Alarms

I would never install anything into a car that didn't have an alarm.

It's not so much "what brand", but "what features" that you need to worry about most.

And, after that's been settled - somewhere reputable to install it... I'm sure you don't want false alarms and things like that.

I'm currently sitting system-less in my Pathfinder, because I haven't installed my alarm yet, so I won't install all this stuff I've got around here yet.
And I live in a neighborhood where I could likely park both my cars in the driveway unlocked, open both my front and rear door, leave my garage door open, walk to work for the day, and come home without any issues.

You might also want to "think stealth".
What does a car thief look for?
If he sees an aftermarket head unit - he'll probably suspect there's more in the trunk to go after.

I took my stock HU, cut the faceplate off, glued the controls back on it, recessed my HU in the dashboard, so when I park somewhere of concern, I pop my faceplate off, and stick my stock HU faceplate over the top.
From a glance, it looks like there's just a stock stereo installed. B)

 

Most likely, a standard shock sensor that comes with virtually every alarm right down to the lowest models will be enough for you.
Some alarms come with special higher-frequency sensors that are said to trip specifically on glass breakage...
But personally, I think a 2 stage shock sensor with it's very sensitive first stage is enough... with so much as a kick of a tire or knock on the glass, the theif will get an initiall "chirp chirp chirp" warning that there is an alarm present.

I'd look more at the features you want.
It's very inexpensive to get a simple basic alarm, that also gives you keyless entry if you have power locks (and the lock acuators aren't expensive if you don't). I'd at least get one that had built-in relays and keyless entry standard... it doesn't increase the price much.
Starter kill is nice, I think.

If you want remote start, the price tends to jump significantly.
I drive a manual transmission (and haven't ever had a need for remote start) and can imagine the frustration of forgetting to leave it in neutral and pull the E-brake... so I personally don't want it.

If you want a 2-way alarm, the price tends to jump significantly, and the size of the alarm transmitter at least doubles.
To me, this makes for bulky pocket loads, and brings the whole "what are you going to do about it anyway?" issue into play.
If the alarm is going off - it's too late, the damage has been done, it's too late. Even if your pager goes off, how quickly can you respond? What if you are on the toilet? In a meeting? In an interview? etc.
Not to mention, confronting the theif IMO will just lead to not only the damage that you were inherently too late to stop, but also could lead to lawsuit if you actually physically confronted him. Talk about adding insult to injury... you couldn't stop him, and you can't so much as contain him physically without risking additional thousands of dollars and legal fees and time. Not worth it IMO.
So I pass on this too, for all these reasons.

I tend to go pretty simple... simple can be most effective, with the fewest opportunities for false alarm, while using a proper installation to ensure the effectiveness of the system.

If there is some other sensor or another that you want to add later... or some fancy alarm siren, etc... you can. These things are modular. You could purchase the most strippo alarm in the world.. and later add a microwave sensor to it. B)

 

I personally have an older Clifford Ace 7500 with all the trimmings. Features wise it has some of the best security on the market. This was proven a couple years ago in a magazine when they installed alarm systems into semi-cheap vehicles and timed how long it took to break into them. The Clifford most definitely won, even under it's "handicaps" (they didn't charge the siren's backup battery and forgot to hook up the second ignition to the ignition kill). Clifford also has some of the best features I have been able to find. But there are downfalls with them. For one thing, they are expensive. Second their range sucks compared to even the cheaper brands. And finally, before they were bought by DEI their QC wasn't that good (don't know about now). Mine doesn't work right, causing me to leave it disarmed one night to not annoy the neighbors and having someone break in and steal my stuff. :ranting: And I have heard about many other problems with them from a guy who used to install their stuff. This lead me to have an extra 7500 to send back for warranty replacement. The first one they sent still had it's valet switch coded, so I sent it back again, and got a Solaris alarm that didn't work out of the box. So now I am sending it back for a brand new one.

Here are some of the features out there:

Remote Start: I have had this feature for 4-5 years on my manual and never had a problem. But it was designed for manual transmissions. I have had several friends that hooked up one that wasn't designed for their manuals, and every one of them remote started the car while in gear. So definitely don't hook up remote start thinking "I will just make sure it is in neutral", because it only takes once. Add the girlfriend/wife to the equation and it is almost more a certainty. But there are devices you can add, like the Peripheral NSS (Neutral Safety Switch).

Keyless entry: This is a very nice security feature. It guarantees your doors are locked.

Window roll up module: This is where Clifford excells over any other brand. I bought two of these modules for my car, one for my windows and one for my sunroof. Most units just roll up your window when you arm the alarm. Some also add roll down with one of your outputs. The Clifford does up, down, vent, and soft touch to all the windows. What soft touch does is you tap the button and it rolls it all the way up/down. If you tap it again while moving, it will stop. I should warn you though, adding the window modules is very spendy.

Two way: What this does is give you a remote that let's you know what's going on with your car. So if you arm it, it will give you audible and visual confirmation that your car is armed if you can't see your car. It will also let you know if your car alarm is going off. I wanted to upgrade to that with the new alarm, but found out that DEI is slow in adding cliffnet to their two-way alarms. This means that if I get the two-way unit, anything controled by the Cliffnet system won't work (which is my window modules).

Microwave sensor: I personally am not big with them. You can dial them in, but they are very sensitive to the environment (rainy, hot, etc.). I got one with my alarm, and every time I used my microwave at my house, the alarm would go off. Of course the car and microwave were only a wall apart. But they are the worst for false alarms. So unless you have a soft top, I don't recomend getting one.

Glass Break Sensor: This comes with the higher end Clifford alarms. It's just one more handy security feature to have.

Backup Battery: This is highly recomended. It will supply power to your alarm if the thief cuts your battery cable trying to silence your alarm. One nice feature Clifford has had for years, and others are starting to adopt is having a backup battery built into the siren. That way if they cut the wires on the siren itself, it still goes off.

Kill switches: Most alarms have the standard starter kill. Clifford went further by adding an ignition kill as well. You also have different types. There is normally open, and normally closed. Clifford chose the normally open for security reasons. This technique is nice because even if the thief does disable your alarm, the starter and ignition are still disabled, preventing them from stealing your car. The downside is that it can be a pain, especially to mechanics who hate alarms. Also if the relays go out, then it can leave you stuck someplace. Normally closed doesn't do that to you (relay's usually don't get stuck engaged), but is bypassed when the alarm is bypassed. There are also other kills that some companies offer. I believe Clifford offers a fuel shutoff, or other kill that is wireless.

Well I have to go to work. So I will try to add more later.

Steven Kephart
Adire Audio

 

Unfortunately I didn't have time to get into this as much as I wanted to this morning. Being at work, I don't have time now either. But I will add that I used to install the Prestige alarms. In the couple years we installed them (and we installed a lot) the only failure I ran into was on a remote. The alarm brains are solid, and they are very inexpensive. They may not have the features that the more expensive alarms have, but they are rock solid and have really good range.

But again, I will try to get into this later. There are other brands out there becides Clifford. I was just relaying my experiences, not trying to sell you on them or anything. As I said with more words above, they have awesome security; when it works. :unsure:

Steven Kephart
Adire Audio

 

I was talking to a friend and they were saying that the typical shock
sensors aren't really worth it since it's easy enough to bypass - the best
thing about the alarms is the multi-point kill immobilizers and having
something like a manual hood release, etc...

Not sure of the reasoning tho, I'll ask again... any input on this?

 

It's not the shock sensors that are easy to bypass.... it's the alarms without shock sensors that are easy to bypass.

Some alarms simply monitor the electrical system, and if they detect an electrical fluctuation, they go off...
The logic is - if someone opens the door, light goes on, alarm goes off.

Of course, a thief that smashes a window, and doesn't use the door, ord yanks the dome light bulb off might get right in.

The shock sensor actually triggers the alarm on basis of some vibration.

Of course, they do require proper installation...
Most alarms you see falsing are due to either having the shock sensor installed somewhere poorly, or having it set improperly (it's got a little potentiometer... and sure enough, it's sometimes like that old "Gain control" on the amplifiers that no one seems to set right )

As far as their using the wording "bypass".. that disturbs me.
IMO, the alarm brain should be creatively installed, in a location that's not intuitive, maybe not even easily accessible to a thief. I had an old alarm brain installed in a former car of mine in the rear side panel of the car.
If the theif can get to the brain, he can shut it right off.... that has nothing to do with a shock sensor, though.
Don't put it somewhere expected.

IMO, it's my "main sensor". B)