What Have You Done To Your 3rd Gen Today?

Exactly. It's probably not the worst thing in the world. RC has a decent reputation so they probably wouldn't sell it if the excessive heat was detrimental. I've always preferred a Cat Shield with holes for breathability. Haha, maybe there's a thread about this somewhere

 

There is an air-gap, and catalytic converter shields (like my RCI shields) are usually 1/4 thick aluminum ... difficult to heat up that mass to destruction.