There are a growing number of ways to protect your converter as the industry comes out with new solutions. There are some  methods we recommend you avoid because they can cause harm to your vehicle. 

Any aftermarket part should be designed in a way to minimize changes to the vehicle. Modifying the original equipment may harm the vehicle in the long run.

We recommend choosing the products that do not require changes to the vehicle. Ideally you want a bolt-on application that is fully removable in case you need to do maintenance on your car.

Should I weld rebar to my catalytic converter?

Welding material like rebar is not recommended. Some shops may offer custom solutions that require welding onto the exhaust system. While this may meet the goal of protecting the converter, it comes at a cost of harming the converter. 

If you happen to have your converter stolen and replaced with an expensive original converter from the dealer, you will void the warranty if you weld anything to the exhaust and converter. Welding requires extreme heat and can damage the longevity of your converter. Welds can damage the matting and substrate and cause premature converter failure or cracking.