- Purpose of a Catalytic Converter Shield
- Research Videos
- Online Purchases
- Installation Preparation
- Installation Part I: Plate Removal
- Installation Part II: Dropdown Carriage Bolts
- Installation Part III: Mid Skid
- Installation Part IV: Catalytic Skid
- Seven Months Later
Purpose of the Shield
In late 2023 I decided to purchase a catalytic converter shield for my 2022 Honda Ridgeline. In April 2024 I got around to installing it. In December 2024, over a year after the purchase, I finally wrote this article to document the experience.
What is the purpose of a catalytic converter shield? If you arrived at this article via Internet search, you may already know. But in case not, here are the two main reasons you may want to put shielding around your vehicle’s catalytic converter:
- You offroad frequently and want to protect the vehicle’s critical underside components
- As a theft-deterrent mechanism
The first reason is self-explanatory especially if you are already into offroading. The Ridgeline is certainly not an offroad vehicle like a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco. You will not want to do rock crawling with a Honda Ridgeline. But your use case may involve some light to “light moderate” offroading for which protecting your Ridgeline’s oil tank, catalytic converter, gas tank, and other parts may make sense for you. Camping certainly fits this case.
I am not a user of case one, and instead purchased the shield as theft deterrent. You may have seen the assorted news reports in recent years on how catalytic converters are theft targets. They contain precious metals that are valuable on the automotive black market.
Worse, most automobile manufacturers offer no innate protection for the catalytic converter. It is pretty much always exposed on the underside of your vehcile.
Even worse for Honda Ridgeline owners (and Pilot and Passport owners, since they are all variations of the same chassis), it is amazingly easy to access the catalytic converter. As an older guy over six feet and over 200 pounds, it is still fairly easy for me to scoot under my Ridgeline to get to the catalytic converter. If I can do it, I have zero doubt any halfway competent professional thief, with the right tools, can easily and quickly get under these large Honda vehicles and cut out the catalytic converter in under 90 seconds. No lifting of the Ridgeline, Pilot, or Passport is necessary, unless you have lowered your Honda for some odd reason (I don’t see how or why).
It is important to note that the shield I purchased and installed, as well as any other catalytic theft-deterrent solution, is exactly that, a deterrent. There is no 100% solution to keep your catalytic converter (or any other part of your vehicle) full-proof safe. If a professional thief wants to get something, he is going to get it. But what this shield does is make my catalytic converter a far less-enticing target. A job that would take less than 90 seconds to remove the converter is now probably at least five to eight minutes, having to cut through steel, in multiple locations, likely with a different type of blade. It also becomes a far nosier operation to get through the shield. And further, for this shield by No-Lo Designs, it is intentionally not fully rigid. If you have ever tried cutting through metal that vibrates, then you know how difficult that is.
This deterrent premise is not unlike a safe – a professional safe cracker can cut through anything, but the longer a potential “job” will take, the less likely the thief will engage in the work, due to the increasing risk or someone noticing, or getting outright caught.
Research Videos
Before I installed this catalytic converter shield on my Ridgeline, I had never worked on the underside of any vehicle to any significant degree (excluding tasks like getting at the spare tire). Specifically, I never installed anything under any car or SUV that I owned prior. So I wanted to make sure I completely and fully understood the installation process before purchase.
There are not many videos online that go over the installation, but thankfully the few that do hit the mark, explaining the same process but in slightly different manners, which is great for affirmation that the process works.
This first video is from “Camping Randy”, whose online store is where I bought the catalytic converter shield from (link in the next section below). It only shows the finished installation along with a few explanation points about how the install went. This a good, quick primer on what the final result looks like.
Video #2 is from No-Lo Designs, the company that designed and built the catalytic converter shield I bought. I got the impression through comments from both Randy and Ian that they joint-developed the shield, or at least that Randy was a primary prototype tester on his own Ridgeline. They obviously have a close relationship since Camping Randy sells Ian’s No-Lo Designs products in his store.
This video is a great step-by-step tutorial, and I watched it many times. I knew effectively by heart the process by the time I performed the install in the Spring of 2024. Ian’s and Randy’s Ridgelines have “sub frame drops” while my Ridgeline is a stock frame, but otherwise the video was fully along the lines of what I was going to need to do.
The third and final video is from SKPcars on YouTube. This one is important because the gentlemen appears to be just another Honda owner like me, so his video was great for triangulating the information from the prior two, and not from either company who have an interest in selling the product. Not that that is a bad thing, but this video provides validation from an independent source and fellow consumer.
This vehicle is a Honda Passport, but the underside and in this location is essentially the same as my Ridgeline’s. Also, this Passport does not have a subframe drop, like mine, so I could see how the install was done on a stock frame.
Online Purchases
As mentioned, I purchased the No-Lo Designs catalytic converter shield from the Camping Randy store. I did this in 2023 during a “Black Friday” deal last year. Here is the link to the product page (as it currently exists in December 2024):
The product arrived in a timely manner (was 1-2 weeks later, cannot recall exactly). The box was heavy, attributed to the thickness of the steel.
For my purchase, I chose the “Security Bolt Kit (with key)” option. This swaps the outside bolts for hex screws and comes with the needed hex bit for your screwdriver/wrench/ratchet. Again, the idea here is deterrent, as a thief will need to have the correct hex bit size and not just a stock wrench to remove the shield.
I did not choose the Powder Coating option.
There were no special tools required for the installation that I did not already have, though I did decide to get a set of ramps to lift my Ridgeline while performing the installation. Although I can technically fit under the Ridgeline without the ramps, it would have made working on the truck twenty times more difficult in such a cramped space. With the ramps I had more than ample room for every task.
I purchased this “RhinoRamps” bundle from Amazon.
Installation Preparation
Aside from the above videos, the actual instructions from No-Lo Designs are online, linked here. They are the written equivalent of the No-Lo Designs YouTube video above. I printed out these instructions and frequently referred to them throughout the installation process.
Here are all the tools I used for the installation:
Equipment used:
- Printed instructions
- 1/4″ torque wrench
- 3/8″ torque wrench
- 10mm socket
- 15mm socket
- 10mm wrench
- Ratchet and extender
- Straight edge screwdriver
- Loctite
- Masking tape
- (not shown) Socket adapter/reducer specifically for the security hex bit
The screwdriver was to help pop out the clips holding the existing metal cover plate, as you will see in a moment. I used a little dab of Loctite on each carriage bolt. The masking tape was for affixing the carriage bolts to the frame tabs so they would stay together while being pushed through the truck’s frame into position.
Here are closeups of the provided nut and bolt hardware, including the security kit pieces. I believe the packets were labeled with “(s)” since they included these security pieces. Note that this image is partially doctored as I “air brushed” out the specification info shown on the hex bit itself (don’t want to make it that easy for a thief to learn the correct hex size).
And before getting into the actual install, here is a picture of my Ridgeline up on the ramps, right before I started. It was a warm and sunny Spring afternoon. I learned that to drive the vehicle onto ramps, you first need to tuck them right up against the tires i.e. do not position the ramps away from the wheels assuming they will catch as you pull forward. But when tucked right into the rubber, it was easy.
Installation Part I: Plate Removal
Let’s begin with a “before” picture what the stock catalytic converter setup looks like. As you can see, to say it is exposed is an understatement. It is the silver cylinder in the middle. How hard would it be, with the right tools, to cut through on the adjoining pipes and simply let the catalytic converter drop?
It is a little hard to tell from the above angle, but the stock cover, in front of the catalytic converter, is slightly covering the pipe. But I doubt it would not be easy to quickly pull that cover back a little to get a clear cut from the front. The push pins holding it up are easy to remove. You can see one of the black clips here holding the metal cover in place:
On my first attempt, that cover was extremely easy to remove. It is held up only by the two push pins and three bolts with washers towards the front:
Installation Part II: Dropdown Carriage Bolts
Following the printed instructions (linked above), the next step was to place the two frame tabs and carriage bolts. Watching the videos, I worried this may be the most harrowing part of the entire install, even though each video ensured me that pushing the tabs through one hole and out the other was not difficult.
Here is how I set up the frame tabs and bolts. I used masking tape to secure the bolts to the tabs, with some “wiggle room” so that the bolts could be moved back and forth a little while I threaded them into the frame.
The task was to push each of these into one frame hole and have the bolts drop through the other hole. Frankly, it looks scary in the videos. What if I lost them? They would be near-impossible to retrieve.
I was amazed though at how easy this turned out to be, on both sides. It was almost like the frame tabs and bolts wanted to find their way to the proper position within the target holes. It literally could not have gone any smoother.
Here is what the carriage bolt looked like on the passenger side once threaded through properly:
…and here is the same bolt setup on the driver’s side:
In both pictures above, you can see an end of each frame tab from the hole that I pushed the tab and bolt through.
Installation Part III: Mid Skid
The “real” hard part of the install is what came next.
There are two plates, referred to in the instructions as the mid skid plate and the catalytic skid plate. The mid skid is towards the vehicle’s front and was installed first.
The instructions said to install the rear of the mid skid first. My challenge hear was keep the plate up to some degree while I threaded the plate through the bolts I just installed above. To accomplish this I leveraged my stepping stool which I use for all sorts of work both in my garage and yard. Thankfully, it was more or less the correct height to hold the mid skid up:
The step stool allowed me to loosely secure the passenger side bolt first, and then the driver’s side. Here was the task halfway done:
Once both sides of the rear mid skid were loosely attached to their carriage bolts, I was able to install the three front bolts. On these I used a little Loctite. Difficult to see, but these are three of the “security” bolts for which the specific hex bit is required to tighten and, if necessary, remove.
Here is the view from the passenger side of the mid skid fully installed:
And a view from the driver’s side, where you can see how the rear carriage bolt secures the plate. I was very careful with the torque on these rear bolts, as it felt like they wanted to keep turning. After playing with each side a little, I was satisfied they were tightened enough.
Installation Part IV: Catalytic Skid
The catalytic/rear skid plate attaches by only three bolts: two onto the mid skid and one above the catalytic converter leveraging a bolt slot for the heat shield.
(Speaking of heat, it is very important to do all of this when your engine is cool.)
The two front bolts were done first. Getting these two bolts on was a little challenging as I had to reach over the top of the plate to turn the large 3/8″ torque wrench. This required short turns as space was very limited. It was doable; I just needed to be patient. I put Loctite on these bolts as well as the upcoming heat shield bolt.
Because my Ridgeline is a stock frame, I had to use the spacer that came with the installation kit. This was not hard outside of having to reach a bit higher to hold everything while I tightened the final blot. And this is the fourth security bolt. Here is the view from the ground looking straight up; you can see a little of the spacer between the top of the skid pate and the heat shield. Smartly, this portion of the plate was designed with an oval cutout to allow easy positioning of the final bolt.
With all bolts and plates secured and tightened, where is what the final install looked like from the driver’s side:
Here is a better view from below and on the passenger side, where you can see the entire installation back to front:
Observe above that the entire plate system is connected by four contact points: one at the front, two in the middle, and only in the back. The final rear assembly is a bit of design genius, because having only one contact point means the entire assembly is not rigid enough to cut through. Put a power saw to this and it will vibrate, making it near impossible to cut. A thief would have to apply some sort of inconvenient upward force to keep the plates secure while cutting, no easy task if he is looking to do a quick catalytic converter swipe.
Seven Months Later
As mentioned, I procrastinated greatly in writing this article, but not without unexpected benefit.
I can attest, in December 2024, that the catalytic converter shield is still doing great. Two months ago, I took a 1500-mile road trip with the Ridgeline, had zero issues, along with the piece of mind that my catalytic converter was reasonably protected when parking in unfamiliar lots overnight.
Here is a picture from today as I finish this article of the shield assembly, essentially still as it was when I first installed it back in April. I did a quick poke test on both plates, and both are still rock solid.
If you have any questions on how or why I did parts of this installation, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading this article, and please share it with fellow Honda Ridgeline/Pilot/Passport owners.
