AlX Boi

I was wondering what kind of alarm sounds your S' have installed. My parking lot has about 5 other cars with the same generic alarm sound and everytime I hear it, I have to run outside. Once I ran out while taking a number 2. I've seen a car with the system "Step away from the vehicle! *Alarm sound." I was wondering if I could just get a new custom sound and not have to swap out my current system that my dealer installed for me.

vivek_kumr

why spend $$$ on an alarm when you have insurance?

your premium increase for renewal after a theft and a claim is likely to be less then what you'll end up spending on a alarm and installation PLUS you won't recover your alarm costs anyway!

Ks320

I disagree. Sure an alarm is only an alarm -- i.e. can only do so much. If a thief really wants your particular car, then of course they can tow it. A lot of thieves, however, simple pick a car while they are roaming around. An alarm that is properly installed with the essentials (i.e. backup battery or siren with backup siren) lowers the incentive for a thief to steal your car, and asks them to move on to the next vehicle.

Sure you would be paying the same deductible, since they would probably break something and work on your car for a while before leaving your car alone if you are luck; but would you rather pay the deductible and have your window or battery-cable fixed in a week? Or would you want to go without a car for 4 to 6 weeks, while the insurance company waits to see if anyone could recover your car and then write you a check? I'd prefer the former ...

I personally feel it's not only about the money, but more so to do with convenience as well ...

Ks320

What you saw was merely a proximity sensor. It detects movements within a certain radius. Some find it useful, and some find it don't. It's a personal preference. In other words, it's just a sensor.

Just remember that an alarm is only as good as the install. Also, always get a hood-pin and a backup battery/siren with backup battery.

Do you have the Honda OEM alarm? Or do you have an aftermarket alarm?

Saki GT

Do youhave a siren, or is it the horn thats honking? If you do have a siren, buy a new siren that makes noises you like - that's all you really have to do. As I understand it, sirens are programmed with the sounds they'll make, and can just be hooked up to any alarm to make sound. Not sure if the factory alarm allows for aftermarket sirens though. I actually have a Compustar siren sitting in a box I could sell you for cheap if you find that you can do this - it does six tones that keep changing.

Saki GT

Best bet is a basic alarm - makes noise and scares people off.

You can spend a little less and get a Modifry mod that will make an 04+ security light blink, or get an aftermarket blinking LED as a faux alarm visual deterent. Some thieves aren't deterred by lights though, and may go for your car anyway.

Basic alarms deter basic thieves - poke around, and the ar makes noise and lights, and they run off.

Comprehensive alarms - ones with battery back ups, odd wiring, deter comprehensive theives - these are the people who will let an alarm go off thinking they can silence it quickly. Unplugging the battery and not having the alarm stop will make these people give up.

Serious thieves will get the car no matter what - not much you can do about them.

Some alarms will also let you know your car is being tapered with, if you want to try and do anything about it. My issue against these is that a - by the time you know someone is messing with your car, its reactive, and the thief has probably already cut your top or smashed your window. If the thieves are still there, confronting thyem can be dangerous. You can limit the damage, but it already been done, assuming you were even close enough to the car to get a warning signal.

Nothing really deters smash and grab thieves, so keep valuables out of site.

Will

Speaking of sirens,

I have a Viper alarm that makes the same generic alarm tones that the OP was describing. It is what 99% of car alarms sound like. However, I've never heard a Compustar alarm before. I've heard a couple of alarms in the past that had cool sounding arm/disarm tones and alarm tones that sounded noticeably different than the standard DEI siren. Does anyone know who makes these "different sounding" sirens? I've bought a couple replacement sirens off of Ebay and they're junk--they sound the same as the DEI...

Saki GT

Alpines had the best tones if you ask me, but mine got crushed when a drunk driver totalled my last car You can still buy the sirens even though Alpine isn't making alarms now.

Barring getting an Alpine alarm, I just decided to use my horn for a while, and I like it fine. Since the AP2 horn sounds rich and different than other cars, I know when its my car making noise.

bigygf

i bought a GPS locator upgrade for my alarm. i live in a condo 3 stories above the underground gated garage that i park my car in. my windows are usually closed in my place and depending on background noise and how loud the tv is, i may or may not hear car alarms going off. to me they all sound the same anyway. but the moment my car alarm goes off i get an email to my hotmail account, a SMS text message and an email to my work account. the last two immediately show up on my Blackberry. so far it's only been false alarms, maybe loud subwoofer bass or some fat garfield cat sitting on the hood of my car.

when i'm at work i'm always indoors and there's no way i'd ever hear anything outside the building so it's good that i get notification on my phone if the alarm goes off, but so far my alarm has never gone off at work, so that's a good thing

AlX Boi

yeah, the txt message/phone call was an option from the dealer advertising an upgraded lo-jack system. They wanted to charge me $500 above the already installed lo-jack. I said "no sir!"

Are there any sites anyone can refer me to for these custom siren sounds?