I'm looking to put a remote start kit on my 04 6MT. Any reccommendations on a good kit? I want something with a good range on it, but I want my doors to remain locked. My friend's kit unlocks his doors. I beleive the 06's come witha remote start, but it doesnt look like a retrofit kit will come out for the 04 and 05's.
-Matt

uhm where you located? well any viper, clifford, hornet remote starters are pretty good.

i have the viper remote starter, which locks, unlocks, pops trunks like any other remote, also is a "alarm" which comes in handy, and plus with upgrades u can roll down your windows and moon roof and what not. im happy with my viper. so if you go that road with your car you shouldnt have a problem.

*note* if u end up getting one. note that you must change your "preset" crank longer. as we have a rotary engine and it takes a longer crank then most cars. this isnt hard. should take like 2min haha. letting you know. set it at like 1.7-2.0 sec crank u should be fine.

-Sam

I'm located in NC, our cars dont have any security features that need to be bypassed do they? Also, where is a cheap place online to get these, I wouldnt mind one with all the feature that you said the viper had.
-Matt

I'm looking to put a remote start kit on my 04 6MT. Any reccommendations on a good kit? I want something with a good range on it, but I want my doors to remain locked. My friend's kit unlocks his doors. I beleive the 06's come witha remote start, but it doesnt look like a retrofit kit will come out for the 04 and 05's.
-Matt
I don't know about the laws in your state but in New Jersey most remote start alarms are illegal in a manual car.The only one that I knew at the time I had it installed is called the Ultrastart with a remote start.It has safety sequences that u must go through before the car can be started remotely.

some place install some place don't. u just gotta find a place that will do it. i suggest you find a place who do alarm installations. and usually they have them to buy for. so buy from them and get it installed from them. *note* if you want windows options and others, those are extra money u gotta put in. which isnt needed. but if u wanted to, u could

-Sam

very interesting i like the idea of a remote starter. i would like to know if there is the option of JUST the remote starter i dont need other stuff such as window operation and stuff......and wich brand would be the best?

The one that i have in my car is UltraStart. Look it up and see if you like it.

As one of the few members of the forum that has experience with install and alarms due to being employed in the industry for 20 years now, my recommendation is the Compustar 2WFM8000AS. You will need a bypass module for this car that is indipendent of any alarm / rs unit. This is not a do it yourself kind of job for 99.99% of the general public.

eh jus get the viper its fine haha.

Oh God. Please Do NOT install remote start in your MT. You're asking for trouble. One of these days, you'll forget and leave it in gear. And when you try to start it, your car will start flying to walls, cars, fences, curbs...etc.. I have done it once and will never do it again. If you think you're not going to forget, someone will. If you lend your car to a friend or someone moves your car ..

in simple words..
DON'T DO IT.

I have a clifford and I have remote start on my alarm. I OPT NOT to install it.

I've never parked my car in gear before, just by habit, dont do it, dont let anyone else drive it either...

Oh God. Please Do NOT install remote start in your MT. You're asking for trouble. One of these days, you'll forget and leave it in gear. And when you try to start it, your car will start flying to walls, cars, fences, curbs...etc.. I have done it once and will never do it again. If you think you're not going to forget, someone will. If you lend your car to a friend or someone moves your car ..

in simple words..
DON'T DO IT.

I have a clifford and I have remote start on my alarm. I OPT NOT to install it.

hahahaha!!! thats some funny shit i could see that happening

dont worry GTR you have convinced me! i vowe to NEVER have a remote starter in my Rotary Xperiment-8.

i've got the Compustar 2W900FM-AS. i love it. remote start, keyless entry, windows up and down, trunk pop. great range. no complaints at all.

i hope you guys know. there is a false starter if u had it in gear and if you tried to start it, it wouldnt, i guess you didnt have that option or what not. SO REMOTE STARTERS ARE FINE! yes some can be dangerous like you mentioned but yea. its okay

-Sam

Oh God. Please Do NOT install remote start in your MT. You're asking for trouble. One of these days, you'll forget and leave it in gear. And when you try to start it, your car will start flying to walls, cars, fences, curbs...etc.. I have done it once and will never do it again. If you think you're not going to forget, someone will. If you lend your car to a friend or someone moves your car ..

in simple words..
DON'T DO IT.

I have a clifford and I have remote start on my alarm. I OPT NOT to install it.
it hasn't been that way for years. you CAN'T remote start your car in gear. if you can...then you've got the wrong system. on mine you can't remote start it unless you set the e-brake, put it in neutral and make sure not to touch the brake pedal before getting out. having it in gear disables the remote start all together.

If anyone is looking for a good remote start/alarm system, i can vouch for the COMPUSTAR remotestart/alarm.

It's the only remote start alarm system for Manual transmission that is legal in CA.

The reason being, there are many safety features to activating the remote start so you dont accidently set it in gear and start it. Basically, the censors in the alarm system knows.... you need to set the e-brake, turn the ignition to off (but the car's engine will continue running)... and then when you close the FINAL door (most likely the driver's side) that is when the car's engine will shut off and the alarm will arm itself.

That way, if the car was in gear, the car would've died since the engine keeps running correct? You also cannot step on the brake or it will kill the engine's ignition and that's how you would park in gear.. but remote start will be deactivated.

Also, the alarm system is great. it's a 2-way LCD screen pager... tells you when someone is waiting by your car (cause there's a small device on your windscreen that they can tap on to page you), you can also open windows from far away, pop trunk, etc. The range for the newest one is 1.5 miles which is really really useful sometimes and the LCD tells you if someone hit your car, doors/windows are open, etc.

I bought the alarm system for about $180 brand new off ebay, and then found a small local alarm shop that installed it for me for $120.. so $300 total. Just tellin ya

^uhm i don't know about you. but all DEI remotes. such as viper, hornet, clifford etc can do all of those features.

*note* if you want windows options and others, those are extra money u gotta put in. which isnt needed. but if u wanted to, u could


how much extra are we looking at? dont wanna get quoted and get ripped off not knowing how much this runs for...

Don't know why there is disagreement over installing a remote starter. As long as you aren't a moron who would turn start the car while it's in gear, a remote starter would benefit any RX-8 owner, considering our engines need at least 30 seconds to 2 minutes of idling to warm up (depending on how cold it is outside) after starting the car. I don't mind sitting in my car for a minute before I start driving so it's not something I need, but I can easily understand why others would desire a remote starter when it comes to this car.

My kit is great.. Leaves the doors locked, controls windows, sunroof trunk and has all the safety options that you need for it to be legal on a manual.. It's an Asain wolf 2 way lcd alarm with remote start.. Alot to put on but worth it in the long run.

um, yes, you can remote start a car if you leave it in gear. like forbidden, i have been in the industry for a number of years. i have had several cars with a manual transmission, and all of them i have installed remote starts. all of them, with the exception of the 8, would try to start even if left in gear. on the 8 though, there is a neutral safety switch that will not allow the car to remote start if the unit is hooked up properly.

It's the remote start system it's self that has the safety features on it for manuals.

It's the remote start system it's self that has the safety features on it for manuals.

most remote start systems do not have any safety features for manual transmission vehicles, and those that do, make you go through a "dance" for safety.

on most remote start systems though, there is a wire that must see a negative (ground) signal for the remote start to be able to be engaged,

and on the rx-8, there just happens to be a sensor, on the transmission, that will read ground when the transmission is in neutral, and will not if it is in gear, allowing (as long as it is hooked up correctly) perfectly safe operation of a remote start system on the rx-8

this will also cause the system, if running via remote start, to shut down if someone happens to break in and try to drive the car away, as as soon as it is put into gear, unless the key is in the ignition and turned to the run position, will cause the engine to shut down.

Oh that's cool.. I was just stating that there are some units out there that have the safety devices on the system it's self.. That's the way the asain wolf is that I have installed.

^uhm i don't know about you. but all DEI remotes. such as viper, hornet, clifford etc can do all of those features.

i dont know about you, but no they don't. I dont think you read correctly. Unless Clifford, Hornet, and Viper came out with a new and improved alarm system in the recent months, they are not the same as compustar.


If you read my previous post, you will see that Compustar is the only legal remote start for manual cars in CA because of the fact that you gotta go thru all these safety features that allow it to be applied in a manual transmission SAFELY without the risk of starting it in gear. Viper's range sucks as well ... clifford and viper are all the same company. Between me and my friend, (him with viper 780vx I believe with remote start on his accord and my compustar)... range is better on mine ... and with the whole safety feature. Cept mine cost more.

hmmm, range on the compustar is longer, and i know (at least a little while ago) were illegal as they used unlicensed spread spectrum. viper is coming out with theirs later this year

as to the rx-8, it is perfectly safe to do a remote start because of the built in neutral safety switch. i have the viper 791xv on my car with remote start working with no issues. i dont have to do any special dance with buttons or anything like. i park the car, get out. thats it. if its in gear, it will not start. if its not in gear, it starts just fine

im getn the viper 771vx.. and from consumer reports reviews... it actually is in the top 3... soo viper is actually one of the better companies.... ofcourse I am gonna b in an auto 8... besides.... if u need an autostart for a stick... the viper works fine.. a bich to install... but works perfectly.

^uhm i don't know about you. but all DEI remotes. such as viper, hornet, clifford etc can do all of those features.

Lazi i want to get the viper one too, which one you have? and can you post a soundclip of how the beep sound when u look the doors?..... :mdrmed: thanks

are their remote starters out there that work with the oem key fob...

my dad got one for his chevy avalanche where he pushes the lock button twice and the car starts...i want the same thing for my "8"

any suggestions

i have the at with smartshift and all the trimmings....thanks
keith

they are out there, but in my opinion are pretty much worthless. range is limited to that of the factory system. spend a couple extra bucks, get a better system, and be happier

I have something called AStrostart on mine. It's got an ugly remote, but I dont use it much anyway. Gas is already expensive, I dont need my car sitting for 5 min. burning gas.

I have something called AStrostart on mine. It's got an ugly remote, but I dont use it much anyway. Gas is already expensive, I dont need my car sitting for 5 min. burning gas.


ok, so if i get a viper or some other brand, and in the future i want to get an '05 fob; just because its cool...are they programmable to use that fob...

Tmak26b: if youre not using yours...do you want to sell it???

thanks
Keith

Keith, I wouldnt even know where to start removing it. I don't want to work on this car, could careless about little things like that until it starts breaking.

i totally understand...thanks

hey lurch, where is the neutral safety switch at....i was going off of dei's techsoft and they did not have one listed on the page. i have been installing for a few years now and i was curious if it is possible to get a regular key for the 8 from mazda without all of the keyless shit on it so i can avoid disassembling it and shoving it into a 556 mod. and by the way....on any type of convenience systems (rs, keyless, alarm) any directed electronics system is the way to go. in the 5 years that i have been installing, every other system that i have put in has run into issues somewhere down the line. and as far as the compustar system goes, i have put them in before and i have experienced first hand that they DO fail. installed one on a new mustang when i worked at galpin auto sports and another employee went to pull the car in at the end of the night and remote started the car straight into the gm's truck. had a compustar tech come out and look at the install and he sat there right in front of me and told me that it was a malfunction in the cpu. so if you do not have a neutral safety wire in the vehicle, there are a couple of things that you can do to make installing these systems much safer: install tilt switches on the shifter going both directions (having the car in gear will set them off...only downfall is if you are parked on a hill); a little more in depth but you can use stop switches; and a cool trick that i learned from working with mad mike is to strap a shock sensor to the shifter....it works suprisingly well. but yeah, get back with me on the neutral safety wire loc and the key thing.

next, your remote start system should have a neutral safety wire, if it is a DEI system this should be black with a white stripe. the system needs to see a ground on this wire for the system to activate. route this wire down into the center console, down through the shifter boot to underneath the car (i forget which side the switch is on) but on one side a little back from the shifter will be a switch on the side of the transmission. its a little tough to get to, but it can be done. ive done 3 myself. both wires will be grey (if i remember correctly) one wire will always read ground, the other will read ground only when the shifter is in the neutral position. if it is in gear, you will not have ground, this will insure that the remote start try to start the car if its in gear, which could be very bad to disastrous depending on the situation (one of the guys i used to work with had one on his nissan and had to chase his truck across the parking lot of the local mall)

as to the key, you should be able to program a standard pats style key to the car, as long as you have 2 keys already programmed. though dei now has an 1100f module which works the same as the new audiovox asxk04 module, just more expensive. i work for a shop which carries dei, as well as the audiovox prestige line, and of course dei is great, but we have very few problems with the audiovox either.

the part about the neutral safety is copied from something i sent to someone else.

does anyone installing the remote starter (any brand) have keyless start also?

Does anyone know if the COMPUSTAR remotestart/alarm or any other system works with the 06 advanced keyless entry and start system and a manual transmission?

I installed a remote starter on a 2004 Xterra of mine once... It was a remote start thingy only made by Omega... I'm gonna call them up and see if they can hook us up with wiring diagrams... Most specifically for the 2004...

there is a post in the electronics forum with all the info you need keef

Oh God. Please Do NOT install remote start in your MT. You're asking for trouble. One of these days, you'll forget and leave it in gear. And when you try to start it, your car will start flying to walls, cars, fences, curbs...etc.. I have done it once and will never do it again. If you think you're not going to forget, someone will. If you lend your car to a friend or someone moves your car ..

in simple words..
DON'T DO IT.

I have a clifford and I have remote start on my alarm. I OPT NOT to install it.

I could see that happening to me too. "Hey Mike, watch this bro," *starts it up, car takes off*. OH SHIT!!!

on most manual transmission vehicles, this is the case. on the rx-8, it is possible to safely install remote start on the car, without any safety issues. there is a neutral safety switch on the transmission, which if hooked up to the remote start correctly, will not allow the remote starter to engage if the car is left in gear. i have remote start on mine, with absolutely no issues, problems, and have never had the car take off on me, even though i have left it in gear a time or two.

All the RX-8s have the neutral safety switch which paired with a remote starter that uses this as a safety switch is almost fool proof.

If the installer does a good job hooking up the wire to this feature and securing it.

The downside is if they do not and the wire for this feature is ground out on the body of the car it could be started regardless of being in gear or not. :(

I believe this is why some installers worry about installing a remote start on a manual transmission... in addition to not all vehicles have this from other automakers.


I will be installing mine within the next week or so. Compustar with a optimal range of 6,000 feet 2 way remote. If the car starts it lets the person know as well as alerts if the alarm goes off.

There are Viper and Audiovox units that are similar. ;)

I have been trying to find someone to install a Viper alarm on a Manual transmission 2004 RX8 in the Sacramento area, but they all say "no". Is there a way to have them install a system without the remote start function setup and then just hook that part up myself at a later time? Has anyone done this?

Thanks, Rob

i have a viper installed w. rs on a manual... theres a bypass switch on our cars... and if you hook it up correctly, when in first gear and press the rs it would not turn the car on.. i got it done in DE by chuck aka lurch512 (i believe thats his sn) you might wanna ask him...

i recommend compustar. unlike d.e.i. (i.e. Viper, Python, Clifford....etc), all compustar remote start systems require you to perform a sequence which puts the vehicle into "reservation" mode. as long as the car has properly been put into reservation mode (the vehicle is in neautral and the parking brake has been set) the vehicle will start . as far as i know it is not illegal in any state for a manual transmission to be equipped with a remote starter. though it is illegal to start your car manually and leave the keys in the vehicle. any questions, message me. i am an authorized dealer and would be happy to help

:wallbash:

one of the guys i used to work with had one on his nissan and had to chase his truck across the parking lot of the local mall


Correct me if I am wrong, but most of these systems come with a remote _stop_ as well? :hahano: If you are really concerned about it you can hook in a window switch to disable the system if the car gets moving.

Yes they have the stop feature and can be enabled if a person sees that it is moving...

The best way is to ensure that the neutral switch is used that way if the car is in gear it will not attempt to start. ;)

Where are you located....do you do the installs yourself? Thanks!

Where are you located....do you do the installs yourself? Thanks!

I have installed quite a few but the work to install is not on my fun to do list.

That is why I would rather tell someone how to do it than keep it secret so I could do it. :)

I have this really sweet set up that does keyless entry, pops the trunk, and does the alarm. It's in this cool switchblade design too, they even manage to get a mazda logo on it. I don't know how much it was since it came with the car, but I recommend it!

BTW, the best way to warm up your car is under load, not letting it sit. Just drive it slowly until you're up to temp. It warms up faster which is what you want.

Bet you it can not do what mine does...

Two way remote which tells me the status of the alarm as long as I am within a mile of my car.

Able to lock it as long as I am within a mile and it lets me know that it did lock without the car being seen.

Turbo timer.

It is good that we have new smart comments because otherwise we might run out of them on a forum like this...

Unless I can program the remote start into my existing stock keyfob, I'm not doing it. I refuse to carry around two huge ass remotes.

I've got the Compustar Pro, amazing with the starter. I also put in the proximity sensor, but that was my personal perference.

I have this really sweet set up that does keyless entry, pops the trunk, and does the alarm. It's in this cool switchblade design too, they even manage to get a mazda logo on it. I don't know how much it was since it came with the car, but I recommend it!

BTW, the best way to warm up your car is under load, not letting it sit. Just drive it slowly until you're up to temp. It warms up faster which is what you want.

As cool as it sounds to use the stock remote, I went with the compustar 2 way system. It has safety features to support manual transmissions, and it also lets you use it with the newer advanced keyless start system.

Letting the car warm up while you drive may work quicker, but when you live in Chicago, it's better to let it warm up when you are not in the car. Also, with this system I can set a time on the remote, and the the car will start at that time. So if I know I have to leave for work at 7:30, I can set my remote to start the car at 7:20 the night before and not even have to worry about it.