Smacked Underside - Broken Exhaust Piece

[millaj01]

Hey Everyone,<p>I've got a '93 GS I've been upgrading lately. Unfortunately, I was forced to drive over some *very* uneven/broken blacktop today. As I was driving over (slowly, about 5MPH) I was greeted with an unpleasant *THUNK* from the underside of the car. Much to my chagrin, upon inspection of the front underside I saw that some portion of the exhaust had been cracked by a collision with this infernal pavement.<p>To me, it appeared to be some sort of skid plate or protective covering which housed the front pipe of the exhaust system. It was a decent size piece which covered what appears to be the joint between the front pipe and the rest of the exhaust..I wish I knew the exact name/function for it, but it's definitely the lowest, most exposed piece of the underside of a GS/V6 when you look from the front. In any case, the piece totally fell off on my way in to work (ugh) and is now gone. I hear no difference in the exhaust as a result, and I'm hoping this was simply a protective piece. Hopefully someone can tell me what this piece is used for and/or if I'm going to have exhaust troubles now that it's missing.<p>Thanks for any help!