To cat protect, or not to cat protect.... That is the question

I'm in the same area. Hadn't heard of it happening around us, so I hadn't been too concerned. You hearing of folks getting them cut off?

 

I have had two people - one a colleague at work who had their Prius cats stolen and then a neighbor has a friend who had their tundra hit in silver spring. That was enough for me especially with the lead times on new ones. Just don’t want to take the chance and $400 is worth it to me for that peace of mind

 

the rci skid plate is $900 no?

 

Is this the ultimate pkg?

 

I only purchased the transmission skid and got the car guards free. I figured I could use my existing skid plate…..am I wrong assuming that?

 

You can absolutely use their trans/cat plates with your OEM engine skid.

I have RCIs engine/trans/fuel skids and am very satisfied with them so far.

 

yes I believe your correct. I actually just went out and looked at the oem skid plate. Hahaa what a joke.

 

I have a couple of Tyler's cat shields. They are not flush with the frame, the rear sits a few inches lower, which is ok if you are not offroading in deep snow. I'll be modifying both in summer.

Otherwise steel cat is built like a tank. Alu is, eh, lightweight But wife's didn't want 1/2 ton of iron hanging under her Sequoia.

 

Looking at the full Rci setup. Wondering if there is any issues with airflow/cooling.

 

None of the catalytic converter shields cause airflow or cooling issues. They get as hot as the hot gasses that are passing through them, not any hotter because the air around them isn't moving super fast, they're not becoming insulated.

 

What about the skid plates for the trans?

 

You definitely want security for your cats. Even though the hospital has security, at times you will be parking in numerous other locations and with the right tool for the job it only takes under 5 minutes to cut off all four cats. I did a DIY and in your case I would talk to a local welding shop, maybe even a welding school and ask them to make you a custom plate. It doesn't need to be new, shiny, or perfect since it's out of sight. Used recycled 1 1/2" 6 guage expanded metal on mine. Vents better, doesn't trap mud, road salt, etc. Since you live in N E it would be better to be able to rinse away road salts with a heavy grate VS a plate. Good luck.

 

I have an RCI front (wanted the trap door for oil changes) and Desert Eagle mid. Had to add a couple of notches to get them to mate up.
Had an order for a rear cat guard from He Who Shall Not Be Named and canceled after seeing the horror stories of people waiting half a year and getting the ‘next week’ bs for three weeks.

 

Yes, it is. I wanted as much protection as possible.

 

No, they are getting hotter. The whole point of catalytic converter is to break down the unburnt hydrocarbon, COx/NOx molecules using catalytic reaction and re-burn them again. CAT gets hotter than the exhaust gases. Of course, ECU corrects the fuel trim, so CAT wouldn't have to work too hard, but it still re-burns some bits.

 

I have Talons sitting in my garage (waiting on warm weather to install) After reading the post you attached, I checked them out and they do not have cracked or stressed bends. The cutouts are precise and not jagged. Maybe he improved his fabrication along the way.

 

Just Installed my talons fitment was perfect took 4 days to get wich is awesome and I got powdered coated steal I belive there on sale and I did front and rear, couldn't be happier

 

We have dramatically improved our fabrication process since then. We are now using a laser cutter instead of plasma, and have a much nicer press brake and tooling. We are a home grown shop. We didn’t start out in a multi million dollar production like what he compared us to, and still are not. We care about quality and each day work to improve it, but these things do not happen overnight. That being said it is not a fair representation of what we are offering today. We are literally leaps and bounds ahead of what we were when that post was made. I’m not saying we offer aerospace grade parts, but are prices are also not reflective of aerospace grade parts.

As far as the cracking is concerned, it was not true cracking aluminum experiences from being over bent. It was more along the lines of what is referred to as orange peel from the stretching of the aluminum. This combined with our old method of sanding the plates would sometimes cause the surface level aluminum or the plate to separate and cause some imperfections. They were always surface level and didn’t not impact the structural integrity of the plate for its intended use.

I would also like to point out that gentleman made the review without contacting us first. If he has contacted us first with his concerns we would have offered him a full return and refund, or worked with him to come to a resolution.

These plates are designed to be an off-road skid plate they also overs very good cat protection. Not a dining table center piece.

For cost comparison, our 4 runner cat plate is 345. The RCi transmission skid with cat protectors is 485…. We try to price our products fairly.

 

Your plates are perfect in my opinion , hardware, instructions, beefiness, and look damn good with no rough edges and also have to say that they would be hard to steal because of the hardware you provide with the nylon on the nut and having to get behind it to hold and tighten ..... awesome stuff

 

I hear you on the not really too much worry in the northeast yet, but i've had friends lose cats while parked on the street in Brooklyn, so it's definitely making its way up here.
I drove mine to Miami right after buying and freaked out everywhere I parked. Ordered a set of RCI guards + trans plate right when i got back.

Not sure where you're at but might be fun to do a skid plate/guard install day in the next few months if folks are near.

 

Thanks for the update. I am glad to hear about the improvements. I did not order a cat guard for our 4runner yet, so I will take a harder look at what you offer.

 

Ahh, I honestly thought you were being a wiseass!! Glad you honestly didn't know the situation....

 

Thanks everyone for the input! I am not in the least bit mechanically inclined, nor do I have the desire to be, so I will start calling shops this week to see what they all offer.

-T

 

We have a 2020 4Runner. I couldn't find anything for it when I was looking last summer. I ended up going with a set of full skid plates from CBI. They do a pretty descent job of limiting access...hell of alot better than nothing at all. I can take more pics and gap measurements if you need them.

 

Where are you located in the northeast ? If your close I'll help you I'm in pa

 

Thanks, I appreciate it a bunch, I live in NH though! Very kind of you!

-T

 

No worries at all

 

If I am accurate, there was beef between Valhalla and Talon because they were in collaboration until they went their separate ways. Both started producing plates. This led to alot of finger pointing and accusations of stolen design. People took sides. It got ugly, and mods wisely started muting the pissing match.

Here is a gratuitous plate pic.

 

Yes, I have the Valhalla (Tyler's) cat plates so I am very familiar with the plates and the two camps where people were taking sides. I got my Valhalla plates last year in the June/July timeframe. I am not trying to start another contest between the two manufacturers. My question about the quality of Talon's plates was just asked because I have never read a bad review of his plates before and I wanted to know more. If I were buying plates today, I would buy from Talon just because of everything that has happened. I still may buy a front skid plate from him.

 

I've been in this camp for awhile too, but I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and order. What vendor has the best/easiest set up to run with the Pro skid plate?