broke_mofo

I'm going to be buying an FD in the next few months and need to know whether to save up for a good alarm too. The FD already has one but it's 11 yrs old. I don't know if it'll do the job anymore.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

If you ask me, alarms in general are over-rated. Think about how often you hear car alarms in the parking lot go off, and totally ignore 'em... besides, if someone is bent on stealing your car, an alarm def. wont stop 'em. it'll do a much better job deterring some idiot novice who thought it might be fun to try, but not someone who's determined.

as for the stock alarm...its gay, plain and simple. doesn't have keyless entry, alarms itself only by locking the door from the outside (as far as I know), and honks the horn, flashes the lights etc when activated, including an ignition kill, which I believe it also useless cuz can't you push-start a manual??

if I were you, and was real concerned for my FD's safety, id save up $500, get a nice pager alarm that'll give ya keyless entry, roll up and down your windows (you'll need an actuator on the driver side door, since it doesn't have one.. FD's dont have true power locks) and even a fuel kill. that'll give someone a run for their money, while providing ya w/ some convenience and peace of mind.

my $0.02

David Beale

Stock alarm arms when the drivers door is the last closed (lock before closing). Alarm flashes headlamps, disables starter, and honks horn. Thieves can still push start. No vibration/glass sensor. Easy to stop alarming by just pulling lines from module in drivers side kick panel.

I had a "Viper" installed as well. Both alarms work (arming Viper also sets stock alarm). Viper disables fuel pump, gives me keyless entry, vibration detection, and an extra noise generator.

The car can still be easilly taken by a determined thief, but these cars aren't worth enough for most of them.

diablone

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like it's helping to me...

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

LOL...in that sense, yes. actually, any stock alarm would be great in that sense

but i just dont want broke **** (LOL great name!) to think an upgraded alarm is what he needs to make his car unstealable.

oh and if we're into deterrents for idiots, id definetly recommend the autolock... it locks onto the clutch, so you can't start the car since you can't press down the clutch. it comes w/ this yellow steering wheel cover that stands out like a sore thumb, so it'll def. handle the idiot deterrent aspect

inis

You know what the best alarm is?

A closed garage door.

SpeedKing

iTrader: (4)

As mentioned above, if thieves really want your car, they'll get it alright, alarm or not - the professionals will know how to bypass everything, or they'll tow it if they can't. Forget about an aftermarket alarm and spend the money on comprehensive insurance instead.

broke_mofo

I live in an apartment complex in the "student ghetto". It's like a bunch of middle class apartment complexes built in the hood where land is cheaper.

inis

theres always warehouses lying around.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

I freakin HATE those damn complexes... no offense to you, but it's places like that where ****** who have nothing better to do than jack your ish sit and memorize your every move... when you leave, when you come home, where you park, etc. and they're most likely to jack your car too

i know one too many friends who came out to find their car sitting on cinder blocks, or all the electronics ripped out, etc, and they had fancy shmancy alarms too. one of my friends had the pager function too that was hooked up to a separate backup battery... they apparently cut the cords to that FIRST, and the rest was history. he never heard the pager go off cuz it was 3 am, he was sleepin, and it only went off for like 8 seconds...

point is, while this may sound extreme, my car dictates my lifestyle to quite an extent... where ill drive it to, where ill park it, etc. if school/work doesn't have a safe place to park my baby, then the car stays home. and if the prob is it being home, unless you're willing to move lol..i STRONGLY suggest you find a local private garage that you can get 24 hr parking at

diablone

iTrader: (2)

I'd wait and buy it til you move somewhere respectable/safe.

bigmack000

i know of something you can do that will make it so the guy can't even hot wire the car or push start it and it wont even look liek an alarm he will have no clue how to steal it . but he can tow it
joel
editheres the link
http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_0059/article.html

broke_mofo

moving isn't an option so this thing looks real good

bigmack000

yeah i am goin to do it to my fd. when its up and going again. goin to get one of my teachers to help me. i am in avionics so all we deal with is circuits and ****. the only thing i would change on that is to put some circuits pertection right after tha battery, like a fuse or a breaker just so you dont fry the wires and burn the car up.
joel

sub9lulu

iTrader: (7)

man i live in one of those appt complex
that time i got no deck whatsoever, theres nothing in my car for people to steal basically, i got my battery relocated in the bin and i locked it. one day i woke up check under the hood the ROTOR SHAPE OIL CAP IS GONE !!! i was like WTF ! people got nothing better to steal !? my factory alarm was f*ed up that time ...

InsaneGideon

Haha... Every alarm thread ends up like this.

"You should move to a gated community!"
"As everyone knows, *all* thieves are geniouses! They can steal anything! Why even bother locking doors!We're all doomed!"
"Get insurance ... and a gun!"

edit:...but insurance is always a good idea. That's step 1.

Whatever
I doubt anyone seriously belives an alarm is fool-proof, or better said: "professional-proof" Sure, there are many cases where they've been bypassed by someone that knows what they're doing (like the guy at the shop that installed it ).

All the stock alarm does is bitch if something's been opened without using the key to unlock first. There IS a stock flashing light in the center console to ward off the unsophisicated low-life looking for a fix.

You can get a pager alarm for $180 and install it yourself. No big investment, unless you have it installed by someone else. And they're fairly light and self-contained. On the FD, you'll need to cram a solenoid into the driver's side, if you want real keyless entry.

My fav. part is I can poll the car and see on the screen whether I remembered to lock the damn thing. I always have a paranoid second thought when I'm walking away, and am 200 ft. away.


Hell, I got a sh!tty anecdote myself: The day before Christmas eve, 8 cars were broken into by my parents house. I was there, and my FD was in the back (the queen she is ). My Dad's SnugTopped Ford (w/out alarm) was one of the victims -- it got the **** pried out of it. As for the others, they suffered the same fate. During the post-traumatic neighbor get-together, it was revealed: the only 3 vehicles not hit in the streak were the ones with alarms! The last vehicle they hit had alarm with a nearly invisible indicating light. That alarm they set off... and they must have scattered like cockroaches when the heard it. Good thing for them, because we have a wood chipper in the back waiting for them.

TwinTurbo93

The stock alarm saved me once (hey is better than never), I was parked in no parking zone and the DOT tow truck was gonna tow my car away so he tryed to slim jimm the door open to put down the emergency brake and to put it in neutral.
I heard the car beep the stock alarm and I ran out quickly cuz I knew something was realy wrong. The stupid Viper alarm didn't even go off.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

<< the DOT tow truck was gonna tow my car away so he tryed to slim jimm the door open to put down the emergency brake and to put it in neutral. >>

WHAT?! i would sue the PANTS off 'em if they damaged my car in any way.... that is so.... ghetto.

Here in DC, if they're gonna tow ya, they put this little frame around each tire, and the frame has little wheels, so they basically raise the tires from the ground and use the ability of the frames to roll to just push your car out of the spot so they can access it to tow it...

and even if they did it that way, chances are they'd try and the car from one end, vs. using a flatbed. id raise hell about that too...

i had to get my FD towed a few times (for repairs...not parkin lol) and it takes a good 30 min to get that thing onto the flatbed w/o scratchin the front bumper on the bed, or the exhaust on the concrete... it's a situation...haha

TwinTurbo93

Luckyly he didn't damage anything and he even didn't get the door open either, I guess the alarm activated when the door internals where tuchet (locking cables or smothing) and I rane fast outside to see what the hell happened to my car (he already had given me a ticket) and he just left..

racer1

What stock alarm??? Why mine doesn't have one?

It's a 2000 Type R model.

TwinTurbo93

Do you have a orange light in the center console marked as security and it shuld blink when you lock the doors?
Also easy to find out if you do or not, turn the car off and leave one window open, get out lock the car after 30 sec a beep is heard, put you hand through the window and unlock/open the car from inside, it should go off if there is any alarm in it, which I beleive you do!

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

LOL...you know wut's hilarious?? That's EXACTLY how I found out about the stock alarm. Except I wasn't testing it, I was just trying to get back into the car LOL. It went bezerk..so afterwards I jumped onto the 3rd gen FAQ, and sure enough, the car comes with a stock alarm! haha

bigmack000

i think the car looks funny when it goes off lol. jsut goes ape **** and my horn is kinda gone int he pooper so it sounds even better.
joel

TwinTurbo93

TwinTurbo93

My horns are all screwed up to so it does sound so funny. beeyep, beeyep ...