[wistling rexie]

when i installed my new wheels, i added one wheel lock per wheel. now, you are supposed to have to use the "key" that comes with the locks to get them off. My question is, if someone had a Gator Grip ( that tool that forms to any bolt) could he get off the lock easily? Are there any other ways to protect my valuable rims and tires? Also if i were to buy an alarm, would it go off when someone jacks my car up to steal my wheels? your responses are definatly appreciated!

 

[dark_rex]

gator grip wraps around the outside of an object. i don't think you'd be able to snake it around a wheel lug.

the purbose of the wheel lock is that the key has a typical lug portion o nthe back, and a male "tooth" that fits into a female lug on the wheel. a gatorgrip won't be of any use on a female lug.

secondly, most alarm systems come with a shock sensor. even the OEM alarm for the wrx is equipped with an adjustable shock sensor. jacking the car should almost certainly set this off. if not, test it yourself, and reset the sensor so that jacking WILL set it off. i'm going to check that out when i paint my calipers this weekend.

dR

 

[wistling rexie]

thank dark rex, and i'll be sure to shout betty a holla

 

[AutoXJunkie]

I don't know about the security bolts you have, but the ones I got with my Miata are not removable with gator grips. They won't fit in the bolt hole, and couldn't match the pattern anyway. Your best bet is to buy a gator grip (useful tool anyway!) and try to get your security bolt off.

Please don't buy an audible alarm. They're worse than useless, because everyone ignores them. Honestly, ask yourself, when's the last time you heard one and stopped to call the cops? Never, right? All they do is annoy the heck out of everyone nearby, and do zero to protect your car or the things attached to it. I've heard of cars with alarms being vandalized (keyed, painted, hammered, etc) just because the blaring alarm pissed someone off. Please don't buy one.

The best way to protect your wheels is to pay attention to where you park your car. Try to park close to where crowds will be. If you have to take your car to shady places often, you probably shouldn't have gotten expensive wheels. That may not help you now, unless you're willing to swap out for your stockers if you know you're going to park your car in a poorly lit, poorly monitored area for a while.

Hope this helps-

 

[wistling rexie]

thanks alot autox. i never considered one of those thing by the way. i hate them too

 

[dark_rex]

Please don't buy an audible alarm. They're worse than useless, because everyone ignores them. Honestly, ask yourself, when's the last time you heard one and stopped to call the cops? Never, right? All they do is annoy the heck out of everyone nearby, and do zero to protect your car or the things attached to it. I've heard of cars with alarms being vandalized (keyed, painted, hammered, etc) just because the blaring alarm pissed someone off. Please don't buy one.

The best way to protect your wheels is to pay attention to where you park your car. Try to park close to where crowds will be. If you have to take your car to shady places often, you probably shouldn't have gotten expensive wheels. That may not help you now, unless you're willing to swap out for your stockers if you know you're going to park your car in a poorly lit, poorly monitored area for a while.

Hope this helps-

i TOTALLY disagree. don't buy wheels b/c someone might steal them? that's rediculous. an audible alarm isn't for people to call the cops, it's to alert THE OWNER! i've heard betty's alarm a number of times. twice someone hit her, and i was able to get the LP #. once, i ran out and spotted two punks running off through the houses in alston. you misunderstand the purpose of a car alarm.

that's complete nonsense "don't get an audible alarm." that's the whole point. it's a detterent. what other types of security are there? i have lojack, but that won't help you if you're nearby, and could have averted the theft or vandalism. a poilice patch? an electro-charged force field?

did you even think about the 25% discount on auto insurance with an alarm? !?!?

!!! think before you post !!!

dR

 

[wistling rexie]

i think autoX meant one of the alarms that actually talk, not one that makes noise. the point of an alarm is to have it make noise, not necessarily talk

 

[PolarisSnT]

not to scare you and you should definately get new rims but on my fathers car he lost the key to his wheels and his mechanic was able to take the wheel lock off with a pair of vise grips. you shouldnt worry about it and an alarm would definately help and some of them come with a level sensor so that as soon as the car in un level the alarm goes off

 

[wistling rexie]

well it does scare me! yikes

 

[AutoXJunkie]

i TOTALLY disagree. don't buy wheels b/c someone might steal them? that's rediculous. an audible alarm isn't for people to call the cops, it's to alert THE OWNER!

Yeah, that's grand, if you're that close to your car. But what about when you're in a mall, in your city apartment with your car parked on the other side of the building, well outside of earshot... in a loud restaurant... inside at work... maybe you've been lucky enough to hear your alarm twice, but I'm willing to bet that for the twice that you've heard it, there have been maybe 50 times when you didn't hear a damn thing, but the people enjoying a nice stroll / nice dinner / whatever had to listen to your loud, shrill alarm for several minutes until it reset itself... but I betcha they DID NOT check out why your alarm was going off, they just thought, "frickin car alarm, cops should tow that GD nuisance"

that's complete nonsense "don't get an audible alarm." that's the whole point. it's a detterent.

Bull. No halfway competent car theif is deterred by a car alarm. They're going to take your car - or what's on it, or in it - in a place where you're not going to hear it, and the people who do won't care. That was the whole basis of my advice to Wistling Rexie.

what other types of security are there? i have lojack, but that won't help you if you're nearby, and could have averted the theft or vandalism. a poilice patch? an electro-charged force field?

I can do without the sarcasm, thanks.

Again, the best defense is careful selection of parking places. Next is a non audible alarm- one that pages you, like this or this or about 3000 other models. My friend that works at Best Buy says these haven't been very popular, though, because people rarely want to be bugged as often as a car alarm goes off.

did you even think about the 25% discount on auto insurance with an alarm? !?!?

You may have that in your area, but I don't have it in mine. Did you even think about that?

!!! think before you post !!!

!!! just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I didn't think !!!

I stand by my assertion that audible car alarms are a bad idea. Again, I point to the fact that in cities people with car alarms have began to report having their cars vandalized because their alarm was going off. Is this not counter to the reason for getting a car alarm? Police in some areas have also began handing out noise ordinance violation tickets and fines for unmonitored, oversensitive car alarms, which is also an excellent idea, IMO.

Car alarms are a nuisance, and if you can't be there to shut it off every single time it sounds you probably shouldn't get one. Just IMO, of course.

 

[jedimaster]

Y'know, not to be sarcastic, but I like the idea of a forcefield. I've often thought about connecting a wire to my door handle and the other to a large battery so a would be thief would get a jolt. But I'm sure someone would sue you over that one, right? And the battery in the car probably doesn't have enough juice to shock the guy too much.

I don't care who the guy is- if someone touches my car, they're gonna get the Kubaton and pepper spray until I can get into my car and beat them with my trusty Louiseville slugger!

 

[Zapix]

The alarm actually does well for me. Personally I think if the alarm went off, a kid trying to get into it at a mall or whatever would be startled. People around would see the kid, and then perhaps security would do something. Not to mention I have THE CLUB on my car as well... So really, it'd be a pain in the ___ to get my car vs another. Plus I have wheel locks as well. Ones that the Subaru dealership provided me (found em at PepBoys for $24.99). However, this idiot friend of mine said something smart the other day. Why not go to PepBoys or something, get the same wheel locks, and viola! Easy access to the wheels. I'm going to try the key I have with my fathers wheel locks. Same 17" gold OZ rims, and same we have the same brand wheel locks. Makes me wonder!

~ Dan (Zapix)

 

[Kira]

I think an audible alarm is better than for example...nothing. Audible alarms can be a nuissance if they are oversensitive. Some alarms get set off by a thunderstorm. or by another car with a loud exhaust driving by. I don't think the problem is that the alarm makes noise but that it is overly sensitive and gets set off when a breeze hits the car. I have an audible alarm on my car and I haven't heard it go off yet. With the right level of sensitivity an alarm can be a very useful tool. I think that if somebody wants to steal your car will do so whether your car has it or not but that's what Lojack is for. You can only do so much to keep bad things from happening to your car but this shouldn't stop you from enjoying it and modding it. My $0.02

 

[AutoXJunkie]

Good point on adjustable sensitivity, Kira, but I'd personally still feel bad about installing an audible alarm unless it somehow notified me by pager that it was going off so I could go shut it off (and/or stop any theives that might be there). I've personally spent a few sleepless nights thanks to car alarms, and I can't bring myself to even risk doing something like that to someone else for what is fairly ineffective security, anyway. I ask again, have you ever called the cops or security when you heard somebody elses' car alarm?

Granted, a kid might be startled, but a pro knows that he can shut it down in under 20 seconds, and that nobody except maybe the owner is going to care enough to check out why the alarm is going off, and as I've said before, the owner isn't always within earshot, except apparently for Dark_Rex, who is attached to Betty by a 40 yard chain. Even cops ignore car alarms these days.

Re: wheel locks, I don't know about other makes, but Mazda has something like 8 different wheel lock patterns that it sells, I suspect the generics would be similar.

 

[Verdugo]

I think an audible alarm is better than for example...nothing. Audible alarms can be a nuissance if they are oversensitive. Some alarms get set off by a thunderstorm. or by another car with a loud exhaust driving by. I don't think the problem is that the alarm makes noise but that it is overly sensitive and gets set off when a breeze hits the car. I have an audible alarm on my car and I haven't heard it go off yet. With the right level of sensitivity an alarm can be a very useful tool. I think that if somebody wants to steal your car will do so whether your car has it or not but that's what Lojack is for. You can only do so much to keep bad things from happening to your car but this shouldn't stop you from enjoying it and modding it. My $0.02

My car's exhaust sets off over-sensitive alarms...

I like having an audible alarm but I agree that an alarm that pages you would be more helpful.

 

[Kira]

My car's exhaust sets off over-sensitive alarms...

I like having an audible alarm but I agree that an alarm that pages you would be more helpful.

The pager idea is awesome. I bet alot of people would buy into that. Maybe even a silent alarm that would only notify the owner that something's happening to the car via pager, cell phone, email or whatever. I would rather have something like that.

 

[Kira]

Good point on adjustable sensitivity, Kira, but I'd personally still feel bad about installing an audible alarm unless it somehow notified me by pager that it was going off so I could go shut it off (and/or stop any theives that might be there). I've personally spent a few sleepless nights thanks to car alarms, and I can't bring myself to even risk doing something like that to someone else for what is fairly ineffective security, anyway. I ask again, have you ever called the cops or security when you heard somebody elses' car alarm?

Granted, a kid might be startled, but a pro knows that he can shut it down in under 20 seconds, and that nobody except maybe the owner is going to care enough to check out why the alarm is going off, and as I've said before, the owner isn't always within earshot, except apparently for Dark_Rex, who is attached to Betty by a 40 yard chain. Even cops ignore car alarms these days.

Re: wheel locks, I don't know about other makes, but Mazda has something like 8 different wheel lock patterns that it sells, I suspect the generics would be similar.

You have a point, but I derive some small morsel of satisfaction from knowing that my alarm will most likely startle away any punk kid that might want to steal my baby. There's not much you can do against a true pro but at least there is some sense of security from joy rides and such.
I am lucky because my car is hardly ever very far from me at work and at home.

 

[Verdugo]

You have a point, but I derive some small morsel of satisfaction from knowing that my alarm will most likely startle away any punk kid that might want to steal my baby. There's not much you can do against a true pro but at least there is some sense of security from joy rides and such.
I am lucky because my car is hardly ever very far from me at work and at home.

I agree. If someone really REALLY wants to steal your car, no matter what kind of security you have, they're going to do it...but it's nice to have something that'll scare of those who just want a quick joyride.

 

[Sherb]

The pager idea is awesome. I bet alot of people would buy into that. Maybe even a silent alarm that would only notify the owner that something's happening to the car via pager, cell phone, email or whatever. I would rather have something like that.

Alarm pagers aren't new http://www.commandoalarms.com/itm30031.htm

Let's make this simple people. Why do we have locks on doors if someone could just kick it open? Locks keeps innocent people innocent. Same with alarms, it keeps innocent people or amateurs from stealing the car.

Let's say:

100% car thieves overall
95% will steal if doors are unlock
75% will steal if doors are locked but no alarm
50% will steal if doors are locked with alarm
10% will steal with a James Bond alarm
5% will steal no matter what

If you can reduce the probablity someone (amateurs) will steal you car, what's the no-brainer logic there? Specially if the alarm has starter disable, locking wheels, pager, etc. Unless you live in a neighborhood where all car thieves go to a thief guild and are professionals, than maybe you should've gotten a Geo Metro (where 5% of the above statistic won't bother stealing even if the doors are unlocked).

 

[dark_rex]

AXJ,

sorry if i offended you. i realize i struck some cords there.

in short, my replies are as follows

1) just becasue i couldnt' run to save betty, doesn't mean that someone wasn't close by enough to scare the person off (like near a busy street etc.) even if you are parked there, w/ no alarm, there is no deterrent.

2) our discussion on the competence of car theifs is moot neither of us are playing with real statistics, but as you put it. "No halfway competent car theif is deterred by a car alarm" i tend to think the VAST majority of car theifs are NOT professionals. they are mostly delinquent teens, or young adults.

3) sorry for the sarcasm. i do that a lot. but the point stands, those alarms are very cool, but defeat the purpose of the alarm when you arr out of earshot. by the time you get there (if it's a pro as you say) your car is gone. in a car garage, or lot, even if you're out of earshot, even a regular theif will take off when the alarm goes off.

4) discounts are offered by many national firms as well as local. shop around, they are more than common.

bottom line
if a thief is jacking your car, and the alarm is going off, and someone sees them prying your window, or steaking your wheels, they're going to run (to save themselves) and call the cops) a thief isn't going to risk grand larceny on ONE car. they'll run.

i suggest lojack anyway. in combination, these won't stop ALL theifs, but will greatly increase the chances your car will be there when you get back from wherever you went. statistics alone prove this. it's not up for debate, becasue historically it works.

and "think before you post" although was the harshest thing i said, i stand by it. i respect you AXJ, you're a veteren here, and you've contributed a lot. posting of opinion is fine. BUT YOU PHRASED IT AS ADVICE, and that's not cool.

you don't like annoying alarms. fine. don't buy one. post up and down the site that they are annoying. but don't reccomend against them on false facts. do the research, because they work with OVERWHELMING success.

dR