Car alarm reviews.

[Canaduh]

I've searched around, and came up wtih the reason there probably isn't much of a car alarm review post is probably because new ones come out pretty often.

Anyways, I'm looking around for an alarm, and didn't find any real thread where people gave their opinions on their alarms. I know i could search google to find out, but i'd rather hear it from people with the same cars as i.

Faults and plus' would be awesome along with the alarm you use. :eek3d:

[bigOdom1]

we own 240's that are old no one has an alarm

[eastcoastS14]

lol theres no alarm review thread on zilvia because no one has an alarm lol everyone would rather spend their money on super jdm parts cause i mean hey you can always post another "OMFG MY 240 got stolen" thread cause a bunch of zilivians on the look out is just as efficient if not better than lowjack

[myriad]

I have a Viper 771 2-Way. Its awesome, I know there are some newer ones out there but this one suffices my needs - has a nice little remote that tells me if anyone has set the alarm off and, needless to say, the alarm is rather loud. The only down side is the remote is a battery whore and if your battery dies, your are kinda locked out of your car because you will set your alarm off by unlocking it the conventional way (key in door.)

Just my .02

[bigOdom1]

keep a spare battery in your wallet

[myriad]

keep a spare battery in your wallet

You'd think that would be a good idea

[Canaduh]

lol theres no alarm review thread on zilvia because no one has an alarm lol everyone would rather spend their money on super jdm parts cause i mean hey you can always post another "OMFG MY 240 got stolen" thread cause a bunch of zilivians on the look out is just as efficient if not better than lowjack

I was getting sick of seeing all the stolen car threads, and decided, why not spend the couple hundred to get an alarm to protect the thousands i have in it, and plan to put in.

"won't happen to me, i'll buy soemthing else with the money"
I don't wanna take the chance.

[fatony]

when i get my car, i'm gonna install an alarm asap~ but now that i know that the viper one hogs battery life and can lock you out.. i guess i have to find another one.. any more suggestions guys?

[origin_s135]

i have the clifford rsx 3.5, it's a cool alarm, it's 2-way, i get to warm up my car while i'm inside the house sleeping for another 10 minutes, has a turbo timer included, but the only thing i hate about it is that when you leave the car the hazards will go on until the car shuts off. oh i also have a quick release and a quick lock. : )

[djp.]

i got the 500 vx viper alarm, it pretty good is has the gay little auto start (birthday present not my idea) it took them a long ass time to install it, they had to by pass a lot of things, it has good range like 220 yds,its not a super long range but its long enough, and you can adjust the sensibility, and loudness of the alarm, i think it was like 300 dollars, yup

[KA-T_240]

I have the compustar 2way. and then for good messures, Tint, and some other stuff.

[Canaduh]

when i get my car, i'm gonna install an alarm asap~ but now that i know that the viper one hogs battery life and can lock you out.. i guess i have to find another one.. any more suggestions guys?

Exact reasons i wanted to make this thread. Personally, i don't want to buy an alarm where the remote battery gets drained super fast, and i'd like to get a car starter as well, since i live in canada, and don't like running out to the car in winter to start it. I'm definately going to look into the Clifford alarms from what i've heard so far.

[Gaelen]

i used to have some shitty ugho thing of an alarm...did the job...when paired with me taking my steering wheel with me

[GSXRJJordan]

I HATE anything made my DEI. That's almost all of em now (Viper, Clifford, etc) because although the alarm brains are good, the remotes are shitty (battery hogs + very expensive to replace).

I use a Schosche (made by compustar) 2 way, their most expensive model, with remote start/turbo timer/etc. I don't use the remote start feature, mostly because I like to leave the car in gear, but I use the turbo timer. The range is better than any DEI I've seen (tested by the "hey man, we parked next to each other, lets see if your alarm still works", "ok, now back up" method), and I picked it up from my local hookup for less than $300... had to install myself though. Installed it goes for >$600.

[Canaduh]

I want soemthing with a good sensor to know if the cars being hoisted, or jacked up. Worst thing would be to find my baby on blocks :(

[Clearalbino]

Those are additional sensors that you would have to purchase on top of the alarm, for instance a tilt sensor would be good for your needs.

[WILDACEX187]

these alarms that have turbo timers, is there a way to disable them? they dont automatically go on do they?

[chuy]

Automate-Only to be used on new to 5 year old cars. It has a turbo timer aswell

[PhilthyS13]

+1 on the Clifford RSX 3.5. It wakes me up when it goes off, but I'm a light sleeper. I get those energizer lithiums and they last. You can make it so the alarm doesn't light up, which saves battery juice.

I think the 50.5 goes up to a mile.

[ronmcdon]

i forgot the exact model name, but I have something along the lines of a Viper 5000. only the transponder has 1 mile sensor. I can tell a couple blocks away if my alarm goes off. i also have a lift sensor, proximity sensor, and shock sensor installed. I also have a hood latch lock, plus a few other goodies id rather not disclose.

the only thing i don't care about my alarm is that i could not get the turbo timer function to work. well, Id think a turbo timer would not be compatible with a kill switch anyways, but i'm not sure. the remote start is nice, put pointless if you have a fuel cut kill switch(s). as far as battery consumption, the transponder eats up a single duracell AA in about a month, which i consider reasonable.

i really like it overall. for the alarm cost me around $250 shipped by itself. the extra sensors and other parts were another $150 or so. I suck at working on cars, so i had someone perform the labor for another $300 or so. some ppl may consider this too much, but i've had another car stolen before and so i'm a bit more cautious.

[jspecusa]

a good alarm is one that's done by a professional with clean wiring and not taping power off anywhere under the dash.
also make sure it's got start kill that's what matter the most.
another good way to look for a good alarm is to make sure they will be around to warranty the work.

[laxplaya8513]

Compustar is a good unit, they have a neutral safety switch also so you can install remote start w/ standards. otherwise the range is crazy, the battery consumption is moderate... 2-way systems regardless of the company will be battery hogs

[BOROSUN]

just get one of these. out-dated , but still effective.
http://static.flickr.com/40/83256323_4fc3d99a15_o.jpg

[05civse]

I have a prostar gold by A-1 tech (they are big in japan, mexico, and europe). awesome 3d display on 2-way remote (the remote battery is rechargeable and uses a supplied cig. lighter charger, so no battery running dead!)

[WILDACEX187]

where u get that? hows the range?

[laxplaya8513]

i think this is the best security system for cars though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee3L9BQQ4Gs

[DrtyRat]

Exact reasons i wanted to make this thread. Personally, i don't want to buy an alarm where the remote battery gets drained super fast, and i'd like to get a car starter as well, since i live in canada, and don't like running out to the car in winter to start it. I'm definately going to look into the Clifford alarms from what i've heard so far.
It's not like you go out to your car, try to disarm it and hope that the battery isn't dead. Just like a cell phone it has a battery indicator to show when its getting low. I had a Viper791xv on my s14 and I had no complaints w/it. It did what I expected it to do. I got it for 200 shipped off of ebay and paid 150 to have it installed. You say you don't want to worry about buying a battery every month but you have thousands of $'s in mod's done to your car....so what's a few extra bucks a month gonna hurt. As far an extra battery goes, I used to keep my spare in the car, that way if I wasn't paying attention to the indicator, I could just open the car, take out the spare and be done.

[95Kouki]

first off for Origin S135

Open a door.
2. Ignition. Turn the ignition on, then back off.
3. Select a Menu. Press and HOLD the Valet/Program switch. After three seconds the siren will chirp once indicating
entry to the Basic Features Menu...

hold the valet button until the siren produces three chirps....

push the valet switch 4 times and Push and HOLD....siren will chirp

push the unlock and voila....no more flashing parking when remote started... :)


and As for alarms...alarms are a mere deterent...get the best that you think is necessary and have it installed buy a reputable installer... i myself have been doin mobile electronics for the last 6 years professionally and doin it as a hobby since i was ten...i've installed close to a thousand alarms in everything from a run of the mil civic to ferrari and lambos...i've built close to CES and SEMA cars...they have basic alarms in them....think of it this way how much is a piece of mind??? Alarms are fuckin dirt cheap for what they do...basic alarms cost more to put in then the alarm itself...Installation is key....so get it done right

[Gumballf355]

Clifford IQ Series... awsome.

[95Kouki]

IQ is oldschool...still works...very unreliable and a bitch to reprogram if you kill a transmitter...again to each their own

[PhilthyS13]

just get one of these. out-dated , but still effective.
http://static.flickr.com/40/83256323_4fc3d99a15_o.jpg

ED209 ftw. His malfunctions are pure comedy.

Although slightly out-dated, he is still better than Cain. Cain was addicted to nuke, so he was basically a crackhead.

[lil240sx95]

just get that alarm that talks! its old school! but keeps people away!
STEP AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE

[Canaduh]

It's not like you go out to your car, try to disarm it and hope that the battery isn't dead. Just like a cell phone it has a battery indicator to show when its getting low. I had a Viper791xv on my s14 and I had no complaints w/it. It did what I expected it to do. I got it for 200 shipped off of ebay and paid 150 to have it installed. You say you don't want to worry about buying a battery every month but you have thousands of $'s in mod's done to your car....so what's a few extra bucks a month gonna hurt. As far an extra battery goes, I used to keep my spare in the car, that way if I wasn't paying attention to the indicator, I could just open the car, take out the spare and be done.

I was just thinking about it, and i have a battery charger with 4 AAA's and 4 AA's, alkaline as well, so i don't really care about battery life, since i'll always have some. That prostar alarm looks nice, just did a little reading on it.

[05civse]

where u get that? hows the range?


I got it off e-bay :) it is way cool if you get a chance to see the 3d screens, I'll try and find the link. As for the range, if my car is about halfway out in the safeway parking lot it will work to the back of the store. some buildings will make the range alot shorter (like big office buildings), it is kind of a crap shoot at times but most of the time it works well. I wired it up with starter kill, ignition kill, fuel kill, ect. and went overboard on sensors and failsafe precautions. I made the alarm able to handle a thief by itself and if i happen to be within range, well there will be me to deal with also.

Edit: they also make a remote that is actually a watch--- James Bond style... walks up to car... reaches up and clicks watch... chirp chirp then climbs into car... OOOH, I'm buying one right now! $50 sweet! http://www.samitoelectronics.com/prostarwatchcon.html too bad it isn't a 2-way remote, but it does work with the 2-way alarm.


This thing even has proximity unlock so you just walk up to your car and it unlocks and disarms it for you! scroll down a little bit and you can see a few of the 3D graphics on the remote in movement... it actually is a cooler screen. Tells internal temp (in celsius), time, and stuff. also has a programed time start, like set your alarm to start your car every morning at 7:00 for you automatically or whatever time.
http://www.samitoelectronics.com/

jealous? LOL -damnit, now i wont be to only person with this (well, the only one i've seen... u know)... nobody buy one >(

[Jung918]

I have the Viper 5900. It has one mile range but it doesn't go that far. I knew it wouldn't but it goes a lot further then the 791xv (1/4 mile)
Complaints: Only comes with one alarm fob. When I remote start the car, the starter goes off but the engine doesn't start untill acouple of seconds. I believe this is a install problem. Other then that, it is a great alarm.

[ixfxi]

lol theres no alarm review thread on zilvia because no one has an alarm lol everyone would rather spend their money on super jdm parts cause i mean hey you can always post another "OMFG MY 240 got stolen" thread cause a bunch of zilivians on the look out is just as efficient if not better than lowjack

now that is a fucking badassed post.. that had me laughing.

seriously, if you want the REAL answer - just read this thread, its been discussed... especially by me and russ.. people who actually have knowledge and experience with wiring, and are professional car thieves. i've stolen over 10,000 cars this past year, so you should really listen to me. russ has only stolen about 9,201. he spends too much time posting on zilvia.

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?p=1270703#post1270703

oh yeah, also PM me your address with a pic so i can see what your car looks like.. i'll come check to see if your alarm was installed properly. thanks.

a good alarm is one that's done by a professional with clean wiring and not taping power off anywhere under the dash.
also make sure it's got start kill that's what matter the most.
another good way to look for a good alarm is to make sure they will be around to warranty the work.

regarding warranty/installation: i think its safe to say that NO alarm shop uses solder and shrink tube. ALL of them use the wiring, taps and tees that are included with your <insert brand/model here>... for example, you go out and spend 300 on a Viper 1-million.. or whatever. Its the same shit. The long list of features that are supposed to protect you? bullshit. the installer just follows the tech notes that are supplied by the manufacturer. he simply taps and zipties a bunch of shit under your dash. then, about a year later you'll be wondering why your starter doesnt start as well as it used to. gee, could have something to do with the increased resistance in the extra 10 feet worth of starter wiring.. but whatever, i'll just replace the starter.. or go back to the installer and have him trace and ziptie some more shit under my dash.

starter kill is great.. especially since starters are not needed for any manual cars, since you can just push start it. but, dont expect your car to get pushed away. if its fancy enough to justify the tow, your car will be towed with alarm blazing. i dont think anyone will care to question whether its getting jacked, because its on a tow truck for chrissake - most likely the car has problems, its NOT being stolen.

point being? install a few relays on certain parts of your car, be it the MAFS sensor, ecu, or fuel pump. you can do it to the starter solenoid too, but honestly.. the best alarm is up to your creativity and knowledge with cars/wiring - NOT brand and installer.

nite nite.. keep yer buttholes tite.

[chlatboy]

IXFXI, you are not an installer are you? If so, where you located!? :)