Is everyone sticking with the factory alarm or going aftermarket? The factory alarm seems rather lacking to me at first glance.

If anyone has gone aftermarket did you leave the factory alarm in place too or disable it somehow?

Thanks!

Nothing further on this? Surely someone has investigated this by now?

Nothing further on this? Surely someone has investigated this by now?
Well, my $.02 worth:

1) Side milled keys with RF ID in the fob.
2) The usual horn & lights if etc., etc.
3) Fuel shutoff if not started with the right key.
4) If OnStar is activated and a thief gets to this point, they know exactly where the car is.
5) G8 is very scarce at this time and along with the above, if some fool is willing to go thru all that crap to steal my car, I'll try to be there when they taser the fool.

:p

My issue is not so much theft of car, more theft of stuff in the car or parts off of.

My neighbor has a big dually truck. He's previously had his window busted and stuff stolen out of it twice. Last night someone stole the whole effin front cap off of it; hood, front fenders, grill, etc. 10 feet from my bedroom window. No alarm, his bad obviously but the kind of system we have would not have helped him.

I know, I need to move, but I need something in between.

My issue is not so much theft of car, more theft of stuff in the car or parts off of.

My neighbor has a big dually truck. He's previously had his window busted and stuff stolen out of it twice. Last night someone stole the whole effin front cap off of it; hood, front fenders, grill, etc. 10 feet from my bedroom window. No alarm, his bad obviously but the kind of system we have would not have helped him.

I know, I need to move, but I need something in between.
I see! Right you are. My G8 is garaged every night I'm in town. When I'm not, it's in a motel parking lot, so I just keep my fingers crossed. :p

I see! Right you are. My G8 is garaged every night I'm in town. When I'm not, it's in a motel parking lot, so I just keep my fingers crossed. :p

I used to have a garage but I had another kid; had to close it off for a bedroom.....

I used to have a garage but I had another kid; had to close it off for a bedroom.....

Ya know, you can fix both situations. You get fixed, no more kids. Then move to a better neighborhood, if not for your G8, then your kids! The one you live in now sounds a little scary, what with ten wheelers parked outside your bedroom window and people stealing the whole front off it without awakening anybody, that's pros my friend. The kind of people that do that stuff for a living. Don't think I'd want my family in that kind of atmosphere!?!:(

Is everyone sticking with the factory alarm or going aftermarket? The factory alarm seems rather lacking to me at first glance.

If anyone has gone aftermarket did you leave the factory alarm in place too or disable it somehow?

Thanks!

Seems to me that the factory alarm/Onstar has the vehicle theft issue well under control, but what is missing is a motion sensor/glass break or a radar proximity motion sensor to address if someone breaks a window to get at your electronics or bumps the vehicle (with their bumper or car door).:(

You could splice in a DEI motion sensor or radar proximity alarm, say into the hood pin alarm wire trigger (many people do this if they don't have Onstar), but this would no doubt send an alarm to Onstar every time a motorcycle drives past or someone lightly bumps the car. The factory alarm/Onstar would probably read this as an attempted break-in and alert Onstar. Some installers have told me that they would have to disable the factory alarm and put in a secondary alarm system like Viper if you want motion sensor or proximity alarms input. I didn't like this approach as I'd like to keep the Onstar setup, and don't want to pay $3K for a full blown aftermarket alarm when the car already has vehicle theft protection.

As an alternative, you could have a simple backup system like Directed Electronics #20930 (available on Ebay), that only installs with 2 wires and is completely standalone (not wired into the factory setup) and has it's own built-in motion sensor and siren. If someone bumps the vehicle or breaks the glass, the alarm would go off (not the factory alarm). Course, this would mean carrying two remotes. That is probably what I am going to do. This simple alarm only costs about $20 and solves the lack of a motion sensor in the factory setup. I used to have one under the Bulldog brand in my BMW and it worked great to alert me to people bumping their car doors into mine at parking lots, etc. I would prefer a dual stage radar proximity motion sensor, but have not been able to find one that is standalone, just those that get wired into existing aftermarket systems.

Ya know, you can fix both situations. You get fixed, no more kids. Then move to a better neighborhood, if not for your G8, then your kids! The one you live in now sounds a little scary, what with ten wheelers parked outside your bedroom window and people stealing the whole front off it without awakening anybody, that's pros my friend. The kind of people that do that stuff for a living. Don't think I'd want my family in that kind of atmosphere!?!:(

Fix A already done, Fix B coming soon.

Seems to me that the factory alarm/Onstar has the vehicle theft issue well under control, but what is missing is a motion sensor/glass break or a radar proximity motion sensor to address if someone breaks a window to get at your electronics or bumps the vehicle (with their bumper or car door).:(

You could splice in a DEI motion sensor or radar proximity alarm, say into the hood pin alarm wire trigger (many people do this if they don't have Onstar), but this would no doubt send an alarm to Onstar every time a motorcycle drives past or someone lightly bumps the car. The factory alarm/Onstar would probably read this as an attempted break-in and alert Onstar. Some installers have told me that they would have to disable the factory alarm and put in a secondary alarm system like Viper if you want motion sensor or proximity alarms input. I didn't like this approach as I'd like to keep the Onstar setup, and don't want to pay $3K for a full blown aftermarket alarm when the car already has vehicle theft protection.

As an alternative, you could have a simple backup system like Directed Electronics #20930 (available on Ebay), that only installs with 2 wires and is completely standalone (not wired into the factory setup) and has it's own built-in motion sensor and siren. If someone bumps the vehicle or breaks the glass, the alarm would go off (not the factory alarm). Course, this would mean carrying two remotes. That is probably what I am going to do. This simple alarm only costs about $20 and solves the lack of a motion sensor in the factory setup. I used to have one under the Bulldog brand in my BMW and it worked great to alert me to people bumping their car doors into mine at parking lots, etc. I would prefer a dual stage radar proximity motion sensor, but have not been able to find one that is standalone, just those that get wired into existing aftermarket systems.

Thanks for the tips. I'll investigate further.

Crutchfield says the Crime Guard 750i5 works on our car. I really dont see the need for one. Unless you leave your doors unlocked, they are going to have to tow your car to get anything.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=801&i=514CG750I5&tp=149

Crutchfield says the Crime Guard 750i5 works on our car. I really dont see the need for one. Unless you leave your doors unlocked, they are going to have to tow your car to get anything.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=801&i=514CG750I5&tp=149

Around here they pop your window with an automatic center-punch and clean out the inside.

Crutchfield says the Crime Guard 750i5 works on our car. I really dont see the need for one. Unless you leave your doors unlocked, they are going to have to tow your car to get anything.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=801&i=514CG750I5&tp=149


The specs on the Crime Guard look pretty good, even has a pager mode for short range paging. Any "standalone" system like this should work in the G8 as it does not get tied into the factory alarm and is basically a motion detector/alarm setup the runs direct to the cars battery. Too bad it doesn't have the microwave motion sensor...then it would have all the bases covered that are not covered in the factory alarm. The DEI unit mentioned also works the same way, just without paging. Both of these should work to catch those that break the windows to get at the electronics inside the car. :thumbsup:

Around here they pop your window with an automatic center-punch and clean out the inside.

The best thing I can suggest is for you my friend, is to get a home security montioring system that allows you to record along with some motion sensors on the car. I'd set up a camera directly on my car, and display signs letting everyone know you have security cameras (even if only one). One thing about motion sensors, they pick up everything including animals. Plus they tend to false alarm more than the normal alarm.

Good luck

SRG has a good suggestion here, but with you having a PC, your solution could be even cheaper.

You can use a simple web cam to use as a security cam, and there is software available that has the functionality of any other security system, but you have more options available to you usually (such as the ability to remotely monitor the cam over the internet when you're not at home).

Some simple google searches will turn up what you need/can use.

Best of luck to you.

Getting a Clifford Intelliguard 770 installed on Wednesday. It should integrate with everything except remote start (module for that is in development, 1-2 months away). I'll let you know how it works out. Its going to run me $400 installed, not too hateful I think.

Clifford makes one of the best alarms, or at least they did when I was in the market. $400 is pretty good. If they tint, I'd try and get a deal on everything at once.

Clifford makes one of the best alarms, or at least they did when I was in the market. $400 is pretty good. If they tint, I'd try and get a deal on everything at once.

Its already tinted. Great idea though :)

Are you leaving the factory alarm system activated too or having to shut off the factory alarm and just use the aftermarket system? The 770 has motion sensor etc., that if integrated with the factory alarm will probably send an alert to Onstar. How are you getting around that? Everyone (installers and dealer) is telling me it can't be integrated without shutting off the factory system entirely. Thanks!

Are you leaving the factory alarm system activated too or having to shut off the factory alarm and just use the aftermarket system? The 770 has motion sensor etc., that if integrated with the factory alarm will probably send an alert to Onstar. How are you getting around that? Everyone (installers and dealer) is telling me it can't be integrated without shutting off the factory system entirely. Thanks!

They said every will integrate properly except possibly the remote start. Supposedly Clifford alarms are designed to play well with factory systems. The key word, of course, is supposedly....

Well, they've got my car. Will be done sometime today. Wish me luck...

good luck!