Looking through the details I came across these;

- Intrusion minimizing brake pedal
- Burglar Alarm

What is the first one (ie I know 'brake pedal') and anybody comment on the burglar alarm (which I tend to relate to houses).

rael

 

Intrusion minimising brake pedal. ???

Sounds like a fancy way of saying that the pedal is shaped so that it doesn't get in the way of the other pedals. Or is it just a short travel pedal ?

Having watched the film clip of the RX-8 going round a circuit, the racing driver certainly managed a lot of heel & toe of the brake and accelerator pedals.


As for the burglar alarm, I think thatcham are still evaluating if they like it or not. It should get type 1 approval.

 

Intrusion minimizing brake pedal.

During a collision the break pedal come free and swings backwards. This happens as during a front end collision your foot is usually on the brake, trying to stop. It help prevent compression fractures because your leg is tensed on impact.

Much the same as the collapsable steering wheel column most cars have these days.

Alarm system will probably be Thatcham 2 catagory, although dealer was unsure.

Thatcham catagories are used by insurers and denote how good the system is. Cheap off the shelf systems usually arn't good enough to be catagorised. Most new cars have a catgory 1 system these days.

 

What will they think of next !!!

Jon

 

Catagory two is better than catagory one.

I will probably look into a Tracker system. If the waiting list is very long it will just make the car too attractive to professional thieves.

 

Actually category one is the best

"Thatcham is an organisation that provides research to insurance companies, and their classifications are the yardsticks that insurance companies and security manufacturers use to rate vehicle security equipment.

For a security system to be awarded Thatcham status, it must meet certain criteria. There are separate categories for different types of security system, which are listed below.

Category 1 - Combined alarm and immobiliser
Category 2 - Electronic or electromechanical immobiliser
Category 2 to 1 - Category 1 alarm upgrade from a category 2 immobiliser
Category 3 - Mechanical immobiliser"

 

Doh!

Got it the wrong way round!

Anybody have any experience of Tracker type systems and the costs involved?

 

I don't know how much a tracker costs, but I do know that my insurance will insist I have one fitted.

I asked my Mazda dealer, and he said they could arrange for a local company to install one.

 

I have RAC Trackstar on my Impreza as it came with it.

My previous car I had Navtrak which was very good, but you had to manually disable it every time you got in the car.

Now Navtrak have a better system that works of a proximity reader card which you keep in your wallet etc. This means that the system is automatically de-activated.

Check out www.navtrak.co.uk. If I get one for the RX-8 I will most likely look at this.

If you are getting a tracker, the pro-active devices are best as the company pro-actively monitors the car (ie. If it moves they track it) The passive systems require you to notify them it is stolen before they track it.

Also, make sure it is one that is approved by your insurance company.

Mark

 

Doesn't this mean that they can track everything you do, including how fast you go! Not sure if I want somebody keeping records of me trying to hit the 150mph top speed on the M6 at 3am...