SWATE-Z

I want to buy an aftermarket alarm for the Z but I am in need of some suggestion. I've searched a number of companies but I am not familiar with their reliability or capabilities. I am looking for something that can best protect my car in a parking lot(and worst of all, a high school parking lot) where I'm afraid it will be keyed, scratched, or vandalized. I am not too worried about it being stolen so anything that can 'chirp' when people venture too close is really the best option. Any ideas????

toykilla

iTrader: (1)

i used to install car alarms for a living (and still do on the side for extra cash for those interested )

I would *Highly* recommend going with a DEI product. They have a lifetime warranty and have an extensive line of products to fit your budget.

I would go with a viper or clifford on a Z.

www.directed.com

I just got my z last week and havnt had time to put my alarm in. But I will be installing a Viper 790xv in the next few weeks. It is a remote start alarm (BE CAREFUL WITH REMOTE START ALARMS AND MANUAL TRANNIES!!!) , and comes with a LCD feedback remote so you know when your car is getting messed with. (will warn you and tell you what sensor is going off in the car.)

In addition i am adding:

*proximity sensor (warns passers by that Z is armed and dangerous ) You can adjust the sensitivity of this to suit your needs. This will give you the warning chirp you are looking for.

*glass break sensor (audible sensor that detects when the windows break)

*digital tilt (in case someone is trying to jack up your car to take wheels or tow it )


I have installed other alarms systems but DEI (in my experience) has the best reliability and is the more versatile than any others

Umm, any other questions I would be happy to answer.

srobert910

I think adding an alarm to the Z is a great Idea and I have an audiovox prestige aps-996 2 way alarm on mine. However, as far as protecting your car from vandalism there isn't an alarm on the market that will do that. It would be very easy to key, scratch or puncture tires on a car with an alarm. Even if you add a proximity sensor (radar) it wouldn't cover 100% of the car. The sensors will not pass through metal. A digital tilt motion sensor would protect you from having your car jacked or lifted up (in case if someone likes your wheels more than you do) but if someone wanted to puncture your tires it wouldn't trigger the alarm in time. Adding an alarm system can give you added protection from theft and will warn away quite a few people, and add many convience features, but protection from vandalism is not one.

As far as alarm brands to go with, I would also highly suggest a DEI product (Viper, Sidewinder, Clifford, or Python) and there are a few others that are of good quality. However, the main thing to look for is a great installer. The alarm system will not work correctly if it isn't installed correctly, and can cause many other problems with your car. I would highly suggest looking for someone that is MECP certified and has previous experience with high end vehicles with complicated alarm system setups.

SWATE-Z

Thanks for the advice. I know that there's not much one can do to prevent ******** from touching other people's cars, but I guess that something is better than nothing.

toykilla

iTrader: (1)

yeah it sucks having to be worried about ******** messing with stuff you worked hard to buy.

As mentioned, i would HIGHLY suggest having the alarm installed by someone that knows what they are doing.

Sorry, but MECP certified means nothing to me. I have seen some people who are certified do some pretty HACK installs. And I have seen some people who arent certified do some amazing custom installs. I would ask around and even look under the dash of a few peoples cars who had alarms installed if they will let you.

You might be surprised what you see.

Ralphus

DEI is best, but the Autopage system can be real good if the installer knows what he's doing.

I have a truck with 22's right now, and I have the pager, tilt sensor, shock, etc. However, some crackhead recently tried to pull off my door handle (even though I took out the lock rods a long time ago ), and even though they didn't get in, I'm still left with a damaged door. Even though you'll get people messing with it, or false alarms, definitely don't skip the proximity sensor!

Encore

DEI without a dought is the best. Viper offers a RF remote that has a 2mi range. It also lets you know if your alarms armed/disarmed, remote started, going off, etc. Which helps alot being its hard to see your lights flash or hear you siren chirp from 2mi away.

sov

I've got the Viper 790 Vx pager system, works good for me so far.

Encore, where can I get this RF remote, 2 mile range would be sweet, mine's only 1/4 right now

srobert910

toykilla, I agree about seeing some MECP installers that have hacked up some installs. But at least with a MECP certification, they at least know something about basic electronics, which in an alarm system is very important. The Z really isn't a hard car to work on, and most seasoned installers will not have any problems, I was just making a suggestion. I have been installing professionally for over 8 years now and have seen many hacked up installs. It seems like most of them are from inexperience with installing in general. There are just some people that just learn the short cuts and never learn the right way of doing things. I understand that taking a test on paper doesn't mean you can work on a car, it's just in my experience it certainly doesn't hurt.

Encore

Any DEI dealer will be able to get the remote for you. Ill check and see what my price is.

hawkfan1977

I have a Viper 690 XV and I'm very happy with it. I was thinknig of adding either a tilit sensor or a proximity. Will the tilt sensor go off if someone starts rocking the car, or is that not enough tilt? I'm worried that the proximity will do more harm than good because if a car started chirping at me because I opened my door next to it, I would be more inclined to key it/etc.

toykilla

iTrader: (1)

the digital tilt sensor by DEI is sensitive to approximate 1-3 degrees on incline, so yes it should go off if someone is rocking the car. (although with the stiff suspension of the z, it may take some pretty hard rocking to tilt the vehicle, unlike a pickup truck or passenger car.)

if someone keys your car because the warning chirp goes off from the proximity sensor, im sorry but they are just ******** and one day they will get what is coming to them.

sov

Please tell me the product # and will it work with the 790Vx?

srobert910

there is no other remote that works with the 790vx alarm system. I'm pretty sure that he is just claiming that his remote works 2 miles away and yours actually works about a 1/4 mile away. If I happen to be wrong, please give me the part # so I can order the better remotes. If they do release a new remote for this system, I hope they make it better looking and add more channels to it, those are the only 2 reasons there's not one in my car.

toykilla

iTrader: (1)

agreed,, sorry i didnt mean to come of as attacking your comment. You make valid points.

I was just trying to get the point across that you should make sure your installer knows what they are doing and can do a clean install. Certification does not insure that.

I just dont want someone who doesnt know much about this stuff get taken advantage of.


looking out for my fellow Z-ers

Encore

The remote I was talking about is a 2-way w/66 bit clone safe cod hoping 23 icon vibrating lcd remote. My number (python) is 880XP. The viper should be the same thing just viper instead of python. It works w/ the 880, 680, 790, and 690 DEI alarms. It retails for $100. I hope this helps.

deviousZ

I also use the Viper 790 Vx pager system and it's awesome I can remote start my car from soooooooo far away and the system tells you if your alarm is going off!

sov

So I just have to get that remote and reprogram it to my alarm and I should have greater range than the 790?