Keypad Immobiliser/Alarm

[lwells]

The guy who put it in is the head contractor for Brant but also does private work.

His name is James and you should be able to contact him on 0408 44 33 52.

Last I head, Allan Wong was head installer for Brant. Well, at least according to Brant

LW.

[d00dz]

Last I head, Allan Wong was head installer for Brant.  Well, at least according to Brant

LW.

Same..

I had the Brant Nemesis system installed with Tilt sensors and anti-hijacking mechanism. Basically everything you find in a WRX for $980 from Allen Jong. He did a good job took like 5-6hrs to install it.

They keypad is annoying and the alarm activate range seems pretty crap. But I dont mind.

PM me for number or do a search on forums his number is here somewhere.

[lwells]

Whoops, yes I meant Allan Jong (not Wong). His number is 0419 988 679.

Personally I don't find the keypad annoying at all. Range improved out of sight after removing the dash board and fiddling with the antenna. I get a good couple of meters now (was originally only about 1m).

LW.

[d00dz]

Whoops, yes I meant Allan Jong (not Wong).  His number is 0419 988 679.

Personally I don't find the keypad annoying at all.  Range improved out of sight after removing the dash board and fiddling with the antenna.  I get a good couple of meters now (was originally only about 1m).

LW.

There u go.

Oh how did u improve range? What did u do? do tell..

I park it at North Syd TAFE right under the huge telecommunication ABC tower and i need to go right near the car to unlock it. So much interference there..

[lwells]

There u go.

Oh how did u improve range? What did u do? do tell..

I park it at North Syd TAFE right under the huge telecommunication ABC tower and i need to go right near the car to unlock it. So much interference there..

I pulled the dash board out (as I was replacing it). I was able to feed the little antenna up the drivers-side vent on the top of the dash. Before that, I was lucky to get a 1m range and sometimes it wouldn't work from some angles.

LW.

[Beer Baron]

i have to say I have always though brant alarms to be a bit shit. despite the insurance companies and subawho seeming to favour their product. their range is despicable, and i know of a couple of people who have had their cars stolen with a brant of some description fitted.

if you just want something that will lock your doors, passively immobilise your engine and meet all insurance requirements then I would recomend the Black Widow one. a few guys on here have it and having used one i must say they seem pretty good. awesome range (like 20 meters line of sight) nice small remotes good features. much cheaper than the brant too at under $600 installed. i think it's the BW1000-3. i personally don't like the keypad idea either, just one more thing you don't need in your car. in the end the best defence is:

1. lock up secure garage

2. comprehensive insurance

[Links]

1. lock up secure garage

2. comprehensive insurance

You can't always leave your car in a garage.. unfortunately you have to leave it somewhere for a couple of hours when your out..

as for 2. well that's the same attitude my friend had.. my reply was pretty much the same..

I really don't want to have to go through the hassles and pain of having to a) get my insurance claim back B) than spend the time and effort and money it costs to find a good car and get it back on the road when I had a perfectly good car to begin with..

You may think differently that's fair enough.. everyone has a different opinion

as for the keypad, well for me personally I don't think it's that much of a hassle, no different to warming your car up really some people do it, some people don't.. if that's the difference in someone looking into my car and walking away, or someone stealing my keys at a party/from my home/when i'm out and getting into it and not being able to go anywhere than I don't mind..

....

haven't looked at the black widow alarms, might have to start looking at them, are they the ones that are offered @ strathfield car radio?

[Links]

Cheers for the info guys..

I contacted Alan Jong, (friend recommended him) he has quoted me $890 fully installed - he'll come to me.. not sure if that includes the tilt sensor, might have to look into that..

That's with discount because i'm with Just Cars..

They are quite a good alarm, my brother has one installed in his Liberty (came with it from previous owner).. gets a pretty decent range (10m) or so maybe further, however sometimes get interference when you park near power box things on the side of the road and a couple of other strange situations.. in that case, just lock the door, alarm auto-arms and you just unlock, enter code and your fine.. not that much effort..

probably looking at getting the brant.. personally I think it's a good alarm with 6-point immobilisation (most others are 3)..

only question I have is - if someone rips off the keypad, or the front dash and gets to the alarm box - can they just rip it out, hotwire it and drive off??

[lwells]

only question I have is - if someone rips off the keypad, or the front dash and gets to the alarm box - can they just rip it out, hotwire it and drive off??

That's the case with any alarm. If the person rips the complete unit out, and manages to work out the wiring, then yes they can hotwire and drive away. This is why its extremely important to have a good installer who takes their time.

LW.

[Beer Baron]

You can't always leave your car in a garage.. unfortunately you have to leave it somewhere for a couple of hours when your out..

as for 2. well that's the same attitude my friend had.. my reply was pretty much the same..

I really don't want to have to go through the hassles and pain of having to a) get my insurance claim back B) than spend the time and effort and money it costs to find a good car and get it back on the road when I had a perfectly good car to begin with..  

You may think differently that's fair enough.. everyone has a different opinion

as for the keypad, well for me personally I don't think it's that much of a hassle, no different to warming your car up really some people do it, some people don't.. if that's the difference in someone looking into my car and walking away, or someone stealing my keys at a party/from my home/when i'm out and getting into it and not being able to go anywhere than I don't mind..

....

haven't looked at the black widow alarms, might have to start looking at them, are they the ones that are offered @ strathfield car radio?

i wasn't suggesting don't get an alarm or don't ever park on the street. but my point is those two things (LUG + insturance) are much more reliable than ANY alarm. as long as the car is phsically vulberable people can and will steal it. does not matter what alarm is in it. some will take longer than others to disable but they are none of them un breakable. like I said i personally know people with brants who have had their cars stolen. i do agree you should have a good alarm, but i wouldn't do it at the expense of comprehensive insurance. that is the only sure way you wont be out of pocket big time when your car is stolen.

not sure if strathfield sell BW alarms but even if they do i would suggest one of their installers do it if you go that way.

http://www.blackwidow.com.au/page/security...ty_systems.html

[Links]

^^ cheers, i'll check it out - comprehensive was the first thing I took out after knowing I was getting the car.. definately not worth skimping out on..

sad fact that not matter what you have.. if someone wants to steal the car, than you probably aren't going to be able to stop them..

does 3 point vs 6 point make a difference.. if they rip out the controller it's not really going to matter in the end is it.. probably better to get a kill switch put in somewhere that is very very well hidden..

[lwells]

I agree with Richard that comp. insurance and off street parking are essential: I even pay to hire an off-street parking space for my car. As for Brant, Subaru's theft stastics would suggest their keypad immobilisers do a very good job (only thefts where after owners gave the key away due to threats of violence).

Either way, a top spec alarm should do you fine. Remember, its only ever a deterrent and nothing more.

LW.

[lwells]

does 3 point vs 6 point make a difference.. if they rip out the controller it's not really going to matter in the end is it.. probably better to get a kill switch put in somewhere that is very very well hidden..

I think it does. The Nemisis is essentially two three-point systems, not one six point system. 3-points for the keypad, three-points for the alarm.

If someone is willing to take out the box -- bearing in mind it probably takes a good 30 minutes even with a hack saw -- then nothing is really going to stop them.

LW.

[Links]

yeah the theft rates on subaru's has gone down massively I do believe..

yeah - visible deterrants are better than non-visible ones, rather they look in the car see keypad flashing and move on than smash my window only to find out i've got an alarm..

[Beer Baron]

i personally think anyting over 2 point is a bit of a waste of money it's just that for our cars most companies require 3 point+. i mean you only need to power the fuel pump and the ignition/ecu to start the car. don't even need to bother with the starter, just clutch start it. any half serious car thief with a brain and a few lengths of wire can achieve this pretty quick smart. don't think it'll matter if you have 2 point 3 point 6 point or 20 point. i know of a guy with a 6 point brant whose car was stolen... personally i couldn't accept the shitty looking cheap remotes and the crappy range in an alarm that costs $1000. but if those two things aren't important and a keypad is, then i guess brant is the way to go. just note that they are now in receivership.

[wrxhoon]

I think it does.  The Nemisis is essentially two three-point systems, not one six point system.  3-points for the keypad, three-points for the alarm.

If someone is willing to take out the box -- bearing in mind it probably takes a good 30 minutes even with a hack saw -- then nothing is really going to stop them.

LW.

Very easy to bypass the brant system once you know where they install them .

I'm not going to tell you in this forum how it can be done though .

I have owned 3 wrx's ( still have 02 sti ) with them fitted as standard equipment .

All 3 have given me hassles , i had 2 cars towed to subaru ( free under warranty ) to get them going again . Car 1 they replaced the whole unit and the keypad , car 2 just the module . The sti i have now gave me a problem but i could start it so i drove it to subaru , they just had to put a master code in and she was right again .

A couple of months later she stopped again , well this time i just bypassed the keypad part of it , it took me about 20 minutes . In that time i had to find the module and work out how to bypass it as well , now that i know where the unit is and i know what to do i can do it in about 60 seconds .

The thieves that know these systems ( and every wrx post 01 has it ) would be able to do it in the same time .

When you install that alarm in a skyline , thieves would not know that the car has it in it but know where to look for an immobiliser unit so it will take them a little longer but not that much longer .

If you want more security you can't go past a tracker , it will let you know straight away that someone has broken in your car and if you have some other immobiliser as well , especially a one of ( one that you make and its hidden ) it will give you plenty of time to catch the thieves . Even if they manage to start the car they won't know that you are tracking them and you can cut the engine on them at anytime .

[Chris Rogers]

I used to fit the brant wrx's and some of the ones I DIDN'T do scared me. find the module clip it out rejoin, leave - 60sec tops.

tracking works well. I have an ENTIRE fleet of Council water ferries with them on it. ( this is brisbane ceity council.) and the next 5 will have it also.

[wishaw]

most alarms will stop an amature thief. If you want to deter the pros aswell you need to look into gps tacking and data dots. If the car is easily identifiable even in parts it will make it harder to get rid of. Any alarm with rolling codes and multipoint immobilisation should work very well. Just make sure you make the system obvious ie armed LED, arming chirps (for ppl watching) and the alarm stickers. Hopefully that should make most people think twice.

An abstract plan is to add to your alarm system with internal screamers and powerful strobes to make and rewiring difficult if not impossible.

[lwells]

I used to fit the brant wrx's and some of the ones I DIDN'T do scared me. find the module clip it out rejoin, leave - 60sec tops.

In fairness though, isn't that a problem with any alarm that isn't installed properly?

LW.

[Links]

Should have made this a poll.. i'm still open to suggestions..

currently it appears to be the Mongoose M80G vs. Brant Nemesis..

Mongoose has 90% of nemesis features without the keypad at $200 less.

For an extra $90 i can get an extra relay/kill switch fitted.. sounds like the plan to me - i guess.. i see saw with my decisions though..