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is it worth to install a compustar remote starter?

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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 09:40 PM
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Default is it worth to install a compustar remote starter?

like the titles states, is it worth to install a set of compustar remote starter on my manaul Z? any pros or cons to that?

thanks for the advice!
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 09:54 PM
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No cons only pros. I have one in mine.
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 10:00 PM
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Originally Posted by JEFFOS69
No cons only pros. I have one in mine.
i heard ppl accidentally remote start the car and car's in Netural..
**** happens....? yes no?
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 10:22 PM
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Nope its pretty difficult to start it by accident.

And if the car's not in neutral you cant start it, and if you do somehow get it started while in neutral it only runs for 15mins before shutting off.

I have the compustar pro alarm/starter
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 10:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Z-Lover
i heard ppl accidentally remote start the car and car's in Netural..
**** happens....? yes no?
Isn't a car SUPPOSED to start while in neutral?
I've never heard of anyone starting their car while in gear
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 10:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Z-Lover
i heard ppl accidentally remote start the car and car's in Netural..
**** happens....? yes no?
yes, your flux capacitor shorts out and causes internal damage to the starter motor, but that rarely happens with new cars these days.
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 11:09 PM
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Originally Posted by JEFFOS69
Nope its pretty difficult to start it by accident.

And if the car's not in neutral you cant start it, and if you do somehow get it started while in neutral it only runs for 15mins before shutting off.

I have the compustar pro alarm/starter
i never had any experience with remote stater...so i guess i misunderstand how the remote starter works..

so once the car's in Gear , it won't remote start? it will only start once it's in Netural? that means i have to park the car in Netural if i wanna remote start the car in the morning? i park on a pretty steep drive way, which requires me to park in 1st Gear.....what should i do in this case?

and btw, what about the clutch? will the car start without depressing the clutch?

Last edited by Z-Lover; Dec 12, 2008 at 11:12 PM.
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 11:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Z-Lover

so once the car's in Gear , it won't remote start? it will only start once it's in Netural? that means i have to park the car in Netural if i wanna remote start the car in the morning? i park on a pretty steep drive way, which requires me to park in 1st Gear.....what should i do in this case?

and btw, what about the clutch? will the car start without depressing the clutch?
I'm not sure about this since I don't have a starter but I think if you have the car in gear when you start it, it would just stall. My friend has a starter in his manual Z and I believe he starts it in neutral. If your car is on a hill like you said, then you might not be able to start it by remote. I'm not sure though...maybe someone else can clarify this
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Old Dec 12, 2008 | 11:27 PM
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There is a process to follow when you shut the car down with manual cars with a starter. It results in the car only being in neutral - it cant be done if the car is turned off but left in gear.
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Old Dec 13, 2008 | 04:52 AM
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The old remote starters didn't have 1st gear lockout so they sold them only for automatic cars for a lot of years (think 90s) as the electronics were not that sophisticated.

What happened was one was installed on a manual car, the guy left the car in gear and he hit the starter. The starter on a car has A LOT of power (read: A LOT). It will drag the car forward quite violently if you have the car in gear and try and start it. It will literally leap forward a foot at the time it's really nasty. (try it in a old **** box if you ever get a chance its funny) Anyway what happened is somebody remotely started their car in 1st and the starter dragged the car forward and pinned a person loading groceries in their trunk between the two cars.

Obviously the remote starter company was sued and they stopped installing them into standard cars for a lot of year because of that case and liability.

Now with the better electronics etc they can be used in Manual cars, but obviously unless you want your car jumping through your garage door or out onto the street you would need to leave it in Neutral.

Originally Posted by Z-Lover
i never had any experience with remote stater...so i guess i misunderstand how the remote starter works..

so once the car's in Gear , it won't remote start? it will only start once it's in Netural? that means i have to park the car in Netural if i wanna remote start the car in the morning? i park on a pretty steep drive way, which requires me to park in 1st Gear.....what should i do in this case?

and btw, what about the clutch? will the car start without depressing the clutch?
I think maybe you are misunderstanding how a clutch works a bit. If your car is running and you put it in first gear and let out the clutch what happens? It starts moving. So if your car is in 1st and you start it with a remote starter whats gonna happen? Well it wont start but the starter will run the engine at 500rpm while it's engaged in gear so it's gonna move, and quite a bit too. So yes it will only work in neutral.

Having to push your clutch to start the car is a switch that's on the clutch pedal. It's easily defeated and you can start the car without pushing in the clutch. If you were to defeat the switch and you start he car in gear, be prepared to have the car dragged across the street however because the starter will do that and more quite easily.

Last edited by 350z-Jim; Dec 13, 2008 at 04:56 AM.
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Old Dec 13, 2008 | 06:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Z-Lover
like the titles states, is it worth to install a set of compustar remote starter on my manaul Z? any pros or cons to that?

thanks for the advice!
if you don't mind burning some extra gas and you hate freezing to death while your car warms up then get one Those are probably the only cons and pros.

Got it and love it.


also if your worried about your car's hand brake not being strong enough you can have someone tighten them up for you...and if you really want to make sure its one strong **** to keep your car up on your driveway...can get the project mu aftermarket piece (https://my350z.com/forum/drift/34736...-grippy-f.html) but it's expensive.

Last edited by xdragus; Dec 13, 2008 at 06:20 AM.
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Old Dec 13, 2008 | 10:45 PM
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Having a remote starter in a manual car is fine. I’ve had a Compustar 2W900FMAS2 2 way starter/alarm in my cavalier for 4 years now. It works great. Some remote starter work differently than others but I have heard that a lot of people prefer the compustar safety sequence. This is how it works:

1 --When you press on the brake and put the parking brake up the starters brain takes over operation of the electronics (it keeps the car running)

2 -- So then you put it into neutral let go of the brake, car is still running, you remove the key the car is still running (through the brain) -- if you did not leave it in neutral then the car would just jump and stall when you take your foot off of the clutch, like in any manual car)

3 -- You open the door and step out, when you close the door the car turns off and the alarm arms.

Now the brain knows that the car has to be in neutral and it will start the car with the remote. If you get out, it arms, then you open the door again the brain will not start the car by remote unless you do step 1 through 3 again. They only way that your car could be starter with the remote in gear and be pulled is if you left the window down and someone reached in and put it in gear without opening the door. Unless the system malfunctions, this should be the only way. So just leave the windows up. It is a good safe system.

I love having a remote starter. I bought my Z back in may, it already had a 2 way pager alarm but not a starter. I may remove it and replace it with a compustar alarm/starter.

I have always left my cavalier for the past 4 years and Z for the past 6 months in neutral, unless parking on a very steep hill, then I was not able to use the remote start. But 95% of the time just the parking brake has been good enough for me.

A compustar 2 way alarm starter system should cost around $400 installed, plus locks and hatch, $50, plus bypass $100 plus tax. so around $620 with tax. Extra if you want proximity censor, battery backup module, interior siren, battery backup serine ct ect

Hope that helps

Last edited by XERMAN2001; Dec 13, 2008 at 10:55 PM.
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Old Dec 14, 2008 | 11:45 PM
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If you guys want compustars talk to Jeff at audioheaven www.audioheaven.ca

Tell him Jeff with the black 350Z (we are both named Jeff but aren't the same guy) sent you and you should get a good price (much lower than whats posted above) I am in no way associated with them but I have got 6 alarms through them and they do good work (and stand behind their work)
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Old Dec 16, 2008 | 05:31 PM
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Originally Posted by JEFFOS69
If you guys want compustars talk to Jeff at audioheaven www.audioheaven.ca

Tell him Jeff with the black 350Z (we are both named Jeff but aren't the same guy) sent you and you should get a good price (much lower than whats posted above) I am in no way associated with them but I have got 6 alarms through them and they do good work (and stand behind their work)
i had mine installed there too, the prices i gave are his reg prices, but he does have sales. It would be around $570 otb. other places are around $700, future shop would be around $780 total

Last edited by XERMAN2001; Dec 16, 2008 at 05:36 PM.
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Old Dec 17, 2008 | 11:15 AM
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^^^ I have hads 2 alarms done by Audioheaven. One on my Z about a year ago and one on my honda. The one on my honda installed in my honda is 5 years old and still going very strong. I had a problem one year and Jeff fixed it personally free of charge. He knows compustars inside and out.
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Old Jan 4, 2009 | 05:58 PM
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You can't mess it up, like 'Jeffos69' stated there are steps to follow when remote starting you car if its manual.
I have one in my G and I love it.
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Old Jan 19, 2009 | 12:36 PM
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as an installer i prefer viper. compustar is a headache to install haha. you call call me at the shop if you want a viper remote starter installed. 416-213-9663 ask for frank
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Old Jun 4, 2009 | 10:39 AM
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i'm looknig at putting a compustar in my Z, i had one in my wrx, installed by Jeff@Audioheaven(3rd car he installed the same system on for me), no issues at all.
and for the compustar, you do NOT need to purchase a bypass for manual cars, b/c from what I understand, the process to shutting the car down with autostart enabled is built into the alarm itself, not an extra module.

anyway, I tried emailing Jeff but haven't gotten a response yet so seeing if anyone here can chime in:

if i install the compustar Pro(PRO2WFMAS), will i still retain the trunk popping feature and window rollup feature of the OEM remote? from what I read, if the OEM remote has these features, then there isn't an extra charge for the compustar since it is just programmed for it and no extra modules are needed...

can anyone clarify this for me? I don't want to install an aftermarket if it will butcher up the OEm remote's features...
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