It is good that you did see this first hand, at the least you are positive that there is a serious problem.I had the guts of my cat break loose and bounce around inside the casing until they took on the shape of a round ball,every so often it would plug the pipe in a way that would not allow exhaust flow creating much heat and performance problems.incorrect ignition timing and/or valve function can also create much heat.Have you checked the search on this site using (turbo glowing red)?there seems to be some discussion about just this thing.Good luck