Catalytic Converter Guards

All 4 of mine got stolen at night in front of my apartment last year. The thieves also cut the fuel line and EVAP purge line. Total damage was about $7K worth. Insurance paid it, minus the deductible.

My Tundra was sidelined for 2 months waiting for OEM replacement cats, until I decided I couldn’t wait any longer and went with aftermarket Magnaflow cats, foolishly canceling my order for OEM cats with the dealer.

The Magnaflows worked for about a month or two until they started throwing the P0430 code - “Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 2).” A Toyota mechanic warned me this would happen based on his experience. I’ve now been told it’s at least a 6 month wait, if not longer, for OEM cats. It seems like dealer lots are also getting hit - exacerbating the supply problem. My brother-in-law, who owns a used car business in Alabama, has over $40K in damages the past two years just from cat thefts from his lot.

Anyway, after the theft, I immediately ordered the Valhalla front and rear 1/4” aluminum plates and installed them as soon as I got them. These things are beefy! I only wish I would’ve gotten them before the cat theft.

 

I'm on day 218 waiting for the passenger side cat to show up at the dealer.
They have everything else..

 

another vote for Talon's Garage. They had them in stock and shipped them quickly

 

RG

Oh look, a Valhalla plate with a different logo on it. Wonder how that happened?

 

Have you tried a spark plug non fouler for the o2 sensor for the passenger side (bank 2)? It might only take one to keep the CEL off.

 

On the other hand, not many ways to make it different. I get what your saying but one is in stock the other is weeks/months out. I was going to buy Valhalla but with the wait, I moved on to someone that had it in stock. It’s just a piece of metal with fancy cutouts that no one can see.

 

couldn't find an explanation for the "ultimate" security?

 

Hmmmm..... the copy cat is at work again. It's like buying a Yugo when you really wanted a Cadillac, lol.

 

Its not just a similar way to make it but exactly the same. When he walked away from working at Valhalla he took the data files with him.

 

Datum he did him dirty like that?

 

Wish I would have known that...

 

Don't you mean he STOLE the data files and created shields claiming it was his.

 

Well, I don’t want to make up words to describe anything. I was just repeating what Valhalla posted over in his thread when this happened.

Being in Business myself, I tend to take intellectual property rights seriously and have fought my own legal battles protecting my intellectual property. Typical, intellectual property rights tend to belong to the business entity doing business “unless” otherwise stated in a written contract. Example a sub contractor working for a company may have a contract that their work explicitly belongs to them and not the company. Since the prior work relationship from above was being conducted under the Valhalla name, intellectual property rights would typically stay with the company. Now in all fairness, we don’t know if there was a contract between the two parties stating who keeps the property rights. Granted challenging any of this legally would be very expensive so it’s understandable why it currently sits in a he said, he said situation. So again in fairness, I don’t wish to post anything that may or may not be accurate and only repeated what was already posted. This is covered fairly in depth in a few places over in the Valhalla thread and a few other places. Also, Talon is free to clear up any unknowns as well.

 

Understood, but let me clarify "that in my mind" I still see that the intellectual property of the data files was stolen from Valhalla, but that is just my honest opinion.

 

This I didn’t know. Like I said I just need a cat shield like yesterday and bought from whoever had it in stock. I ended up with a Desert Eagle Offraod plate. I am going to make my own back plate since it a lot smaller and pretty simple. Best of all it’s free.

 

Did you ever get these? What does it look like?

 

How can Talons deliver so much faster than Valhalla?

 

I emailed them on Memorial Day and they responded Memorial Day. I wasn't expecting that. Placed the order on Memorial Day and it shipped the very next day. It would have had it that Friday but UPS lost track of it and it delivered June 6th. Still pretty quick turn around...

 

I believe its because they only offer 1/4 plate aluminum. Not hard to keep inventory that way.

 

FYI - A buddy of mine that lives in Killeen that bought Vallhalla front shield and then later tried to buy Vallhalla rear shield (He had to buy separately due to financial constraints as a recent widowed father of 4 since November of 2021) and he did not want to wait for the rear shield and so he canceled and he bought Talon's rear plate (and granted it came very quickly it is only 1/4 aluminum) I will say that it is 100% compatible with Vallhalla's front shield with NO modification so I don't know about it not being a copy man, just saying.

 

That and Talon not having to design the product himself.

 

Seems like that would only affect the first batch....
From what I hear and read, Talon consistently delivers very quickly. If the design is not changing frequently, shouldn't be a delay due to that.

I think Valhalla is a superior product, but waiting months for delivery is a deal breaker for me. I ended up going with Catsecurity because they promised quick delivery (across the country), and they delivered it within 6 days. Phenomenal service.

 

I am going to ignore the talon vs Valhalla stuff because I don’t want to bring up a problem or cause my blood pressure to rise over that issue.

My lead times have been an issue, but I am making large strides to fix this. I am currently inside of 2 months looking to get better. I also have some design changes that will make these plates more flexible with other lifts.

I encourage people to contact me and I will work with anyone to help get them the right product.

 

I’ve not heard of this. Will have to give it a try. Thanks!

 

You got me the right product.
It took some time but it was worth the wait.
Looking forward to the 2WD V3 and there is no hurry on that...

You guys have to realize that Talon offers 1/4" thickness and bare aluminum.
That's it.
No thickness option, no material option (steel or aluminum), and no powder coating.

Valhalla offers steel and aluminum (both in either 1/8" or 3/16" thicknesses).
He also offers bare metal OR powder coating in 3 DIFFERENT COLORS.

Tyler is a 1 man operation and he is doing the best he can.

Try to enjoy your weekend Tyler...
Take some time for the wife and kids if possible.

Just my 2¢

 

Brother, I couldn't have said it better! Thank you!

 

https://youtu.be/VkufLgtLGVg

 

Skid plate? Is the mounting holes and bolts the exact same too for both front and rear plates?

 

Finally finished putting them on.

 

Looks like you went with security bolts. What standard bolts did they send you? Also looks like you have decent gap on the rear plates. Did you have to remove the factory transfer case skid?