Factory Alarm

[iCalvin]

Hi everybody, well just today my dad's car hauling trailer got stolen behind the locked gated area behind our warehouse and it really made me rethink security for everything. These SOBs did everything they possibly can to get into this area in broad daylight on one of the busiest side streets in my town. Just last year we had our warehouse broken into, thankfully we just had an security system installed and they got caught trying to walk off with our pressure washer. Well all that is irrelevant really, besides the fact that I leave my truck parked there a lot, and my sister's Tahoe got broken within 2 minutes of her parking here and coming back. I would really want a better security system for the truck. The new GMT-900 alarms are absolutely horrible or at least the horn is, it sounds like someone is button mashing the lock button more than an alarm going off. I am aware that GM makes a shock sensor and 2-way alarm but I would honestly not want to pay that much for a "ehh" add-on.

The truck is a 2011 Avalanche with factory remote start. I would love to have the option to use the factory remote start through the Onstar app along with all the other factory if I get an aftermarket alarm. I have never had an aftermarket alarm system before so I don't know much at all about them.

And if anyone has the GM "upgraded" alarm, is it at all worth it? Or just some overpaid features?

And for the time being, is it possible to make the factory horn when the alarm goes off sound more like an alarm that I can actually hear than a couple beeps?

There is probably many threads on security on here, and I apologize for not searching thoroughly, but I would more or less want to post a thread with questions more geared to what I actually need compared to what others want even if they may be identical. Thanks

 

[Regency]

What I would do in your situation is get a Viper 2 way module w/ smart start then get a trainhorn install and hook that up so when the viper goes off the train horn does that'll make them change their pants in a hurry hit up modded he has it done.

 

[iCalvin]

Hmm a trainhorn would be kind of obnoxious won't it? I am aware of Viper but can they be installed with basically all the factory functions and keyfobs being functional or does it override it all? Thanks for the input.

 

[Regency]

It overrides it but totally worth it IMO it would be obnoxious but you could install a switch to switch between stock/train that way it will only be with your alarm if you hit the switch or when you wanna scare someone haha

 

[iCalvin]

I remember when I rolled through a neighborhood with my other truck with my exhaust cutout and set off someones truck with a train horn. That scared the crap out of me, plus some ass honked their train horn at me in the middle of the night when I was driving home before and that really made me hate them. Of course I can see the benefit of having one but I would not prefer to have one just for the sake of saving someone from a potential heart attack.

So if an aftermarket alarm overrides the factory, would that make Onstar somewhat useless?

 

[Regency]

No it shouldn't you mean if you crash?

 

[iCalvin]

Oh, no like the Virtual keyfob type of thing on the Onstar app for iPhones and whatever. The Viper SmartStart looks pretty much the same but I would like to be able to use both "key fobs" if I wanted to.

 

[Regency]

Yes you would lose it

 

[iCalvin]

Wow now that would be a huge tradeoff for me even if there are aftermarket versions of it. Does aftermarket systems unitize the same crappy GM alarm beep? Or do they have their own "beep?" Has anyone used the GM 2-way system?

 

[Regency]

I don't know about the beep but what I have heard is that it's not really a true 2-way as it doesn't tell you if your car is going off only air pressure, radio station etc. Stupid things to have instead of a true 2-way IMO