THSCC Forums

Does anyone have any experience installing or living with a remote car starter? Flipping through my latest JC Whitney catalog I noticed some very resonably priced do-it-yourself remote starter kits.

Car in question is the girlfriend's 95 honda accord (automatic). I thought I'd install it before the winter (Durham gets damn cold these days).

Is there any reason why most cars don't have this option from the factory? Know of any that do? European cold weather packages?

Thanks.
Jonathan Evans
92 miata
95 m3

_________________
Jonathan Evans

'07 335i <commuter>
'92 Miata <CSP>
'07 TSX <wife's>

I've installed quite a few myself. If you are comfortable installing a complete car stereo system with amps etc. you can do it without too many problems.

I'd suggest getting one with the best tech support though. For a DIY project that would be the one by Design Tech that JCW sells or one sold by Bulldog Security. I've installed about four different brands and the Design tech model performed the best.

If you do your homework and take your time they do work pretty well and are nice to have winter and summer. Get a diagram of the vehicle wiring beforehand and make sure you have a test light. Oh yeah...stay away from those airbag wires!

If you need any other info PM me. I'll be glad to answer any questions that I can.

_________________
Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

"Is there any reason why most cars don't have this option from the factory?"

A lot of owners manuals discourage idling to warm the engine up. They suggest starting the engine and driving normally.

Why? It takes a loong to time warm an engine up just idling, while driving normally will bring it up to temp quickly.

There is the obvious fuel savings, but most importantly it ensures good lubrication (that may not be there on a cold morning at idle), drives the moisture out of the engine and exhaust system more quickly, and eliminates potential localized overheating problems by getting the thermostat opened up quickly and coolant circulating evenly.

A lot of people install them with success, so obviously they work to well enough, but those are some of the reasons you don't see them factory installed. They are probably concerned that a poorly maintained car could be damaged by over-idling.

I always do a warm-up before I leave in the mornings. In the winter I do one in the afternoon before leaving work as well. 50% is due to helping the car and the other 50% is because I'm always cold and hate to get in a cold car waiting for the heat to kick in.

Another thing for a DIY install is the newer the car the more of a PITA it is to get right. Not so in this case, but I've done one on a 2000 Mustang and it was a HUGE pain. I've even done one on a manual transmission equipped car, but I wouldn't recommend it.

_________________
Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

I looked into one a few years ago when I lived in Indy. My car had a manual transmission. One of the reasons I decided against it was that there was a high liklihood of damaging the starter motor (and garage ) if I forgot to take it out of gear. Since I parked in the driveway on a bit of hill, I figured it was just a matter of time before I left it in gear and tried to start it remotely!

Thanks for the responses. I think I'll poke around the local alarm installers to see what they sell/recommend as well.

Manufacturers I've found so far:

Valiant
Design Tech
Bulldog

_________________
Jonathan Evans

'07 335i <commuter>
'92 Miata <CSP>
'07 TSX <wife's>

I've installed all three of those. The Valiant was the least expensive, and had the best range. The Bulldog was the most aggravating to install by far. Like I said the Design Tech model was the best between the three.

As far as overall quality, DEI products are THE best bar none IMO. You may have heard of them as they make Viper, Hornet, Sidewinder, Valet and several other alarms or wireless systems. The drawback is they are sold as units for professional installation only and are a bit more expensive. Some dealers will sell you one w/o an install, but not many. All DEI's instructions assume you know what you're doing and are written a little more technical in nature. If you are familiar with the stuff like reverse-polarity, normally open/closed, negative/positive trigger, etc you can install their products just as easy.

_________________
Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

Miranda's Sti has remote start that came with her alarm system and turbo timer. I guess some of the new ECUs have an "in gear" wire that the remote start is hooked to. It will not start with the car in gear

-Tom