Catalytic Converter Stolen

I beg to differ here. I have not heard of one attempt at cutting my plates. Infact, there is only one instance where someone attempted to unbolt the plates but failed. To date and the best of my knowledge, not one cat has been stolen off a truck with my plates installed.

All the law enforcement and other parties involved in this have agreed that spray painting is worthless, etching vin numbers is only useful if they catch them and can find you, but even then, most of the time they can’t be welded back on.

My plates are chosen thicknesses to prevent easy cuts, I used to make a 1/8 aluminum plate, but it was too flimsy and I discontinued it.

There are no guarantees with my plates, but I can tell you I have MANY stories and thank you’s because there were 10 tundras in a parking lot and 9 got hit, the 10th had my plates on it. Hand prints on the door, camera footage, and more tell the same story.

In all honesty, I wouldn’t want to be on my back with a grinder and a cutting disk peppering the crap out of myself with hot slag, the $50-100 they get for the cats isn’t worth the burns, and they would have to cut my plates twice to get access (goes back to the thickness thing)

I don’t make and sell these to be a visual deterrent, I do it to be a physical deterrent

 

And that, my friends, is exactly why my truck has Valhalla Shields on it!

 

You are selling false hope. You are also ethically compromised with your "opinion" because you have a vested interest in selling these plates. If you want a demonstration, you can bring your truck over and we can video me cutting it off in less than a minute. Once enough trucks have your plates (or other plates) and the thieves realize that they will have to be cut off to steal the converters, that is exactly what they will do.

By the way, you cut the bolt heads off. It is fast and not hard and not even that much sparks. The shield thickness is meaningless.

 

You are counting on the thieves coming prepared to do more then cut the pipes with a Sawzall. Most thieves are not that prepared and will move to the easy target.

 

That is true until they start seeing more and more trucks with plates, and then they just equip to take care of the problem. At best, the plate is a very short-term fix, if that.

 

You are so full of shit.
Having had my cats stolen, these guys are cut and run.
They are going to waste time using multiple tools to steal these cats.
They will see the cat shields and move on to an easier target..
If my truck would have had shields on it, the cats would NOT have been stolen,.

You aren't going to win this tough guy, so go ahead and bow out gracefully....

https://youtu.be/rOcYpzmmkG0

 

I'm on day 231.
My dealership has been paying for my 2021 Tacoma rental.
The cost of the rental has already exceeded the cost of the cat replacement..

 

LOL. Believe what you want buddy. Are you related to the seller or something? You sound like you are very passionate about the shields, like you are butt hurt over seeing my opinion. You are kidding yourself if you don't think thieves will cut these off. It is not hard at all. Go buy you a shield and good luck to you.

 

We should be glad people like this exist. We need them. Alarms and shields will make the thieves seek softer targets. Guess who that will be?

 

No, I just don't like your ignorant statements.

These thieves are stupid.
So stupid they left my driver's side cat hanging because they were too stupid to cut the rubber hanger.
You know why, because they were in a fucking hurry.
IF they didn't have the time to work the hanger off the peg or cut IT with a blade, they aren't going to start grinding off bolts.



Any deterrent is better than nothing.
If you don't believe that, you are simply trolling...
PLEASE DON'T PUT SHIELDS ON YOUR TUNDRA!!!
That way when they see mine, they will move on to yours..

I'll be just fine, thanks.

 

Maybe he is one of them that are stealing them and that's why he is shitting on cat shields..

 

I guess that you did not read my original post on this thread. If you had, you would see your post is not relevant, at least not as to me. One thing about these forums (and others) is that we get "fan boys" of vendors, etc. who want to argue to protect who they are a fan of, even to the point of absurdity. There is nothing that I posted that is not true. If you cannot see that, then we will have to just agree to disagree. If you love the shield, go buy one and good luck with it.

 

"Shitting on your shields". LOL. Man you are in love with these shields.

 

They cannot steal what is not there. That is the ultimate deterrent. Like I wrote earlier, you evidentially did not read my first post.

The last time that I looked, cars are still being stolen even with the best alarms, anti-theft devises, etc. Somehow these "dumb" thieves keep figuring out how to get around theft deterrents. Maybe you should get one of those steering wheel clubs as well to go with your converter shield. The thieves will never figure out hot to cut these off, just like your shield.

 

Yep. Adios

 

A deterrent is a deterrent. Not 100% anti-theft proof. Most people lock their doors at night. If a thief wanted to get in they would find a way or move on to another house with no locked doors. Same thing with the shields. Will it make me feel 100% safe that next time some a$$hole won't still my cats? No, but it will give me peace of mind knowing that it won't be as easy for them. Mine were stolen about 3 months ago..still no ETA on replacements. I travel a lot...this was a major inconvenience for me. I had to buy another car.

 

https://barnes4wd.com/products/3-8-to-7-16-bolt-head-protector
So what’s your idea of removing the cat plates If they spent an extra $15-20 and put on bolt protectors, you can’t sawzall at that point, so then are you going to sit there with a impact or ratchet and remove every bolt? What If they had pentagon security bolts then what….

Just like the plates, they are protection and a deterrent, a thief is looking for that quick score, If a cat can be had from the neighbor and worth about the same, why would they invest the time in the extra labor? In and out is a primary goal for them, it’s not pay by the hour.

 

Gave me an idea. Maybe if we put shit on our shields the thieves will move on.

 

I have security bolts but can't the domes be defeated with a grinder as easily as a bolt head?

 

Kind of my way of thinking. Toss a steaming pile of my Lab's stinking crap under the truck when I park in a questionable area. When I leave the parking spot the doo doo stays. Just looking out for the next guy that uses the spot. I'm sure they would thank me for being so thoughtful.

 

The barnes domes are REALLY hard steel, meant to take impacts of hitting rocks with the weight of a vehicle without sheering off the bolt heads. I have the bolt head protectors and the penta head bolts. I'm sure a good grinder would get through it eventually but it is on every bolt head. I wanted skid plates but also wanted cat protection. @Classy63 's vahallas shields fit what I wanted and he was very helpful the few times I had questions.

 

Guys, as someone who investigates these crimes, let me give some advice... The people stealing these aren't going under cars with a socket set, grinder, and sawzall. They're generally meth heads or uneducated thugs sliding under with just a sawzall. Sometimes without shoes on. These are not smart people. Use all the security bolts and domes you want but, in my opinion, it won't make any difference. If they see a shield, they are moving to the next car they find. Simple as that. They aren't calling up for a socket wrench, unscrewing bolts, firing up a grinder, etc. It's sawzall or nothing. Oh, and on a side note, the sawzalls are either stolen or were purchased with a stolen credit card. These people are truly dregs of society.

 

Agreed! It’s been a while since I read it, but someone with cat plates posted a while back that Tundras in the parking lot around his were hit but he had dat plates and was not touched.

 

Most of us understand what you have stated so eloquently here except for @RDRunner as it sounds like he cannot conceptualize what a theft deterrent is and how it works. In major population areas, such as the Phoenix metroplex, DFW, most of CA, etc, we have smog tests that our vehicles must comply with to be operated on public roadways so we cannot just take our cats out. The only option available to us is deterrence devices. They keep honest people honest or make it too much work or take too long to bypass the device(s). If someone REALLY wants my cats I suspect they'll take all the time needed and cut, drill, or grind what the have to in order to get them.

 

I agree.
As someone in this thread referred to me as a fanboy, it isn't so much that I'm a fan of 1 certain shield manufacturer.
I favor @Classy63 design because of the full coverage.

My strong opinion of shields is this;
I'm on day 232 of my Tundra being at the dealership awaiting cat parts.
I know for a fact if my truck would have had shields on it, they would not have been stolen.
These fools were so stupid and in a hurry, they left one side hanging.

Is @RDRunner imagined scenario possible?
Sure it is.
But 99% of these POS thieves want to be in and out in the least amount of time and least noise possible.
It is going to take longer than his 1 minute to grind all these bolts off and make a lot of noise doing it.



To think shields, of any brand, aren't going to be a deterrent is simply ignorant.

 

"Grind all those bolts off" Gives me an idea. If my dog poo idea isn't practical, a fist full of black powder tossed under the trucks would get their attention.

 

Maybe coat the outside with thermite paint...

 

Pardon my ignorancebut is it really that hard to get a catalytic converter? 232 days?