Catalytic converter theft prevention

[rdhogg]

OK boys and girls, I must admit I had not thought too much about this topic until now. Because of a couple of things going on, the CATs are becoming way more and more valuable and two Chevy / GMC trucks on my street have been hit the past week.( they were on the street, I keep mine in the garage). Even looking at my Tahoe cats, I could see they are pretty accessible even if the top targets are Honda Elements and Tundra trucks. I watched a few YouTube clips on the subject and I decided to do Level 1( other methods can get REAL expensive) a little deterrent for the get it quick ****** and grab group - Paint and VIN etching. I went to the local AutoZone and picked up a can of VHT Flame Proof Red (the highest heat paint from VHT) and followed the standard prepping ( Scotch Brite pad, alcohol clean, taping off , etc.)
the following pics are 'before and after', I have not etched and paint curing , just wanted you to see what it will look like and for those who don't believe that your Cats are easy targets. So like i say the paint and etch are deterrents for the "easy money" crooks that can take a Sawzall and take your cats before you can get out of your house with your Glock.

 

[Tonyv__]

Honestly I see this topic a lot on the Reddit car pages. I always recommend stretching chicken wire across frame to frame. It’s minimal but have you ever tried to cut chicken wire with a sawzall? It just goes back and forth with the blade. Another small deterrent to hope the thieves just move onto the next car.

 

[gooffeyguy]

How does this deter the thieves? Because they don't want to go through the trouble of removing the paint before they cut it open to get the palladium, rhodium, or platinum from the inside to sell?

I'd think more of a deterrent would be to have a motion sensing security light in the area you park, and maybe a camera too.

 

[BG1988]

OK boys and girls, I must admit I had not thought too much about this topic until now. Because of a couple of things going on, the CATs are becoming way more and more valuable and two Chevy / GMC trucks on my street have been hit the past week.( they were on the street, I keep mine in the garage). Even looking at my Tahoe cats, I could see they are pretty accessible even if the top targets are Honda Elements and Tundra trucks. I watched a few YouTube clips on the subject and I decided to do Level 1( other methods can get REAL expensive) a little deterrent for the get it quick ****** and grab group - Paint and VIN etching. I went to the local AutoZone and picked up a can of VHT Flame Proof Red (the highest heat paint from VHT) and followed the standard prepping ( Scotch Brite pad, alcohol clean, taping off , etc.)
the following pics are 'before and after', I have not etched and paint curing , just wanted you to see what it will look like and for those who don't believe that your Cats are easy targets. So like i say the paint and etch are deterrents for the "easy money" crooks that can take a Sawzall and take your cats before you can get out of your house with your Glock.

dear

Honestly I see this topic a lot on the Reddit car pages. I always recommend stretching chicken wire across frame to frame. It’s minimal but have you ever tried to cut chicken wire with a sawzall? It just goes back and forth with the blade. Another small deterrent to hope the thieves just move onto the next car.

just lower the suv to the ground or grease up the jacking points this way it will slip off and crush them like the prius owner did https://abc7.com/prius-catalytic-converter-theft-convert-thefts-shield-anti/10427177/


honestly i did not think this was an issue because they're tucked in the engine bay on the tahoe/suburban/pickup

 

[Tonyv__]

How does this deter the thieves? Because they don't want to go through the trouble of removing the paint before they cut it open to get the palladium, rhodium, or platinum from the inside to sell?

I'd think more of a deterrent would be to have a motion sensing security light in the area you park, and maybe a camera too.

You gotta remember not everyone has the luxury of parking in the same
Spot or their personal driveway every night.

And the paint on the cat is some new thing going around. Law enforcement is telling scrap yard not to buy cats that are painted because they’re likely stolen. But You know how that goes. The scrap yards need to play by the books in order for that to work

 

[iamdub]

I prevented mine from getting stolen by cutting them off and hiding them in my shop.

 

[rdhogg]

Honestly I see this topic a lot on the Reddit car pages. I always recommend stretching chicken wire across frame to frame. It’s minimal but have you ever tried to cut chicken wire with a sawzall? It just goes back and forth with the blade. Another small deterrent to hope the thieves just move onto the next car.

Frame to frame is a good idea, not as tidy maybe. The main thing is getting the perp's to look and think "not worth my time"

 

[rdhogg]

I prevented mine from getting stolen by cutting them off and hiding them in my shop.

View attachment 366780

Plus you get to put your long tube headers on with your electric cutouts.

 

[rdhogg]

How does this deter the thieves? Because they don't want to go through the trouble of removing the paint before they cut it open to get the palladium, rhodium, or platinum from the inside to sell?

I'd think more of a deterrent would be to have a motion sensing security light in the area you park, and maybe a camera too.

Yeah, the common knot heads would be deterred but not the professional because they would cut your frequin door , fender, hood off to get what they wanted or just load up your ride and part it out, ha. And the armature is looking at the number of 'scores' they can make on their hunt, they are not going to cut it open, they just take their load to a scrap yard. A light and camera are great at your house, but those dumb f()ks like playing the numbers in malls, parking garages, etc. they see a neon red and hopefully move on.

 

[gooffeyguy]

Around here they don't do it in mall lots or garages, too many people coming/going.

They usually do it overnight, at auto repair shop lots or while it's parked at home on the street.

Can this red paint not be removed?

 

[rdhogg]

Around here they don't do it in mall lots or garages, too many people coming/going.

They usually do it overnight, at auto repair shop lots or while it's parked at home on the street.

Can this red paint not be removed?

Same here, but they are always looking for the easy ones, mine is always garaged, but I worry about road trips and having to park in Motel/Hotel parking lots. They are getting braver and hitting in the daytime. The VHT paint is baked on during the curing process and is harder to remove than the basic rattle can paint.

 

[MassHoe04]

In my area, a couple of car dealerships were targets. Much easier than moving from driveway to driveway, crawling under dirty old vehicles, Ring cameras, potential encounters with dogs that bite... Probably can get 10 cats in 20 minutes in a well-lit dealership lot, they can get in and out before anyone notices. Going house to house is too much work for the average knit-wit thief.

 

[rdhogg]

In my area, a couple of car dealerships were targets. Much easier than moving from driveway to driveway, crawling under dirty old vehicles, Ring cameras, potential encounters with dogs that bite... Probably can get 10 cats in 20 minutes in a well-lit dealership lot, they can get in and out before anyone notices. Going house to house is too much work for the average knit-wit thief.

The Honda Element and the Tundra trucks are the top targets here. However the Silverado trucks are being hit. The 2013 Tahoe is easy on the back side of the Cat but the up side is a little more difficult but can be done. I had not thought about the car dealers, easy pickings.

 

[MassHoe04]

The Honda Element and the Tundra trucks are the top targets here. However the Silverado trucks are being hit. The 2013 Tahoe is easy on the back side of the Cat but the up side is a little more difficult but can be done. I had not thought about the car dealers, easy pickings.

Just so happens, that the dealers hit in our area were... Wait for it.... Honda and Toyota.

While the occasional home or single vehicle theft incidents happen, it seems the majority of thefts are by out of state organized theft rings and are planned out pretty well. There was a big organized theft ring from CT busted last year, but that doesn't mean they are out of commission.

Local scrap yards won't take anything from Joe Schmo, without proving where it came from. Local shops have them picked up by scrap companies as part of a regular collection service. Just showing up at the scrap place with a hot one for cash is not easy to pull off without having police knowing about it. The larger rings are collecting in volume and somehow processing in bulk. Maybe out of country, even. Sounds like a good movie plot!

 

[rdhogg]

Just so happens, that the dealers hit in our area were... Wait for it.... Honda and Toyota.

While the occasional home or single vehicle theft incidents happen, it seems the majority of thefts are by out of state organized theft rings and are planned out pretty well. There was a big organized theft ring from CT busted last year, but that doesn't mean they are out of commission.

Local scrap yards won't take anything from Joe Schmo, without proving where it came from. Local shops have them picked up by scrap companies as part of a regular collection service. Just showing up at the scrap place with a hot one for cash is not easy to pull off without having police knowing about it. The larger rings are collecting in volume and somehow processing in bulk. Maybe out of country, even. Sounds like a good movie plot!

 

[iamdub]

Plus you get to put your long tube headers on with your electric cutouts.

Had to fill the gap with something cheaper!

 

[iamdub]

Quick thought off the top of my wrinkle-free brain: Have some metal tags made with something like "FAKECATS.COM" with "MADE IN CHINA" stamped onto them. Tack weld them to your cats, over the serial and/or part numbers. Weld an obviously non-factory bead on the pipe ahead and behind the cats to simulate them being welded in.

 

[rdhogg]

Quick thought off the top of my wrinkle-free brain: Have some metal tags made with something like "FAKECATS.COM" with "MADE IN CHINA" stamped onto them. Tack weld them to your cats, over the serial and/or parts numbers. Weld an obviously non-factory bead on the pipe ahead and behind the cats to simulate them being welded in.

I like it

 

[gooffeyguy]

My insurance will replace stolen cats and repair any damage done under my comprehensive coverage in the highly unlikely event it happens to any of my cars.

I've got other things to think about and spend my time doing, lol

 

[rdhogg]

My insurance will replace stolen cats and repair any damage done under my comprehensive coverage in the highly unlikely event it happens to any of my cars.

I've got other things to think about and spend my time doing, lol

Good point, but I am retired and enjoy doing my maintenance , etc . Plus I would enjoy jacking some idiot up for messing with my truck, ha.