Yeah cats are a serious fire hazard as they glow red hot. It amuses me when people say they are running without the heat shields on. A disaster waiting to happen. There are many instances of cars going up in smoke because the owners have parked them in long dry grass. Hot cat, dry grass. Whooosh.
I think a lot of people, (NONE on this site obviously), are guilty of wishy washy thinking. Hoping that things are only there for decoration and not a real purpose and maybe can be "got by without". Manufacturers don`t spend money on heat shields for no reason. They`re like disc brakes: not normally necessary, but on a hot day, working hard they`re quietly doing their bit. It`s only when things go just a little bit wrong that you appreciate why they`re there. But then it`s too late.
