Hey, does anyone know of any good reputable professional alarm installers in the NoVA area? I'm looking to get a Hornet 554t installed professionally.. I know Thwack got his installed at Excessive Audio in Rockville, MD, but I was wondering if there were any other recommendations? I'm trying to search for the lowest possible price...

Also, is it illegal to install remote starts on manual transmissions, or do shops not do it solely for liability reasons? Otherwise, couldn't they just have you sign a liability waiver and install the remote start anyway? I do need the remote start enabled for my turbo timer mode to work...

 

its legal, its simply liability.... most shops dont want to go through the hassle of the waiver, b/c it has to be airtight (ie. a laywer prepares it)

trust me, if you do it, make the neutral safety switch.. it is extremely worth it... just for the comfort level alone... it cost me like 5 bucks worth of parts and an afternoon of work.

 

Yeah I read through that thread, but I got extremely confused! hahah

What exactly is the purpose of the safety switch? It that just to make sure the car doesn't remote start unless it's in neutral?

 

Hey zstryder, if you found a install shop, let me know and ask them if they can do a discount for both if we both have it installed there.

 

exactly.. actually, mine is beginning to act up, so i might take off console this weekend when i install new head unit.. if so, I'll take a picture of what i did.. its basically a ring made out of a spring soldered together at the ends, then its hot glued onto the tranny at a point where the shifter will touch it unless it's perfectly stright up in neutral. the contact with the shifter grounds a relay, which opens a circuit telling the alarm that it is not safe to remote start or stay on.
mine is getting touchy though, so i'll see whats wrong w/ it.. could be the relay, or maybe the glue is loosening.. who knows... but its just too risky to not have it in my book.

 

Cool! Thwack, if you could get pictures that'd be great. Thanks so much!

 

So after calling up numerous car alarm shops and having AOL's Les Concierges look up places for me, I've settled on this place to get my alarm installed:

CAR STEREO SYSTEM
7263 I ARLINGTON BLVD
FALLS CHURCH , VA 22042
7038766360

The guy will install a Viper Responder (790VX, I believe) for $525 INCLUDING remote start, and they'll even rig the neutral safety switch for you too. You do, however, have to supply your own extra key for the remote start (duh).

Here's the catch - they don't sell the Hornet unit which I want, after Thwack so gracefully convinced me. Instead I'm gonna source the unit elsewhere, then get it installed for $300 at the same place. It'll end up being about the same, probably even slightly cheaper.

I was wondering if you guys might know whether or not a backup battery is necessary? It's an extra $60... provides a peace of mind, but I don't know if it's completely necessary?

InitialDRacer, my friend who drives a M3 is planning to get an install there too - I think we might get it installed next weekend (14th-16th sometime?). I'm thinking we'll drop by the place either today or tomorrow to calculate everything and make sure there are no hidden charges and what not.. if you're interested, let me know and maybe you can come with us to try and convince the guy to lower his prices a little!

 

sounds great, I had to have excessive special order the hornet from DEI, so you might be able to get them to do the same thing. It should cost $50 less than viper. let me know how they do the neutral safety switch, b/c it might be better than the way i jury rigged mine. word of advice, make sure they run a wire from the trunk dome light to the brain, b/c when i had mine done they couldnt find one that went from trunk to near the alarm location, so I had to take it back to have them run it and pay and extra 15 bucks. also, have them run an extra wire from the alarm to the trunk, leave it capped off in the trunk and near the alarm. this will save you the trouble if you want to install a remote trunk pop solenoid in the future, assuming you dont want them to do it (alarm shops wanted like 100-150 to do it when i can get the kit for like 30). I ran my amp and subwoofer lines this weekend, so I ran an extra one to do that, I'll let you know how it goes.

make sure you check all the zones and functions before you leave, make sure they all work and show up as the right zone on the alarm. good luck.

 

What kind of tracking devices are available? I don't want Lo-jack - I was thinking more like Teletrac (at least back in CA) - a satellite tracking system. It cost more than Lo-Jack, but you don't need to call it and it will track even with the car turned off. Any suggestions?? I also need an installer...

 

there is something like that available for the viper. you can log online and track it at anytime, it even has parental features that notifies you if the car is speeding, etc.

 

Hey stryder, I came across this alarm shop that will do a basic alarm for 400 installed, might want to give them a call 703-491-1510. Its called MAS Mobile Audio Systems and they'e located at:

14838 Build America Drive
Woodbridge, VA 22191

If you get the hornet that would be like 170 + 300 dollar install so that will save you a bunch and have extra goodies installed too. However, they don't do remote start for manual, bummer I'll try to give Car Stereo systems a call to see what their offering and that group buy discount.

Hey thwak, isn't viper and hornet on the same company dei so whats the difference between these alarms? It looks like it's just the pager.

 

Well, I'm thinking I'll source the Hornet unit from ebay for like $160 or so, + $300 install.. the main reason I'm going to Car Stereo Systems is cause of their willingness to install remote start on a manual. Otherwise, I think there were a couple other places with comparable/cheaper prices.

I think you're right, the Viper/Clifford/Hornet two-ways are pretty much identical in every way, except for the pager. I did hear rumors of Viper releasing an alarm in the near future with a true turbo timer.. but I dunno about that. This will get the job done just the same though, so no biggie.

 

stryder - I can probably do the install with you guys but I cannot come on a weekday because of work. I think august 16 saturday would be cool for me. I'll call them and see if they do a saturday. Hope to see you and your evo there if ever

 

Okay, so I went and checked out Car Stereo Systems with my friend - they look GHETTO. I dunno, something about the place just reeks of unprofessionalism. Also, the guy i was talking to didn't seem to know what was going on either? Half the questions I had for him he didn't seem to know how to answer...

In any case, I went and checked out this place -

CELLCOM MOBILE SOUND
1110 WEST BROAD ST
FALLS CHURCH , VA 22046
7035382500

I talked to the owner of the place and he was really knowledgeable about everything - I think I'm going to end up going here. I was going to originally buy my Hornet 554t unit off ebay and get it installed, but he said he'd cut me a deal and told me he'd sell the alarm + installation + remote start all for $450!

In any case, he's a little iffy about the remote start - he says it's not so much he doesn't know how to do the remote start, it's that the Lancer doesn't have any way to hook up a neutral safety aside from doing something mechanically, like Thwack did.

Thwack, I told him you were able to rig something up and he said he'd like to see it - and maybe he could improve on it as well. He said he wouldn't mind doing it for me, he just wouldn't recommend it as he doesn't think it's completely reliable. I don't suppose you might want to come out here next weekend when we get the alarm installed to have the guy take a look at it? Maybe he can even help figure out something better and he could wire it up for you too?

I just wish there was an ECU neutral signal to hookup the remote start - that would make things that much easier... I take it that the Lancer doesn't have this signal - otherwise someone would have figured it out by now... Thwack, is there any possible way to rig a neutral safety aside from the way you did it? Like maybe a button or a switch mounted on the dash that controls it electronically?

 

well, what day and time? I can probably swing by for a quick peek at the setup, but I cant spend all day there.

as for the button mount, yes, you could so something like a toggle switch or a latching button, that you could leave switched on or off manually when you're sure that you're leavign it in neutral... but thats not failsafe.

as for the reliablity of mine, it has been being a bit sketchy, but only in the direction that it wont let me remote start or turbo timer. it has never tried to let me while i'm in gear (i've tried to make it do it with the clutch in). I've figured out why it was being so iffy, and it's simply b/c the tranny has loosened up a bit and the neutral point is no longer one set point, you can shift it a little bit and still leave it in neutral, so if you leave it too far down, it thinks that the car's in 4th. I

gimme a time and date and i'll do my best to swing by.

btw, $450's a great price. make sure they know they need to bypass the immobilizer and that the price includes the bypass box.