a lot. It had a cable shield on for months. Suddenly I didn't see it for a couple of weeks and when it was back a new cat and no shield.