Hi folks,

I need to get a min Thatcham 2 immobiliser on my JDM WRX, but potentially could be tempted into a Cat 1 Alarm/Imm etc. I've talked to several companies today which install immobilisers, each company auto electricians, not just alarm installers. I have to say, it's as clear as mud which system I should go for.

So I have some questions for the more learned amongst you who are either professionals in this area, or who have done an install yourself.

1. Are Clifford's unreliable? One company said they became unreliable and therefore stopped installing them. Another said they are very reliable, but that they take great care how they install them and set them up and that only 1 of their installs has gone wrong in the past 3 years.

Views?

2. Toad. One company says they're a good system, another says that the size of the unit is way too large and it gives big problems physically trying to fit them into imports where the air-con takes up so much room. For that reason it doesn't recommend them. It was even suggested that some companies take the innards out of the metal case so that they can fit them in, which would invalidate the Thatcham approval anyway.

Views?

3. Another company made the point that Toad sells to everyone under the sun whilst Cobra have a more smaller set of approved distributors so that you know the install is up to standard.

Views?

Obviously the Toad and Cobra systems above are Cat 1 systems and I don't need any more than Cat 2 immobiliser for insurance purposes. Are the Cat 2 versions of those units



Originally I wanted an immobiliser plus anti-hijack, but it seems like the anti-hijack feature only comes if I get a full Cat 1 installation. I would like to keep my HKS Turbo Timer and was told I can do this with a Cobra immobiliser, but another guy said it was incompatible with a Clifford immobiliser.

Arghhhhh, can someone give me an guidance through this painful process?

Clifford has not been unreliable for a very long time. The people that say this are either not clifford dealers or struggle to fit them. The C650 by clifford is Cat 1 and you can get a the alarm with a Proximity sensor and Blackjax (Anti-hijack). You are going to struggle if you want to keep your own HKS Turbo timer. You can wire a turbo timer of the clifford alarm & it works well and we have done this for many scoobynet members. We are doing the C650 for £325 and do the turbo timer for free.:)

The toad is a good standard Cat 1, its not also that big in size. But its true that toad will sell to anyone. So beware that there are a lot of bad fitters out there. Again Cobra is also a standard Cat 1. We are authorised dealers for all these alarm manufacturers but on our own vehicles only install Clifford or Viper.

www.motorguarduk.co.uk (http://www.motorguarduk.co.uk)

1/ Any alarm is only as good as its installation. Cliffords are more prone to problems if they are fitted by people who don't understand them. Becauee of their complexity they have connections which normal alarm systems simply dont have. The new range of Clifford systems are as reliable as any other brand on the market. I have fitted gazillions of them and had almost no issues.

2/ Toad are a good alarm system if your looking to fit something basic. The size of the unit isn't really an issue as there is always somewhere that it will fit into. It all depends on how much time the installer is willing to spend on your vehicle. Goes back to the cheap job: rushed job: poor install issue. Cheapest isn't always a good thing to count on when shopping for security.

3/ Im not the best person to ask about Cobra systems as i hate them. In fact so do quite a few of the dealerships that i dont work for. One Mitusbishi dealer I do work for removes all the cobra systems from their new cars because they hate them as much as I do. Over the years they have found them to be extremely unreliable so they now have Viper and Clifford products installed in their place. Currently there are only 2 companies selling, what i would call, decent alarms systems in the UK. Toad VTD and Directed. These 2 companies account for Toad, Sigma, Sterling, Clifford, Viper, Hornet and Avital ranges.

Keeping out of the alarm debate here, but if you keep the Turbo timer this could cause you Thatcham approval problems with whichever system you choose.

The Turbo timer and immobiliser (whether Cat 2 or Cat1) would need to be wired effectively "in series" and the turbo timer run time would need to be reduced to a maximum of 30 seconds in order for the installations to still meet Thatcham criteria for the immobiliser - ie the combined systems must passively arm and cut the engine circuits 30 seconds after the 'ignition is turned off.

For these reasons consider the installer carefully as it is important that they understand this to retain the Thatcham approval that you require, in the event of a claim.

SS

It can be set to 30secs to meet all thatcham criteria.

A short reply for your standards Sigma sam:)

:D