Car Security

[inmocean]

Sorry to hear what you guys think off the bat so I'll try to explain myself.

I just bought a 280Z from WA state. Its was in amazing condition and 98% stock and for the right price. Picking it up this Thursday because I'm getting it imported. Bought it to be a daily driver to go from my garage to a underground parking lot.

I'm asking about Security first because the part of Vancouver I work isn't really the most safe. Also Z's are rare in Vancouver - I've only ever seen 2 in my life.

So naturally I fear for my car.

I guess I should have just asked "Is this security measure reasonable for my car even though its completely stock?"

did you buy this car from whidbey island?

[motorman7]

I'd recommend just taking the off the distributor rotor and taking that with you instead. It's quick to take off and put on, is hidden under the distributor cap, and I doubt many thieves carry old Z rotors around with them.

-Mike

How funny, I thought I was the only one who did that.

[prilofx]

coil wire. goes anywhere with you!

[sblake01]

I've done it. That is, remove the rotor when I had cars that had rotors.

Edited June 9, 2010 by sblake01

[sblake01]

coil wire. goes anywhere with you!

Much easier to see and replace.

[motorman7]

I've done it. That is, remove the rotor when I had cars that had rotors.

Of course, the problem you get with that is the wife asking, "Is that a rotor in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

[prilofx]

I'll just say this, sbblake- in a previous life where I was not so much of an upstanding citizen, I never knew any of my buddies to carry around a spare wire when they went out to "borrow" other people's cars- nor would any of them have been willing to look under the hood to figure out why one wouldn't start, and perhaps two of them would have been able to identify, immediately, that the wire was missing and that it had anything to do with the car starting or not. None of them would have run off to the nearest Pep Boys to buy a new wire, run back to the car and install it and then steal it. You get in the car, you punch the ignition, you go. If the "go" part doesn't happen, you don't stick around to figure out why - you head down the street looking for the next easy target. The car thief's enemy is time, not the police.

So, while it may be "much easier to see and replace" for those of us who know how to get around an engine, the average car thief doesn't generally have that knowledge and you can take advantage of it. They don't work on them. They just steal them.

I use the same method to keep my friends from driving drunk- no begging or cajoling or bargaining needed. Just "aw, look at that, bro... your car won't start. Too dark for me to look at it. Better call a cab".

[Daishi_GD]

did you buy this car from whidbey island?

I bought it from someone in Coupeville.

[inmocean]

I bought it from someone in Coupeville.

a couple weeks back the wife and i saw your new car with a for sale sign so we stopped to check it out...the two 78's on highway 525 got a lot of looks. looking through the driver-side hood vent i could see a disconnected vacuum hose, FYI...

best of luck, hope it treats you well.

sorry for the thread-jacking folks, to make up for it, my slant on car security:

I leave my doors unlocked. I would much rather replace a stereo than a stereo and a window...

[DaveBonds]

I don't lock my doors either. Locked doors = vandalism and stolen articles, as opposed to just stolen articles (as stated above).

I'm not going to let everyone on a public forum every technique I have used to keep stereo thieves at bay in cars with systems, but I will tell you that not having one is the best bet.

If you want real tunes in your car that aren't coming from a factory AM radio, you might consider buying a preamped equalizer to put somewhere out of the way in the back (toolbox behind the seat, maybe?) and run a left/right RCA to input jack adapter wire under the carpet up to a jack under the dash or maybe in the center console to plug your MP3 player into.

Most MP3 players have an FM radio in them and allow you to control music, channel and volume changes on the fly. If you want AM, you still have the option via the original, untouched setup.

Preamped equalizers can be connected to a 12V setup, draw next to no energy unlike an in dash CD/ MP3 player that are made for 13.5-14V systems these days and even better, nobody wants to steal them because they are dirt cheap.

This way you take the expensive part (the mp3 player) with you and give nobody any reason to loot your car.

As far as car theft goes, a fuel pump shutoff works better than an ignition kill, because most car thieves who know what they are doing, know how to bypass the entire ignition circuit to get the car rolling. You can trick electrical circuitry, but even with gimicks like switches and hard wiring your turn signal for the starter, all of them have a red flag, and that is the wiring running to them.

Wiring modifications, unless done tastefully and wrapped as factory are easy to detect by taking a peek under the dash with a flashlight with the door open.

Viper pagers suck. They do what they advertise, but in my opinion, loud car alarms are not a theft deterrent. If a loud truck goes by and sets your alarm off, it alerts you at work/home/wherever and you go to check things out. Eventually, just like a cheesy radar detector, you start to ignore it and it becomes the boy who cried wolf.

Everybody knows not to pay attention to audio alarm systems. They wake us up when the overzealous fart tube on the honda civic trips the Escalade in the apartment complex parking lot nearby and they eat car batteries for dinner, especially on older charging systems.

New automotive electronics do not fair well in original, unmodified or poorly modified wiring harnesses.

[Decoy12]

There are many security things that you can add, as mentioned by others. It all depends on how much time and money you have as well as how bad the place is or how paranoid you get . You can unhook the rotor (mentioned), take the coil wire (mentioned) you can unhook your gas pedal from the accelerator rod by unsnapping in either from the inside or the engine bay. You can get a club for the steering wheel or a club that goes on the "brake pedal" for automatics and on the "clutch pedal" for manual transmission. It manual, put it in gear and club the clutch the only way to take it is to cut the pedal and the club or to tow it by the back wheels. Back up against a wall and your set. You can have an alarm (hook it up to the horn and crank that sucker), "low jack", you can have the pager thing, you can have a kill switch for the fuel or the battery. Hell you can carry an air pump with you and let air out of the tires everytime... ok im getting a little carried away but seriously if they want your car they will take it because unfortunately locks only keep the honest people out.

[ajmcforester]

This is what I do I wirer in a shutoff circuit So the car does not run, but the clock and other stuff does. on a 280z I think you can do this to the computer. Now their are a lot of different switches that can be used but let me tell you the problem with most systems.

I work a lot in bad neighborhoods in NJ so I've seen how they bypass most factory and aftermarket systems. First most people mount them the same way you will hear one blurp from the siren and then your car is done for. on factory systems the just punch the battery then put a new one in and they are off. The after market ones actualy can make your car a target, because they can sell the system (not good).

Since the Z is a rarer car they are less likely to sell it for parts (easier to track in part resale), so a alarm isn't going to help in my view, just give them a reason to steel the car or break in to steel the system. The biggest problem would be the joy rider.

THis is why a cutoff switch works well no alarm, cheap and effective. You can buy these special plugs that disconnect the wires and acts like a key. What I like are the magnetic key-fob readers, because they can be behind something so they are not visual.

Things to think about is location. You want a place that is easy to reach and not obvious what you are doing, and that can not be seen by people looking at your car.