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

 

[iCalvin]

Yea I read that much about the remote, not sure how great it is as I just found info on it and not peoples reviews more or less. I will check this tomorrow to see if anyone has anything to add. I am considering the Viper though, now I just got to figure out what exactly I need. Thanks for the help so far though.

 

[Fearz]

I have a Viper 2way on mine and I'm eventually going to get the train horn and smartstart.
The viper alarms have a different horn so when your truck goes off you factory horn honks and the viper horn does its 7-tone siren thing. Now the problem is when you are far away you may only hear the viper horn before you hear the stock horn. Where i live the viper alarm is common on peoples trucks and imports so I hear them all the time. That is where a train horn comes in to make your alarm different and noticable. Also with the smartstart you get alerts on your phone so you could be in Japan and still get a text that your car is being messed with. Though it does have a 10-30 second delay depending mostly on your cell signal.

 

[iCalvin]

I forgot to check up on this since I have been busy, Fearz, by the way you worded your post I am guessing both the stock GM alarm and the viper alarm both sound? If I was to get the viper, is there a way to bypass that?

 

[Fearz]

I forgot to check up on this since I have been busy, Fearz, by the way you worded your post I am guessing both the stock GM alarm and the viper alarm both sound? If I was to get the viper, is there a way to bypass that?

I'm actually not sure. Its kind of nice having two different tones going on.

 

[bassxlr8r]

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

Not worth it at all imo when compared to the additional options/programmable features/expandability of an aftermarket unit.

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?

Not without adding an additional horn/siren. Even doing this you will only get the short burst you're currently getting, it would sound a little different though.


With most all aftermarket units, there is an optional horn honk output as well as the included additional siren. Whether or not this feature is activated/connected will depend on the installer, but I would request it as the equipment has the capability (some shops may try to charge extra for this, but it should be included with installation as no additional parts are required on 90% of the reputable brands of alarms). It will utilize the same horn as the factory alarm but will lengthen the horn burst vs the OEM quick chirp, in turn making it not sound so weak. There are usually settings to customize if you would like the truck to chirp just the siren, chirp siren and horn, just the horn, or arm/disarm silently with parking light flash only.

An aftermarket system would arm parallel to the OEM alarm in most cases, but the OEM will not trigger unless a door is opened or the ignition is turned on while armed. Unless you left your windows down and armed the system, the only way this could happen would involve action that would trigger the aftermarket system first.

When getting an aftermarket system, the remotes generally will have a maximum rated range of at least 1000', when compared to the 30' range baseline of most OEM fobs (some do have better capabilities, some even less) there isn't much competition in this aspect.

As for OnStar, if the only feature you are interested in is the smartphone control aspect, the DEI SmartStart will probably make you happier. The subsctiptions are cheaper, and the advanced features are more indepth. SmartStart isn't the only aftermarket phone control app, but I have used several others and the DEI piece is far superior. It is also compatible with all DEI brands (Viper, Clifford, Python, Avital, Automate, AstroStart, etc) so you have a lot of options for remote styling and feature/price level (you can add the module to the Avital 5103 and have the same SmartStart features as if adding it to a Viper 5904).

Hope this helps.

 

[iCalvin]

Not worth it at all imo when compared to the additional options/programmable features/expandability of an aftermarket unit.



Not without adding an additional horn/siren. Even doing this you will only get the short burst you're currently getting, it would sound a little different though.


With most all aftermarket units, there is an optional horn honk output as well as the included additional siren. Whether or not this feature is activated/connected will depend on the installer, but I would request it as the equipment has the capability (some shops may try to charge extra for this, but it should be included with installation as no additional parts are required on 90% of the reputable brands of alarms). It will utilize the same horn as the factory alarm but will lengthen the horn burst vs the OEM quick chirp, in turn making it not sound so weak. There are usually settings to customize if you would like the truck to chirp just the siren, chirp siren and horn, just the horn, or arm/disarm silently with parking light flash only.

An aftermarket system would arm parallel to the OEM alarm in most cases, but the OEM will not trigger unless a door is opened or the ignition is turned on while armed. Unless you left your windows down and armed the system, the only way this could happen would involve action that would trigger the aftermarket system first.

When getting an aftermarket system, the remotes generally will have a maximum rated range of at least 1000', when compared to the 30' range baseline of most OEM fobs (some do have better capabilities, some even less) there isn't much competition in this aspect.

As for OnStar, if the only feature you are interested in is the smartphone control aspect, the DEI SmartStart will probably make you happier. The subsctiptions are cheaper, and the advanced features are more indepth. SmartStart isn't the only aftermarket phone control app, but I have used several others and the DEI piece is far superior. It is also compatible with all DEI brands (Viper, Clifford, Python, Avital, Automate, AstroStart, etc) so you have a lot of options for remote styling and feature/price level (you can add the module to the Avital 5103 and have the same SmartStart features as if adding it to a Viper 5904).

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the nice sum up Nate, that is basically the sum up of what I was wondering.

Thanks everyone that contributed, i basically have a general understanding of what i want now.