posted
Lately, I've been hearing a lot of systems getting jacked, and it hurts to see people working hard for their equipment just for someone to jack it. I've been installing car audio systems for about 6 years, lived in 3 different ghetto apartments in LA but I have YET to lose a single strand of wire to the thieves. (knock on wood) Never say Never, but if you follow these tips, your chance of getting broken into will be nearly impossible. Please feel free to add more to this list!
• ALWAYS use common sense. Don't 'bump' where you live, esp. if you live in an apartment • If at all possible, avoid putting any stickers on your car (be it performance or audio) they just scream "steal me! steal me!" • If you go to car shows/soundoffs, I suggest removing your license plate temporarily. This will at least make it hard for people to remember your car is packing what gear(s) • Consider getting dark limo tint and car cover. Remember - out of sight, out of mind. • when you go to a mall or a store, turn down your system at least 2 miles BEFORE you get there. When a thief hears you bumpin down the road, he will follow you till you park and jack your equipment when you leave. Anybody who's desperate for money will do ANYTHING to steal something. • Please Please Please install an alarm. I know about 30 people who pack thousands of dollars worth of competition-grade Audio Equipments in their SPL vehicles and they don't even have a $100 car alarm How stupid can you be.. • 'modify' your car alarm.. It might be an overkill, but I'll install 10 additional siren around the car - two inside the hood, two underneath beside the cat, two in the trunk, and four in the cabin. Thieves don't have enough time to cut all those wires while they're blaring 130bD. • I betcha right now I can guess where you all have your alarm brains.. they're under the dash. right? that thing can be disabled in less than 5 seconds! Don't be a fool, move that brain somewhere hidden. Mine has mixed wire colors and false wires all around, Not even a professional installer can unload it. • modify your Kickpanels to hide the hood release latch under the dash. Mine is covering the whole thing so you will have to reach inside the kicks to pop the hood. One time I took it in for an oil change it took the guy about 10 minutes to figure out where the hood release is This is extremely important so that the thief can't disconnect your +12 source and disable your alarm. • I can't emphasize enough how extremely important security screws are. These are oddly-shaped head screws that you can get from any hardware store. Nearly ALL thieves carry a flat screwdriver and/or phillips screwdriver all the time. A hex or square head screw will definately slow them down. If your amp is bolted to the amp rack like this, there's NO WAY they can take your equipment.. but make sure your amp rack is bolted as well. • Ask your insurance provider if they can cover your equipment. • Be careful on who you show your system to... remember that every person is a possible thief. Even people who post here. • Don't leave anything "interesting" inside your car (cellphone, jewelry, heck even a quarter) this will only attract passerbys that can possibly lead to theft. • make sure all your fuses are good and have the right rating. Moreover, make sure your equipments are FUSED. In worst case scenario, after an equipment is stolen, wirings short out literally putting the car on fire.
The next time you roll down the parking lot, remember to keep them bass down cause having a system is like having sex--- you'll never know when you're gonna get jacked
-------------------- Alpine XTANT Focal Image Dynamics AudioControl Posts: 1625 | From: Los Angeles | Registered: Jan 2001
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Additional Tip: For those of you with websites about your ride... BE CAREFUL! That website can easily turn into a 'shopping catalog' for a thief. Try not to list personal information on the site (ie what city you live in, what school you go to). If you have any pictures of your ride, always blot out the licence plate. Also, if you have your own domain name try to use a different mailing address then the one your car is located at (ie Use a PO Box). Remember that's public information and can easily be obtained by doing a "WhoIs" report (http://www.netsol.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois).
ALSO-- Manual fuel cut off switches.....hey they cost a freakin dollar. Invest in them. Its a simple cut and splice between the fuel pump line and will piss the hell out of anyone attempting to move your car.
Speaking of the hood, Hiding the hood pop switch is a step in the right direction but will only stop petty kids who are just f'ing around in the game. The real vulnerabillity is in the line that connects the lever to the hood pop mechanism...in most cars these are routed throught the driver side fender. Pull the plastic molding back strip the insulation and get a plier to pull the wire inside and POP ....you have an open hood. solutions? reroute the wire somewhere else or add additional lines to confuse.
The main point is no matter what you cannot stop someone from getting into your car. You can SLOW them but not totally stop. There are big holes in the side of the car covered with glass....i believe people call these windows. Since it is imposible you to stop someone from getting in one should focus on slowing them down as much as possible as well as preventing the moving/disabling of the car.
An expensive alarm won't do much for you. They are all the same with some added bells and whistles. All you really need is a starter kill, and dual stage siren....an expensive alpine alarm with LCD screens does not do anything if it can be yanked from under the dash.
BUY A PEDAL LOCK [someone] has thought many hours about this and still have yet to figure a way around it. The infomercial is correct. That pedal is made of some hard freakin steel. And even if you could manage to break the pedal off youd have to sit with your ass facing either up or our of the car for a long period of time....not something smart to risk..
Record time sawing through a steering wheel....48 seconds.
I don't know if alarm stickers (such as "Protected by Viper", etc) is a good idea or not. Some say it's a good deterrent, some say it makes it easy for code scanners to 'unlock' your code. If somebody knows more about this issue, please shed some light...
LoJack is also a good investment. Although they run around $600 installed, you might get something in return from your insurance company just for having it. Also see 'peace of mind'
IMO, the *only* equipment that you cannot protect is your subwoofers. Whether you put a grille or not, if a thief can't pull it out, he will stab it with screwdriver. (reconing a sub is way cheaper than replacing it)
-------------------- Alpine XTANT Focal Image Dynamics AudioControl Posts: 1625 | From: Los Angeles | Registered: Jan 2001
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I wonder if it's possible to put a video camera in your car and whenever you leave it you have a watch that's like a monitor that fits on your wrist so you can watch your car at all times...???
Posts: 225 | From: Tampa, FL | Registered: Aug 2002
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Great information, thanks for the tips. I would also like to add that if possible, back your vehicle as close to a wall as you can so it makes it harder for people to get into your trunk.
-------------------- 2000 Chrysler Neon Aiwa CDC-MP3 Memphis ST-500D Eclipse 8812 DVC4 Memphis CA-150 DEI 3065 Neodymium Components Stinger/Lightning and Fosgate Wireing ----------------------------------- Posts: 119 | From: Prince Edward Island, Canada | Registered: Apr 2000
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quote:Originally posted by N2K: Great information, thanks for the tips. I would also like to add that if possible, back your vehicle as close to a wall as you can so it makes it harder for people to get into your trunk.
also, when you park, try to park as close to a public place as possible and not far in the back where no one is around.
Posts: 225 | From: Tampa, FL | Registered: Aug 2002
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VERY nice posts! I'm a big fan of the security screws too. If you have a trunk system, some trunk releases have a valet lock on them. Lock it! Now theives cannot access your trunk without physically ripping into it. That would really slow them down. Have a sweet deck and an EQ and a Line Driver and all those goodies up front? Remove the face plate(s) EVERY time. For stuff you can't hide, try to cover it up. I stuff a jacket if front of my deck/THREE.1 so if you look into my car, all you can see is factory grills, an old jacket, and a red blinking L.E.D. Keep grills factory if possible! If you havn't put an alarm in yet, buy a blinking red l.e.d. from Radio shack and stick it in your dash!!! Now let's assume theives are already in your vehicle. Does your box have handy handles? no? Good, keep it that way. My box weighs 140lbs. MAYBE if my life depended on it, I would be able to take it out of my trunk by myself, but I certainly couldn't run off through the parking lot with it. To top it off, I have both my amps mounted on my box. My box is so big in my trunk that it is impossible to squeeze the box out without first taking the amps off. [security screws!!!] Don't have a nice secure trunk? Bolt a HUGE [6" diameter] washer insdide your box with an i-hook. Run a beefy steel cable through it and through a similar i-hook on your frame or somthing, and padlock it. And like sepp said, DON'T ADVERTISE YOUR SYSTEM whether it's with blaring it all over, putting stickers on your car, or showing it off to everyone.
-------------------- (1) PPI AMP PCX-2200 (800 Watts @4ohms Bridged) PCX-480 for my highs (2) DD 3512a's in a 4.4cube box with 50sq. inches of port tuned to 33Hz Street 1-2 [TEAM DD] 147.7dB My Sound Domain page Posts: 1655 | From: Tucson, AZ | Registered: Jul 2001
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After my truck got broke into a few months ago, I now park under lights, near the street, and where it can be seen in the open. I don't show my system to many people anymore and I dont tell anyone what around here what I have. The only way someone will know what i got is if they see this post but I dont have my exact area listed on the bottom. I am currently lookin for all sizes of Hex heads and trying to install my own stuff from now on. Local shops around here will install your gear and since they ask for your address (most kids fall for this one). Once the system is installed someone from the shop gives a tip to a theif and several weeks later, the kid got jacked. Always give a bogus address to a shop. As for the alarm repositioning, never thought of that.
Learn something new everyday.
-------------------- Mike Zadler
2003 Usaci 151.2@48hz (AudioControl 170) 2003 AS3: 149.6@39hz (Linx Meter) 2004 S4: 145.2@41hz (TermLab) 2005 M1: 149.3@69hz Retired indefinately. Still into car audio to help others where I can. Posts: 3029 | From: I don't just want to knock over the pins, I WANT TO VIOLATE EM!!!! | Registered: Jun 2000
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we have an urban myth going around about "someone" in "some state" who put razor blade tape around the outside edges of his amps and other vulnerable areas. he blended it nice and the story goes that he came out one day to a pried open trunk and a lot of blood in and around his trunk. they evidently pulled the amp rack off with a crowbar and grabbed for the final pull.
not sure if this is true or complete BS, but man does it sound like a great idea. Wonder how the law would feel about that? Sounds like a nice fat liability lawsuit in our wonderful country...dip**** breaks into car and cuts his hands all up and sues your ass.
anyone else heard this or know someone who actually did it?
-------------------- oz audio 6.5"s and tweets phoenix gold m100 us amps 2000x 2-1F caps pg line driver pg xmax 12"s sealed 12 disc changer Posts: 11 | From: dc | Registered: Aug 2001
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alarms with add-on pagers are nice Alarm goes off I'm running with a loaded gun and someones gonna die. Word is spread pretty good around here that if you touch my truck your gonna die.
-------------------- 97' Dakota 4x4 higher every day Sony CDX-C910 Sony mkII eq MbQuart 8's, 2 sets of 3-ways Picassos 9515 1 Tarantula 4 SVR 80-12's Sony SVP-DC1 Sony 10-disc changer Sony PS2 N64 2 monitors soon to have: 300 alts
Beginners Luck? Mobile Audio team DD Posts: 2106 | From: Whispering Pines, NC | Registered: Dec 2000
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instead of the standard siren off most alarms should change it so when it goes off it says something to the likes of "If you touch my truck, I WILL KILL YOU!! thank you"
i always thought that would catch ppl's attention more then the standard alarm but i could be mistaken
Posts: 3421 | From: Owosso MI, USA | Registered: Apr 2001
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i even hesitated to show it to my closer friends
i dont ever even turn on the deck until im clean out of the neighborhood and i dont ever turn it on on the way to school or leaving school, EVER
I got 5 L brackets holding my box down. I only have philips heads in there now but i stripped all the screws (i have a way to remove them) so all they could do is destroy my cones on my subs...no biggie, i get that fixed
my car looks like ass, exceept for the rims so nobody expects me to have a kickin system, which is good
-------------------- 88 Silverado RCSB, 5/8 on 20's, shaved the f*** up, tinted, notched, but still not quite painted
quote:Originally posted by bignick31985: i even hesitated to show it to my closer friends
i dont ever even turn on the deck until im clean out of the neighborhood and i dont ever turn it on on the way to school or leaving school, EVER
I got 5 L brackets holding my box down. I only have philips heads in there now but i stripped all the screws (i have a way to remove them) so all they could do is destroy my cones on my subs...no biggie, i get that fixed
my car looks like ass, exceept for the rims so nobody expects me to have a kickin system, which is good
Rims are the first clue bud, really. as for security screw, the best ones that i have found are torx bit screws from a Jeep dealership, they got little nipples inside the torx area, so you need special torx bits (not regular torx bits) from Jeep to remove them. plus they are black and trying to see that tiny nipple at night would be a bitch, all you could think to yourself is why isnt this workin!
-------------------- "14 is like the new 20" Posts: 9378 | From: over yonder | Registered: May 2001
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I like to think im pretty careful about where, and when i bump my sh!t hard. But im never nervous about having a 200 pound sub box that is too big for most people to pick up. Even with 2 people it is hard, the opening to my hatch is about 1/2 bigger on both sides to get my box out, your arms aint gettin in there. And all my shizat is insured. So if it does get stolen, i get all new stuff free of charge. Aint life grand.
-------------------- Highest Legal DbDrag Score Yet : 148.9 shes goin up msn: greenbayjunkie@hotmail.com email: greenbayjunkie@hotmail.com Posts: 1078 | From: Kanada | Registered: Oct 2001
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well i am always looking for something fun to do with my friends...so i think ima start parkin at the mall with my windows down and my system turned up to bout 10 just so people can tell i have a sytem. when someone trys to get in we run to my truck with bats and beat the shi* out of whoever it is!
-------------------- 2003 land rover freelander Posts: 925 | From: Jackson tenn. | Registered: May 2002
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My friend's dad owns a glass company and he was telling me about a kind of glass that you can hit with a sludge hammer and it wont break, so if you have a hatchback you could replace your backwindow with it so they couldnt get pass the back window, he also said that it would pop out before it breaks. I will ask him what kind of glass it is on monday.
Posts: 21 | From: Iowa | Registered: May 2002
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my boot install is moulded in there....its gonna take someone a hell of a long time to try and get anything out. I also garage the car every night, reversing in and touchiong the back wall so no twat can get in to the boot anyway. Hey the garag was broken in to a few months ago, but because there was no way in hell they was gonna get in to the boot (trunk! ) they just went away...
quote:Originally posted by Dan65: My friend's dad owns a glass company and he was telling me about a kind of glass that you can hit with a sludge hammer and it wont break, so if you have a hatchback you could replace your backwindow with it so they couldnt get pass the back window, he also said that it would pop out before it breaks. I will ask him what kind of glass it is on monday.
Please find out I would really like to know more about this glass. I was looking at bullet proof glass but that stuff is really expensive and would require modding the doors.
posted
SEPP ....you have mentioned some great stuff here. I never thought about my license plate in the site ..I will have to black it out!!! And relocating the Alarm will be done in the next couple of weeks. I will extend all my wires and place somewhere else, just dont know where yet. I have been jacked twice, once I caught them and the second they took the whole thing. I would not like this to happen again. As far as the sirens go you are right the thieves cut out my wire from under the hood so that they would have complete silence while disabling my alarm brain that as you have said was located under the driver dash!! I have alot of work to do to make it harder to steal but hell its more than worth it if it means keeping my gear. Thanks again and if anyone else has any more good ideas please post them. Thanks and SEE YA!! Posts: 411 | From: Houston, TX / Mannheim, Germany | Registered: Sep 2001
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