I am not too sure what they are called , so ill just call them remote starters (it speaks for itself). Its winter time and i am a lazy guy so instead of going out and waiting in my car for to warm up i would rather wait in my house and play some gt4 while it warms up . Does anyone know of any reliable, reasonably cheap, remote starter for our FC's?

 

there are a bunch of remote start systems out there, you can get them for under $100 if you want cheap. The most important thing though is wiring it up correctly and reliably with good soldered connections. You also want to wire in the neutral switch as a safety measure but bypass the clutch switch if your car came with one. It is illegal though for a remote start on a manual transmission car.

 

really !? this is news to me. can anyone vouch for what arghx said? my buddy has one and he has a manual car, now hes pretty "straight" i don't think he would do anything illegal. Are you sure it isn't just in certain regions (iunno) (i live in BC Canada)?

 

no clue on canadian rules and regs but in the US they wont wire it to a manual car because if you leave it in gear and have the neutral safety switch bypassed everytime the remote starter engages your car moves forward (as its in gear). this has a tendancy to go through things like garage doors, cars in front of you etc... (varying on 1st or reverse gear parking preference).

 

Remote starters are set up to only operate if the parking brake is set, so a manual transmission isn't a problem.

Any of the remote starters for a reputable manufacturer will work. They are as reliable as the car is. So if the car takes several attempts to start, they won't work well.

Though it's a big waste of time and fuel to "warm up" the car. Just start it, put on your seatbelt, and drive away.

 

Get a compustar 2W900FM-R. 3000ft range, you can check the temp inside the car off the remote, 6000ft page back, can get the alarm start version. Basically better then any DEI crap.

 

I thought we should be waiting for our cars to warm up before driving them, am i wrong ? If it makes no difference then i guess screw the remote starter.

 

The main point of the remote starter has never been to benefit the car, rather it's to get the interior warmed up for the driver.
Especially nice if you have leather seats which can suck your body heat out for miles when cold.

 

haha, i don't have leather seats so its okay. so then i take it, it doesn't matter if i drive my 7 cold? can i still drive hard or do i have to wait a bit till it warms up?

 

I have a friend who installs car audio and security profesionally, and in our area it is illegal to have remote start on a manual. I'm not saying that it's illegal everywhere though.

 

Its fine to drive the car while cold. But you dont want to drive hard until it reaches normal operarting temps. Anything under 4k should be fine while cold.

 

I usually stick to under 3k when cold but you get the idea. Its also important to let the car fully warm up before you turn it off.

 

No, that's an old myth.

Just don't beat on it until it warms up.

That's only to prevent flooding on cars in poor tune.

 

I've had plenty of experience with the DEI alarms and remote starts, and I'd recommend them. I've had a VERY limited experience with the Compustar, as the shop I used to work at installed them before I worked there and had to service a few while I had the job. Stick with a reputable brand, and a good shop and you'll be set. DO NOT try to hook it up if you have no idea what you are doing.

As far as I know, it's not illegal (at least around here) to install remote starts on manuals. I've done a few of them before. I did a full Clifford remote start/alarm on an Rx-8 about 2 years ago, and we made the customer sign a waiver.

At my old shop, I accidentally ran my boss' car into a table saw because of his remote start. He had left the car in the bay for the weekend as he was out of town. Somebody left the car in gear, and I was unaware. I picked up the keys off of the key rack and hit remote start. The car overpowered the parking brake and creeped into a table saw, scratching his hood severely. I had to buy him a new hood, I wasn't stoked one bit. If you install one, just be sure you leave the car in neutral.

 

Then it wasn't hooked up properly. I know that I wasn't allowed to install astrostarts in manuals for liability reasons but I install compustars all the time. They are setup so that it is impossible to remote start the car in gear as you have to go through a few steps to put in start mode. Mainly letting out the clutch completely before shutting the car off.

I shouldn't hate all DEI stuff but I know that astrostarts and the "XK" bypass moodules are junk from first hand experience.