How You Protect Your Car From Being Stolen?

[omri617 18]

Hi there

Whenever I park my car for long period (more than 2 days) I always have this fear that when

I get back , the baby will be gone!

I thought about some tricks that will make life harder for thief's

Once thought about disconnecting the plug for the fuel pump.

Or maybe removing the ignition fuse.

Any creative thing you do ?

 

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

Unfortunately thieves nowadays will be more likely to tow it away so the only thing that could prevent that is a wheel clamp or removing the steering wheel mr bean style

[omri617 18]

<p>333 Lock won't do the job on the door ? <img class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png" title=":)" /></p>

<p> </p>

<p>seriously now , if the thief isn't so sophisticated and he wants to drive it not towing , any relay can be removed to</p>

<p>prevent it from starting?</p>

Edited April 3, 2013 by omri617

[chris-gti 14]

Whenever i park up anywhere which i don't particularly like i whip the ignition rotor out and once actually put the car in reverse and disconnected the gear linkage so it couldn't be dragged away.

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

You could remove the ecu if you wanted to die hard protect it from being started but its a bit of a bitch to remove the first time as its hooked on by one of the dashboard bolts that go through the bulkhead, fuel pump relay would be a good one to remove

[S@m 156]

I used to have a hidden switch for the ecu live on my mi16. Now i just use a decent alarm/immobiliser.

[omri617 18]

Whenever i park up anywhere which i don't particularly like i whip the ignition rotor out and once actually put the car in reverse and disconnected the gear linkage so it couldn't be dragged away.

 

What do you mean "disconnect gear linkage" ?

[chris-gti 14]

popped the linkage off the gearbox with a screwdriver, now not so easy as i have replaced the linkages. the worn ball and cup linkages would pop off quite easily (to the point where it would happen changing gear sometimes)

[omri617 18]

You could remove the ecu if you wanted to die hard protect it from being started but its a bit of a bitch to remove the first time as its hooked on by one of the dashboard bolts that go through the bulkhead, fuel pump relay would be a good one to remove

 

This is a good idea , really

[farmer 328 1 Cars]

Nice new series 200 alarms on Ebay if you have a load of spare cash.

[harryskid 193]

I once had a switch hidden under the bonnet which cut ot the coil, this was on a mini cooper!

[bigalthenutter 8 2 Cars]

if somebody wants your car that badly they will take it no matter what. i had a friend with an evo rally car about 20 to 30 grands worth locked in a workshop with the front props removed. they ram raided the unit and took the car on a path of destruction untill it smashed the rear diff to pieces then left it where it stood !

try a combination of little things ie

wire in a kill switch for your fuel pump

kill switch for the ignition near the fuse board, as when they rip the trim out to hot wire they will have no joy and no fuel pump

use a decent alarm

also if its a 205 they will probably bend the steering wheel or column brackets trying to snap steering lock

and if your worried about it being dragged or towed..there is only one solution to that sit it on its arse with no wheels !!

[jamie_1992 66 1 Cars]

i have a bar that goes through the steering wheel

i little switch that dose the fuel pump hidden under the dash would be a good idea and a loud alarm and some big flood lamps on your driveway normal stops most

if they really want it they will just reverse a flat bed truck up to it and drag it on only way to stop this is to put a folding bar infront of where you park your car

[jason7579 5]

I always use my Disklok even if just going food shopping.

 

I'm sure if they really wanted the car they would take it but it seems a good visual deterrent for any opportunists. Plus keep the car looking as grubby and untidy as it can, most days it looks like its already been stolen and dumped...

[Batfink 201]

My unit is protected by a manned CCTV system. They call the police if people are breaking in which is nice. With a few other bits to make entry slow hopefully it gives the cops enough time to get to there

[TooMany2cvs 65]

I lock it. Sometimes.

 

Ah, the joys of pikey-spec cars in a non-pikey-spec area...

[Mad Scientist 106]

I have all sorts of junk surrounding my car in the garage, which act as harmless tripping hazards.

 

I also have a big dog, and an interest in clay pigeon shooting.

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

I have a good quality immobiliser with very visible flashy LEDs, and a strong arm steering wheel lock thing.

 

I leave nothing in view and it lives in a garage with an up and over door with added ground bolts and top locks.

 

If I take it anywhere I think about where I park it, mainly at work (dealership) however I have had some shady types asking about it and hanging round it peering through the windows. Once the owner of the business came and took my keys from my locker and locked it in the compound as it was attracting the wrong attention.

 

The fact is, there is scum all over, if they want it, they'll take it....

[DanteICE 72]

We've had conversations about car security before or it might have been garage security, but I remember that I'm always the OTT one of us, but I think I've been beaten by some cheap and simple solution, but I'll give you my ten cents anyway.

 

I think you've got to think of the different types of thieves and then try and deter or defeat them.

 

1st: The opportunist.

 

Visual deterrents (more the better). Most of these are physical e.g. stealing wheel lock, gearlock.

 

I have two physical visual deterrents; steering wheel lock in the shape of a baseball bat, this has two advantages, self defence in a bad situation and a steering wheel lock where, if fitted correctly, the key hole is turned away from the driver making it awkward for someone to drill or break the lock. My other physical visual deterrent is a gear lock, which fits over the handbrake and wraps and locks around the gearstick (whilst in gear). This is a great one, as someone trying to tow the vehicle onto a flat bed, will be trying to pull a car in gear and handbrake on, if they want it they better come prepared with a bloody good winch and have to deal with a car that will give up a good fight.

 

The other type of visual deterrents is to warn them of potential problems they will encounter if the try to steal the car. Normally these are a little sticker in the window telling them that there is a quality alarm professionally fitted and maybe even a tracker fitted.

 

These amateurs will usually break the glass to get in too, so window film will give them a shock, even if they manage to get in, a minute added to the steal might be just enough to deter or slow them down in time for the police to arrive.

 

2nd: The joyrider (Probably the most common)

 

A professional joyrider will be relatively savvy (giving them a lot of credit here) and will pick the best time to steal your car. This best time will be when it's dark, tonnes of time to break stuff and get it going. The trick here is to park in an open well lit area and give them as much hassle as possible to stop them from having an easy time hopefully attracting attention and getting them caught. So the physical devices above will work a treat, but the sting in the tail is a good alarm system. I'd recommend Toad Ai606, well priced and offers a few added extras which are nice to have. I recommend the toad for two reasons, it has a back-up battery alarm, so if they disconnect the battery in an attempt to silence the alarm then it will have no effect, then secondly you can fit another secondary alarm (pick seccondary alarms up on ebay for about £15) and you can fit that inside the car, when this one goes off anyone trying to hot-wire the car will be deafened, this may even stop them from hearing a police car coming till it's too late.

 

However, the most common way to steal cars nowadays, is to just take the keys... . So always keep the keys well out of the way. But if they do take your keys, you're a bit screwed, because they'll have the key to open the door, unlock all your mechanical deterrents, turn off all the alarms and drive way. But what if you have a touch key immobiliser or a few hidden switches that only you know about? A touch key immobiliser requires you to touch a key against a sensor to deactivate the system; if that sensor is hidden, they will have the touch key but no idea where it connects to. Adding a hidden switch works well too and can be hidden in brilliant places. A friend had a switch to the starter motor that would only allow the starter motor to turn if the clutch was in, although it wasn't meant to stop thieves it worked well when the car was almost stolen.

 

3rd: Professional, will take your car whatever you do to try and stop them.

 

You're going to struggle to stop these people, but you can give them a hard time with gear locks and wheel locks to stop them dragging it onto a flat bed (most common method of theft for the pro). Turning the wheel to full lock toward the pavement before putting the steering lock on can really make it hard for someone trying to tow the car. There is one alarm trick which might scare off a professional if they aren't prepared; tilt sensor on the alarm will set off the car when it starts to be towed, I doubt they'd be expecting that and now people are looking! They'll pop the bonnet if they can and disconnect the battery...but that back-up battery alarm will not give up the fight at this point (try to keep the alarm in an awkward place to get to (behind the scuttle panel is a good place), that will stop them going directly for it and giving a good hammering.

 

I'm sure there are many other ways, including garage security and wheel clamps, but I'm out of time, maybe we should get a guide up on the website for security?

 

Quick question, what points can be electronically immobilised?

 

Starter motor, ignition point, fuel pump, injectors, ecu, ignition coil? They all acceptable?

 

If anyone wants pictures of some of the stuff I've spoken about, give us a shout.

 

Geoff

[NFS 32]

it’s sad to think that we need to think about going to these lengths to protect our cars. like most people have said if they want it they will take it. that’s why I have decided to buy a tracker, which I got delivered yesterday.

 

with this tracker it tells me there the car is, it has a microphone so I can listen to what people are saying in the car, and I can turn a siren on and cut the engine,

 

so if a thief stole the car, I could first get the GPS coordinates and speed its traveling at, then cut the engine and turn on the siren, so if the car is being driven it will stop and the siren will be going mad, then the police will have the location of where the car is hopefully safe and sound.

[DanteICE 72]

it’s sad to think that we need to think about going to these lengths to protect our cars. like most people have said if they want it they will take it. that’s why I have decided to buy a tracker, which I got delivered yesterday.

 

with this tracker it tells me there the car is, it has a microphone so I can listen to what people are saying in the car, and I can turn a siren on and cut the engine,

 

so if a thief stole the car, I could first get the GPS coordinates and speed its traveling at, then cut the engine and turn on the siren, so if the car is being driven it will stop and the siren will be going mad, then the police will have the location of where the car is hopefully safe and sound.

 

 

 

 

 

How much and where from?

 

Geoff

[NFS 32]

How much and where from?

 

Geoff

 

Here is a link, they are very inexpensive compared to what they use to be,

 

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/251215593803?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla&crdt=0

 

you will need a pay monthly sim or a pay as you go, but make sure you keep it topped up, i have a pay monthly sim of £6.90 which im happy to pay to make sure i know where my car is.

 

also if you have an andriod phone you can control it from your phone. otherwise you need to text it with commands to get info back. easy to use and very easy to set up. i had it working in about 3 mins.

[DanteICE 72]

I've been looking at cheap tracking devices recently, defo worth it I reckon. The old police linked trackers were rubbish and the police hate them, these are far more advanced but do have holes in the system (lack of signal) whereas the police linked ones are generally 100% reliable but a pain in the arse.

[NFS 32]

yeah signal is a problem, and these will continue to work as
long as the antenna are not cut or disconnected. just need to hide them well.

Edited April 4, 2013 by NFS

[TooMany2cvs 65]

If somebody's determined, then any GSM-based tracker's fairly straightforward to beat - just put the car into a metal shipping container. Disconnect the battery, sit back and wait for the backup battery to flatten - which it'll do rapidly once it's searching constantly for a signal. You might well know where it fell off the network, but not where it's gone to on the back of a truck. The PAYG-based ones also need regular prodding if the SIM's not to be expired by the network.