Car alarms
 

Hello all,

What kind of car alarms are people installing on their cars?

My insurance company will probably be asking that I install one and I'm just looking for general info.

Thanks

does'nt yours have a factory alarm? mine 86 944 does.

Factory alarms were not standard on 86's. Yours must be an option. I think they became standard in '88 or '89.

I could see your insurance company offering a discount if you installed one, but requiring one? That's a new one on me.....

My 86 951 doesn't have one either...would like to install me a cutoff switch at some point...perhaps in place or in addition to an alarm.

Cheers!

If you are concerned that you car will be stolen, then get "Lojak". Lojak hides a transponder inside the car, and if it gets stolen, the police can turn on the transponder and locate the car. You get the car back and best of all they CATCH the low life! System is pretty expensive and is installed at a Porsche dealership.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Bill:
<strong>If you are concerned that you car will be stolen, then get "Lojak". Lojak hides a transponder inside the car, and if it gets stolen, the police can turn on the transponder and locate the car. You get the car back and best of all they CATCH the low life! System is pretty expensive and is installed at a Porsche dealership.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">We have something similar here in Canada. It's called the 'Boomerang' system. It's basically, a unit that reports the car's position through the cell phone network. Car Insurance companies give a significant discount on car's with this equipment.

I've got 2 86's and they both have the alarm. Doesn't the factory alarm kill the fuel or ignition?
BTW - my cell phone has built in GPS. Maybe I should just leave it in the car....a poor woman's Lojak! :D <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

MichelleJD is correct, the alarm kills the DME relay. No spark, no fuel.

Andre ... does your 951 have a second key hole to the right of the drivers door? If it does you have a factory alarm. If you don't have a key, you Porsche garage can install a new lock. I also installed an Alpine unit with remote to open the doors and the rear liftgate. Duel alarms work well.
A cheaper way to do it is by putting in a DME cut-off switch somewhere in the car.

Jaak Lepson

<img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

i have a clifford g4, but I use it mainly as a deterrent and for adding power door locks :)

I have the factory alarm but I dont much like it. I dont like the additional key, it takes at least twice as long to get in, and It really probably wouldn't take very long for a pro to get in anyway. I'm in the process of installing an additional aftermarket one. It's had a 2-way remote where I can it notifies me if someone has touched the car, tried to break in, and also I can use the remote to kill the car if it has been hi-jacked.

My '87 does not have an alarm. It was an option only until '88. My insurance company gives a discount if you have one, but there's no way they'd be allowed to require one.

My 951 has two. The factory alarm and a Viper aftermarket alarm. Where I live, there is no need (I say this now but would cry for a long time if my car got stolen) for either but just the same it's nice to have 'em for security.

The problem is they don't talk to each other. You set the factory alarm by locking the doors. You set the Viper by remote which in turn locks the doors and sets the factory alarm. If you then open the door (or 'trunk') with the key, the aftermarket alarm goes off. Why don't I just always use the aftermarket alarm? Well, it goes off whenever it feels the need to. This is very very very very very very annoying in the middle of the night. An attempted breakin is very unlikely as I watched the alarm go off for no apparent reason at least once. I probably just have to adjust it which but haven't gotten around to it yet....sorry I'm ranting a little here <img border="0" alt="[ouch]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" />

I think the factory alarm is good enough but if you don't have one (which would eliminate one of my problems), then get your mits on an aftermarket alarm!

Regarding the insurance, ICBC (my insurance company) didn't give me a discount for having a very alarmed car, but that of course may be different in your case.

<img border="0" alt="[bigbye]" title="" src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" />

Well, the Montreal metro region is the car theft capital of Canada. So, insurance companies do insist on some sort of electronic theft deterrent device for what are considered 'desirable' cars.

Thanks for your responses <img border="0" alt="[bigbye]" title="" src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" />

Just don't spend too much on an alarm system.

I've known people who would break into a car to steal the alarm-system; because it's worth more than the stereo...