E30 318is Catalytic Convertor Damage

Probably a heat shield. I remember when they first started using cats in the UK, there were a few cases of cars setting light to things like dry grass under the car.

Ben, its a heat-shield. stops the grass going on fire under your car when you park in the long, dry, grass..

dont laugh, i understand there were some cars lost to fire through this.

the upper part shields the car body from extreme heat.. remember the interior of the cat runs *very* hot..

Thanks guys, I live in the City and I think I will be O.K. without it...280K miles on her and I hope for 500k more. Thanks for the reconfirm on my thoughts.

:-)

Ben

Some idiot parked over a large pile of leaves in my neighborhood a few years back - the car was a total loss from the resulting fire.

Tom K.

There are heat shields wrapped around the CAT. You could have exposed some VERY hot exhaust components to the outside. If you are not leaking exhaust from the ripped section, then your main issue is heat. Do not park over tall grass until you get this fixed. If you are leaking exhaust, then you should get the CAT replaced asap.