remote starter

[forreal]

what do you guys think about remote car starters for your 5 speed, since you arent able to leave it in gear and park it?? cause i want to get an alarm and i've seen a couple remote start/alarm combos for a good price, just wanted to get your guys opionons because 70% of the time i park on an incline..thanks

[Khyron]

Re: remote starter

I have one but I don't use it on a hill unless I'm properly hill parked with the tires against the curb. IE, in neutral the car doesn't move. Too many fools park with hot brakes, pull the ebrake then leave. Then the brake pad cools and contracts, and the car end up somewhere else.

But in the winter, parking outside I wouldn't want to live without it. Plus the extra piece of mind of a better alarm to boot.

Khyron

[R_Ethug]

Re: remote starter

thats an interesting comment on the hot brakes geoff i never thought of that i'm gonna start pulling the ebrake a bit harder lol

[forreal]

Re: remote starter

I have one but I don't use it on a hill unless I'm properly hill parked with the tires against the curb. IE, in neutral the car doesn't move. Too many fools park with hot brakes, pull the ebrake then leave. Then the brake pad cools and contracts, and the car end up somewhere else.

But in the winter, parking outside I wouldn't want to live without it. Plus the extra piece of mind of a better alarm to boot.

Khyron

what do you mean by this:
"Too many fools park with hot brakes, pull the ebrake then leave. Then the brake pad cools and contracts, and the car end up somewhere else."

do you mean that they dont pull the ebrake hard enough or like they just pull the ebrake and leave the car without putting the tires to the curb?, what if you park on a driveway outside of ure garage and its really steep and theres no curb??

sorry if i sound stupid

[Khyron]

Re: remote starter

what do you mean by this:
"Too many fools park with hot brakes, pull the ebrake then leave. Then the brake pad cools and contracts, and the car end up somewhere else."

do you mean that they dont pull the ebrake hard enough or like they just pull the ebrake and leave the car without putting the tires to the curb?, what if you park on a driveway outside of ure garage and its really steep and theres no curb??

No it's fine - I've seen two cars on my street roll out in the road because they did this, and I've been paged in a mall to come out and find a manual truck bumped up against mine because it rolled away.

When metal is hot it expands, so when you pull the ebrake it feels tight. But as the metal cools it shrinks so what was once tight now is not. If the brakes were hot when you parked, it can shrink enough that the car will roll away, even though you pulled it tight enough when you got out. And you don't need to be nascar man to get hot brake pads.

So if you are on a hill and there is no curb, you should ALWAYS leave it in gear, and have the ebrake on. I let it roll and lock, then put on the brake.

Khyron

[forreal]

Re: remote starter

No it's fine - I've seen two cars on my street roll out in the road because they did this, and I've been paged in a mall to come out and find a manual truck bumped up against mine because it rolled away.

When metal is hot it expands, so when you pull the ebrake it feels tight. But as the metal cools it shrinks so what was once tight now is not. If the brakes were hot when you parked, it can shrink enough that the car will roll away, even though you pulled it tight enough when you got out. And you don't need to be nascar man to get hot brake pads.

So if you are on a hill and there is no curb, you should ALWAYS leave it in gear, and have the ebrake on. I let it roll and lock, then put on the brake.

Khyron

**** man this forums wicked i learn somethign new everyday...i never knew about the shrinking thing that happens once the brakes cool down...but thanks for the heads up man i really apperciate u clearing everything up

[Cordialtea]

Re: remote starter

Ok Back to Remote Starters Can they be installed in a MK4 automatic? Will it Void my Warranty?

Cordialtea

[R_Ethug]

Re: remote starter

i thought it was a general rule of thumb to leave your car in gear when you park it.. most people probably learned this one from highschool only to come out of class and your car is in the middle of the football field kinda deal

[FlyBoy]

Re: remote starter

Ok Back to Remote Starters Can they be installed in a MK4 automatic? Will it Void my Warranty?

Cordialtea

It shouldn't void the warranty, unless it causes a fault in something because of it. I looked into remote starter/alarm a couple months ago. Top of the line from Visions requires a bunch of extras for late model VWs to defeat the immobilizer when remote starting and hook into on the systems that are already there, like the remote trunk release, etc. Like an exta $200 or so extra for parts/cables/adapters.

Also more than half of the advertised price of most systems is labour to install, so if you can do it yourself you can save a good chunk of change.

Jeff
01 Jetta GLS

[bart]

Re: remote starter

i assume if you install a remote car starter, no more immobiliser for you then...

[FlyBoy]

Re: remote starter

i thought it was a general rule of thumb to leave your car in gear when you park it.. most people probably learned this one from highschool only to come out of class and your car is in the middle of the football field kinda deal

Didn't matter in my highschool. When 6-10 guys can pick up and move a Ford Festiva, having it in gear doesn't stop anything!

[FlyBoy]

Re: remote starter

i assume if you install a remote car starter, no more immobiliser for you then...

It only disables it for the moment it takes to get it started. Once it is running however, no keys required so I don't know what happens then. Might need keys in to drive or the immobilizer kicks in. Should be a simple question for an installer I would hope.

[James]

Re: remote starter

i thought it was a general rule of thumb to leave your car in gear when you park it..

Ya, ive always parked in gear, never had a problem...My brother once had his car roll all the way down our driveway into a pile of dirt (they were landscaping at the time) but it was proally 250m it moved!!

[Bora_4_Me]

Re: remote starter

Even in my garage it is in gear and parking brake on.

[Khyron]

Re: remote starter

i assume if you install a remote car starter, no more immobiliser for you then...

They take one of your keys and wire it into the system deep inside the dash. So when you start the car, it's as if there's a key in it. However as soon as you touch the brake, it dies, so someone breaking in would still need a key. Or they'd have to dismantle your entire dash to get at the wired key. It's integrated with the factory alarm, and if I put my unit to sleep (aka at the dealer) you can't tell it from stock.

Our cars are brutal for install - just for perspective mine was about 900 (manual car so more than an auto). The actual unit in the box cost 350. When they talk about extras costing more, they are not kidding. This is also why buying a 300 dollar high end unit is better than some crappy 120 dollar special - you don't want to be upgrading later. And you don't want idiots doing the wiring and cutting corners by not soldering etc.

Khyron