Does anyone know what the temp of a catalytic converter should be after the engine reaches normal operating temperature?

After driving for about 3 hours the highest temp reading of my cat was around 480 degrees. I'm guessing this isn't good.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

 

Umm, is that the outside of the cat? Is that the heat shield temp?
480C or F?
Not enough info to go on.

 

Is it glowing red? If yes, ignition problem, else no problem.

 

480F and it was the heat shield temp.

 

Then the temperature seems pretty normal. Doesn't mean the cat is good, but at least your ignition is working.

 

well, it was getting to where it would hesitate bad every time I pressed on the gas. it got to where I could only go 25mph. I pulled over and let it sit for about 35-45 minutes then took off again. 10 minutes of driving til I got home and I checked the temp.

 

after letting it sit it ran fine. had a little studder around 6k rpm but wasn't as bad as it was before

 

Sounds like the cat is plugged. Pull it and see what the ceramic looks like on the inside. From the front it should look like a square honeycomb. If it looks like melted stuff then it's plugged.

 

would the Agency Power cat delete be a good substitute if there is something wrong with the cat?

 

It would be one of the cheapest solutions yes. If you want to spend more money for better quality go with the racing beat dual res or the BHR midpipe.

 

If you can get a read off the connection under the dash, this would lead to a more reliable number to be working with. If I remember ciorrectly, mine sits at about 1268 F when the car is warm and just cruising (not jumping on it hard).

 

I have an alternate diagnosis. I think you have a bad fuel pump. Was the fuel level in the tank low? Next time this happens, put in some fresh cool gas in the tank and see if it goes away.