RX-8 Alarm
 

The RX-8 is coming with a basic alarm with engine immobilization, see another user's post and download...

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/rx8/..._and_specs.pdf

Also, what do you guys think of lo-jack? I heard there's a better one that will allow you to track the exact location of the vehicle on the internet at any time...nice for spying on the girlfriend!! (just kidding, she's not driving it!) The only problem with lo-jack is that the cops will get around to looking for it "as resources allow". In my area, the car will be stripped by the time that happens (past experiences) I'd like to park my f-350 behind it and call the cops wherever i find it and walk away from the scene until they arrive. Is there a system like that?
norats

I starting looking into this too, but didn't get much farther than lo-jack. Don't know of any other 'companies' that offer something competitive, in fact, I think lo-jack is the only one that works with state police (could be wrong on that point).

Lo-jack seems pretty good to me, one time fee, little hidden costs down the road, if you sell the car, parlay some of that cost (around $695) back into the price of the car. According to lo-jack they seem to have a decent recovery record. You are correct, if some professionals strip your car in an hour, what is going to stop them, nothing. I plan to get lo-jack, it offers good coverage in the SF Bay Area.

Check out this LoJack thread in the Lounge for additonal information about benefits and notification options.

One auto insurance agent here who handles the Fairfax County Police group policy said they love LoJack. It's also seems to be a source of fun and friendly competition on who can find the car first when the LoJack signal is detected.

Tagging onto Norats' post, in addition to the standard alarm with immobiliser, in the U.S. there is a dealer installed option for a shock sensor. Saw it in the new brochure posted here.

Car Alarms
 

I replaced my factory alarm with a "Viper" car alarm (rather I had it installed) today on my Chevy C1500 pickup. I had to have the radio replaced as well due to the fact that radio was stolen several weeks ago...this is the 3rd one. My question is "Do car alarms make a difference?" and if so, are there major differences between brands? Also, what are you going to do with your RX-8 to make it more secure? The Club..etc.

DeBug

what about that thing that attatches to the the clutch pedal/brake pedal so the car cant even be turned on, of course this does nothing to protect what can be removed from the car...but the car will be there
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FISTING VIDEOS

Yes, car alarms make a difference. Are they going to make it impossible to steal a car or it's contents? No, but they are going to make it harder to do so. And the harder you make it, the less likely someone is going to bother.

Remember, there are different "threats" to a car. There is stealing it altogether. If you have an effective starter kill in your car, you will make it much much harder to steal it. Thieves really don't like hanging around a car for too long with the alarm going off, they'd rather avoid it if they could. If it takes too long, they'd rather move onto the next car.

There is stealing it's contents like a radar detector on your windshield, your stereo, trunk contents, etc. This ranges from a smash-and-grab to someone looking for a particular piece of gear.

The biggest trick is to make your car less desirable. If you leave your radar detector on the windshield, or blast your stereo "advertising" the kind of equipment you have to everyone in the neighborhood, or have a set of flashy wheels, then you will attract thieves who will spend a little more time trying to get at those things, and a basic alarm won't be as effective. If they don't think that there is anything worth getting past the alarm, then they will move to another car. So it's not just an alarm alone that helps.

Factory alarms are limited for a few reasons. First, they normally are a bit more basic than a good aftermarket alarm. Second, they are well-documented and the same in every vehicle. So as soon as someone figures out how to get into one, they can easily get into ALL. Third, in alot of cases, you can go to a dealership with the VIN and not only get a get made for that car, but also the alarm transmitter. Normally, the dealership is SUPPOSED to verify that you are the owner before you get the key or keyfob, but we've seen that this is not always the case, and some unscrupulous insiders have access to those items.

---jps

Do you think installers can put an aftermarket alarm on the 8 easily? Seeing as it already has that immobilizer thingy...

If the installer knows what they are doing, it is not too hard to figure out. I have the viper 650 i think. It's the one that can remote start, but since mine is a standard, I opted out of that option and put my trunk on that button instead. The shop I took mine tied the viper alarm into the factory alarm so the horn honks and the siren sounds when the alarm is triggered. It took him a few tries to get it right because there was no definite wiring diagram available at the time and he had to trace each wire back to its source.

I believe there is a wire that sends a pulse when the door is unlocked, and if it is unlocked by anything other than the factory remote or the key, the pulse triggers the alarm. He had to bypass that, or tie into it. I am not exactly sure, and that is why I fork over the install cash.

Hey Trek, glad to hear it. :D I got LoJack when I bought my 8. This is the same as my response in another thread:

The LoJack system I have has two parts.

1) When LoJack receives a stolen vehicle report, they remotely activate the transponder on the car. Police are notified the car is stolen, and many departments have the receivers in their cruisers.

2) The second part (extra) involves a separate fob that you attach to your key ring. If the car is moved and the fob is not present, LoJack automatically notifies you by phone, message, e-mail, (up to 5 methods/numbers). You have to call them back and verify that the car is missing, then they activate the transponder and notify the police.

Both 1) and 2) combined cost me $795 US.

LoJack advertises that the time from activation to retrieval of the car now averages about 90 minutes.