ot: catalytic converter theft in my hood

[eddief]

last night 3 cars had the verters stolen. cut right out in plain darkness.

what a f8cked up world we live in.

as arlo guthrie once said, "i wanna kill."

prevention:
http://catclamp.com/

[Blastinbob]

It's been going on for a few years but with more media exposure comes more idiots willing to take the chance to steal you converter. I see about half dozen every week here in the L.A. area. Thieves primarily target the easier Toyota/Nissan trucks, vans and SUV's but everything has become fair game. Some thieves are now carrying floor jacks and going into business parking lots on weekends when nobody is around and hitting the more expensive BMW's and MBZ's. It's way too easy to cash in the cores, in Canada they are requiring fingerprint and picture I.D. when you turn them in.


Blastin Bob mufflerman

[rwsaunders]

There's some platinum in them puppies.

[Kevan]

I was worried about an upstart in gasoline syphoning to begin.

[H1449-6]

I was worried about an upstart in gasoline syphoning to begin.

To that point, I don't have a locking gas cap on one of my cars so I'll probably have to put that on my list of things to pick up.

[eddief]

http://catclamp.com/customerdatasheet.asp

[rounder]

There's some platinum in them puppies.

That's what I read too. Thieves are stealing them so they can sell the contents on the aftermarket, not just so they can bolt it on their cars as a cheap replacement.

[rwsaunders]

From Wired Magazine:

Forget the rims, and never mind the stereo. Modern thieves looking for a serious payoff are skipping the obvious old staples and crawling underneath your car in search of the real prize: the catalytic converter. Standard issue on cars in this country since the mid-1970s, catalytic converters use a small amount of platinum to convert harmful engine emissions, including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, into less harmful ones, like nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Considering that platinum has, in recent weeks, made an understatement of its status as a precious metal by touching $2075 an ounce, and considering each catalytic converter contains between three and seven grams of the stuff, that little metal box under your car just became a whole lot more interesting to certain folks. This recent price spike is largely the result of fears of mine closures due to power cutbacks in South Africa, which controls some 80 percent of the world's platinum output, but it's hardly platinum alone that is seeing record prices. Palladium and rhodium, also used as catalysts, are running about $445 and $7300 an ounce, respectively. So what's the answer? An Ohio company's medieval-esque CatClamp is a ground-level tool to thwart thieves (who often get $200 or more for each stolen catalyst), but a lasting solution will have to come from the source. The world's automakers, which collectively spend more than $2 billion a year on platinum, are striving to find ways to curb their need. Mazda, for instance, has devised a catalytic converter that uses nano-particles of precious metals instead of larger particles to reduce the amount of such elements by 70 to 90 percent.

[CMY]

Funny.. and to think that the first thing I used to do when I got a new car was to hollow that sucker out. :crap:

[Ti Designs]

Funny.. and to think that the first thing I used to do when I got a new car was to hollow that sucker out. :crap:


There are laws and stiff fines for doing that. Something about not changing or replacing a working catalist. When I put the turbo in my Honda I first jacked the car up by the cat, then seeing my mistake I replaced it with a 2-1/2" free flowing cat.

[CMY]

There are laws and stiff fines for doing that. Something about not changing or replacing a working catalist. When I put the turbo in my Honda I first jacked the car up by the cat, then seeing my mistake I replaced it with a 2-1/2" free flowing cat.

I wouldn't do it anymore but 12 years ago I didn't give it much thought (just like my 3-4 times a week street racing habit).

[ClutchCargo]

There are laws and stiff fines for doing that. Something about not changing or replacing a working catalist. When I put the turbo in my Honda I first jacked the car up by the cat, then seeing my mistake I replaced it with a 2-1/2" free flowing cat.

put a turbo in a Honda. now, that's funny!



:D :p :D :p