Um, the original post was that his car got broken into, not stolen. You could put a Metallica in the back seat playing "For whom the Bell Tolls" and 1.no one is going to give a shit that the alarm is going off. 2. If I want to grab something, I'm only going to be in there a few seconds and 3. If I can't take the sound I'll get some earplugs.

Get the alarm you want. Just don't get pissed when you come out of the mall and find your window smashed, all your sh!t gone and your car goes beep, beep, beep to tell you that your alarm went of while you weren't around and no one gave a sh!t.
The only systems that are worth anything are ones with a long range 2 way pager or Compustar. Anything else is a waste of money.

The last issue of Sport Compact Car had a pretty good write up about how to deter theft.

 

I was talked into buying a cheaper alarm than Viper with the same options (remote starter, alarm options, start options, etc.). I got an AST Ultra Starters alarm. Had I bought the Viper, I wouldn't have had to pay to have the brain replaced twice, and buy a new Antenna when mine messed up. The Viper would have been covered under their warranty.

If I could do it again, I'd buy one with a pager

 

Well, A few seconds isn't enough to grab anything in my car, everything is bolted down. Except for my LCD screen, you could rip apart the console and force it out in 15 seconds probably, but it would also be destroyed in the process, and the thief would encounter my razor blade setup when he pulled on the screen. cool.gif If my car is ever broken into again, I hope to see a massive trail of blood.

I also made a cover to hide the screen out of the old double DIN radio, which I always use. If you look in my car, you won't see anything worth stealing. When parking in especially bad areas, or even at movie theatres, I leave my empty glovebox open, and I'm careful not to advertize before parking.

Earplugs don't do squat against piezo sirens. Test one out some time. Not that thieves use them anyway.

I'll take Clifford G4/5 over Compustar any day.

Faith, you can't hotwire a car with multiple immobilizers. Mine has three. Two are wired, one is wireless. A typical install will have one on the fuel pump, one on the ignition. The only way to steal it is to tow it, and I'm less concerned with that than the smash and grab that is so common in my area. That's what I want to avoid.

 

^^^ See now that's the best deterrent of all: using your head!
Dude, I've been front row for three Metallica concerts. Your puny sirens mean nothing to me joke.gif

 

Fonseca: how the heck did you rig up the razor blades? tape them to the screen or something?

 

I know there are some detailed photos on a car security forum somewhere (not the12volt.com) showing how a lot of people do it. Mine are molded deeply into the back of my LCD housing with the blades protruding a bit over 1/4". The screen is the weak point in my system, so easy to yank out and secured only by a few L brackets. I cut slits for 8 razor blades with a cutoff wheel, inserted them, then used liquid plastic (mix of ABS and acetone) to mold them in very solidly. Yes, having been broken into before, I am now very bitter and vengeful. saevil.gif

A lot of people also ziptie standard blades into wiring harnesses, connecting 4 in an X shape, and putting them in the center of bundles of wires. I wouldn't do anything likely to be touched by a mechanic thoughh, that's a lawsuit waiting to happen. Some people screw razorblades into the underside edge of amps as well, which you would only be able to get cut on when prying an amp up. The downside to this tactic is that you might well piss off the thief enough for him to trash your car instead of just stealing your gear. It's happened, there is a funny story just like that at mp3car.com. Still, it would be worth it for me. smile.gif I have full insurance.

 

That system is made by Directed Electronics Inc., the same parent company as Viper, so it's built with the same components and still carries the lifetiem warrenty. It's a pretty solid unit, I've been installing that model for about a year now.