DIY Security Tips to protect your Vehicle

[Bayani]

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!


Aim: Providing Maximum Security for your Vehicle!

Almost Every Five minutes a Car is stolen in Australia. Many get Vandalised then Dumped, but some of the older cars simply get stripped and the parts sold off.

Civics, from 80-96 are the top Honda models Stolen.

Here are a few *cheap and easy* things you can do, if you've already go your car Alarm system.

Window Car Alarm Stickers
Indicate that your car has an Alarm, but steer away from stickers that promote the use of a particular system; the less they know, the better.

Mark your Car
If you're planning on keeping your vehcile, engrave personal information, such as initals somewhere inconspicuous. Such as the Boot, or in the Hood, or on the Body of the car.

Interior Siren
If someone has broken into you car, making it unpleasent will make it not only uncomfortable, but throw them off their game.

Strobe Alarm Indicator
If you can fit one somewhere that it will show; all the better. You want as much attention brought to your car as possible!

Door Knobs
Older cars have lock-knobs that have a bulb on the end that allows users to easily unlock cars. This same design helps theives steal cars. Get yours changed if you have them!

Key Locked Petrol Cap
Although I don't see many around any more, it could definatly be worth doing. Can't go far when they can't fill it up.

Window Etching
Get the VIN Etched onto your windows. Many new cars already have this done.

Alarm Armed Indicator (Flashing LEDs)
Having a Visual Deterrance such as an LED means you don't need to be worried about having your car broken, before someone realises there is an Alarm. The Light should be visible from afar!

Don't Attach a Spare Key
Don't stick a spare key -anywhere- on your vehicle. Theives as part of a routine will check places where a key may be attached.

More Tips!
More Technical, and other Tips from members:

SiReal: Fuel cut-off switch

aimre: Take out your ECU fuse (if our car will not be used for an extended time).

BIG'O: Fuel pump cut-off switch.

EuroDude:Put a German Shepard in the car (Not sure if RSCPA would approve.. :P)

Mugeneration:
Tip 1: Take all items (CDs included) out of your car and leave the glove box open so they can see there's nothing worth stealing inside the car.
Tip 2: If you have a newer head unit that has a removable face plate, go buy a crappy arse head unit (2nd hand if needed) and take the face off of that. Place the crappy face on the deck any time you leave the car, now they think you have a dodgy sound system ;-)
Tip 3: Always turn you music down and dont rev as hard in the last few kms of your destination. Opportunistic thieves wont be drawn to your car as easily, and your neighbors will thank you.

More to be added, or just read through the thread!

[aaronng]

Good sensible advice!

[SiReal]

Nice one. simple yet effective. or better yet, have two cars. one sh1t one and one good one. good one is used ONLY on honda cruises so theives get confused on which car to steal - cos they're all hot, hence less risk for your own car (unless you have the hottest and loudest car) OR you're cruising to chapel/george and dont plan on getting our of your car at all. do a few laps then home time ;)

EDIT: serious note, you could install a fuel cut off switch, immobiliser (cant spell).

[EuroDude]

"Mark your Car"

Its better to get Data Dots instead of engraving your initials. The thieves can easily see the engravement.


Also, you can make your own Immobilizer by hiding a cut switch that cuts off the fuel or ignition etc...

[aimre]

take out ur ECU fuse, as if there gonna check that when the car dont start

[BIG`O]

put a fuel pump switch in. not going anywhere when the switch you've secretely hidden stops the fuel flow. they get 10 metres with whats in the line then have to bail!

[TRU32U]

^^^ lol thats a good one

[TRU32U]

hey i like this thread...
anything i can do to stop ppl even thinking about breaking into my car even just to steal parts...

[EuroDude]

hey i like this thread...
anything i can do to stop ppl even thinking about breaking into my car even just to steal parts...

^ put a German Shepard in the car :p

Get an alarm with a proximity sensor that makes a noise when someone gets close :cool: Bit expensive tho

[destrukshn]

put a excessivly loud siren, in your boot and dash.

[dfekm3]

^ put a German Shepard in the car :p

Get an alarm with a proximity sensor that makes a noise when someone gets close :cool: Bit expensive tho


This one you got to be careful of coz when ppl walk past and your car starts chirping and you park your car.. say next to a resturant and ppl walk pass all the time, its gonna annoy someone and then they mite do sumthing bad to your car.. such as key it etc...

If your going to get a sensor like this, make sure you have it adjusted properly so it does not go off everyone someone walks past, only when they put their face on your window etc....

[mugeneration]

Fit a CO2 fire hydrant to the alarm and choke the scum to death. :-P

Tip 1: Take all items (CDs included) out of your car and leave the glove box open so they can see there's nothing worth stealing inside the car.

Tip 2: If you have a newer head unit that has a removable face plate, go buy a crappy arse head unit (2nd hand if needed) and take the face off of that. Place the crappy face on the deck any time you leave the car, now they think you have a dodgy sound system ;-)

Tip 3: Always turn you music down and dont rev as hard in the last few kms of your destination. Opportunistic thieves wont be drawn to your car as easily, and your neighbors will thank you.

[ACTI0NMAN-1]

goatse seat covers

[Bayani]

I'll write up a Kill Swtich DIY later :p; unless someone beats me to it.

I guess the obvious one is get an Alarm System :P

However, a German Sheperd should do the job =p ... might make the car SMELL like goatse, though. Haha.


Mugeneration -- There are systems that do this =p.. not so much CO2, but the car is rapidly filled with smoke once the car has been broken in to.

[dfekm3]

best thing to do when parking, watch where you are parking, never in a empty car park, dark car park, no one is around.. coz even if you have an alarm, who is going to hear it..

What saved me once is my pager for my car... someone tried to break in while i was sleeping, pager went off, i bolted down and the tools were gone... i was left with a busted lock...

[SiReal]

or yo could never wash your car, keep all the seats, suspension, wheels, body and pretty much everything stock standard. that way, theives might think you have nothing more than a daily grandma A->B, when in fact you have a K20A in there, from all the money youve saved on everything else cosmetic.

[Bayani]

"Mark your Car"

Its better to get Data Dots instead of engraving your initials. The thieves can easily see the engravement.


Also, you can make your own Immobilizer by hiding a cut switch that cuts off the fuel or ignition etc...

I wanted to list stuff you can do at home =p LOL

[Rasputin]

1. For DA9's, reroute the hood release cable

2. a) Shaved door handles. Looks good, and effective. i.e. Using the rear handles from a 4 door integra on the front. (They have no keyholes.) Perfect if you have remote locking.
b) In conjunction with a). What's the point if they can still use a bump key on your boot? Pull out the rod that allows the boot key to work. How often do you use it anyway? I'm betting you're all like me and pull the boot release in the cabin 90% of the time.

3. RFID kill switch. Put the receiver near the keyhole, and the matching RFID tag on your keychain. Saves you having to flip a switch, is neat, and can't be used by theives. (Though totally ineffective if thief has your keys)

4. If your alarm is already installed, and easy to see/cut wires on, make a metal bracket to surround the wires, and stop them from being pulled/cut so quickly.

5. Vigilance and common sense.

[TRU32U]

mmmmmmmmm dammn mofo theives....
i remember someone tried breaking into my car before... GRRRRRRrrrrr

[rawr]

best thing to do when parking, watch where you are parking, never in a empty car park, dark car park, no one is around.. coz even if you have an alarm, who is going to hear it..

What saved me once is my pager for my car... someone tried to break in while i was sleeping, pager went off, i bolted down and the tools were gone... i was left with a busted lock...


paging alarm systems are really good.. i think newer ones even tell which part of the car set the sensor off and everything (y)

[Bayani]

... is " (y) " supposed to be boobies? Haha

But Yeah, some of the newer paging alarms tell you what part of the car was activated.

dfekm3: goes to show alarms pay off! :P

[Rasputin]

rawr is just too used to MSN. He meant to type : thumbsup : (without the spaces)

[EuroAccord13]

Interior Siren
If someone has broken into you car, making it unpleasent will make it not only uncomfortable, but throw them off their game.



That's what I had for my previous car, paid the extra money to purchase and install the extra siren.. Woah.. It's loud and ear bashing.....

[mugeneration]

Yah you can get two kind of paging alarms. Theres the ones that just send a signal from the car to your pager, but they only work within a certain distance from your car. Then theres the other ones where you buy sim cards and they send you an SMS, they'll work anywhere you have phone reception. Pretty cool huh?

Yeah those sirens are insane, ive had one go off outdoors and it was painful, cant imagine how bad they are inside a car. Works well combined with interior fogger combined with a strobe light lol.

[dfekm3]

Yah you can get two kind of paging alarms. Theres the ones that just send a signal from the car to your pager, but they only work within a certain distance from your car. Then theres the other ones where you buy sim cards and they send you an SMS, they'll work anywhere you have phone reception. Pretty cool huh?

Yeah those sirens are insane, ive had one go off outdoors and it was painful, cant imagine how bad they are inside a car. Works well combined with interior fogger combined with a strobe light lol.


The pager i got in my car is a boomerag... tells me what went off.. door, boot, bonnet, shock sensor, microwave, or some idiot knows where to tap on my window to page me.. haha..

So the pager did save me once and already has again a few mths ago... was at work, car in the car park, shock sensor went off.. ran to the car park, got there in 2 mins.. no one there.. one suss mofo 100m away.. suss as in just standing there and no he was not a security guard.

My previous ride had a boomerang but i also got an extra simcard pager with it. From my mobile i could start the car, turn the alarm off/on, call up to see who is in my car, if it is mobile or not as there is a microphone and a speaker in the car as well...

Bu then again, when your car is at home and no one is at home and your on holidays and your mobile is off.. doesnt help... why i say this.. some mofo got to my sound system... gggggRRRRRR

But in the end.. alarm systems are great to have.. also reduces your insurance premium as well...

[dsp26]

can someone advise how i would go about installing the internal siren...

should it be connecting to the alarm unit or in parallel somehow off the engine bay siren?

[Bayani]

Depends on the system.

Some systems detect changes in currents through the unit.

[Vidospace]

best thing to do when parking, watch where you are parking, never in a empty car park, dark car park, no one is around.. coz even if you have an alarm, who is going to hear it..

What saved me once is my pager for my car... someone tried to break in while i was sleeping, pager went off, i bolted down and the tools were gone... i was left with a busted lock...


Another good suggestion I heard is to park between cars rather than behind them. You might be subjected to more bumper scrapes, but who can tow a car thats parked between to other cars front to back?

[Bayani]

You mean like this?

[____] [_you_] [____] [____]
=========== Gutter =====

[joyride]

other things to add:

smoke screen inside the car
securapost/ballast in your garage/carport
metal jacket around ignition barrel

[yourfather]

padlock it to the bin in front of the milk bar

[Bayani]

Do a Bean and take the steering wheel? :)

[Muzz]

DIY security, good thread!

heres my sugestions that i also posted in another thread related to car security.

1.Steering lock, a thief is much less likly to break in and steal your car if they have to hacksaw through your steering wheel or through the lock to drive it! Excelent deterent! Rember though, the long end should be wedged between the windscrean and a pillar to be effective.

2. Using a light chain and padlock, put your gear lever in reverse, and chain the dam thing there by rapping the chain around the gear lever and down around the drivers side seat rail and locking it up. They will need to cut the chain or remove the seat to get it out of reverse.

3. Chain your wheels (through the spokes), either to each other, to a light pole, to your control arms, whatever so they cant actually drive it. However this will most likly bring more attention to your car, bringing more harm than good in the form of keying, kicking etc.

[Muzz]

4.slide the drivers seat all the way forward, then lean it all the way forward too. Chain the head rest, to the steering wheel, so they cant sit in the drivers seat! wont really work effectivly if the headrest is removabl though.

[kazam]

lol muzz, those were all great suggestions, but i assume we are only supposed to do these things when leaving the car outside somewhere for like a week or soemething , not everytime we leave it in the shopping centre carpark to watch a movie or something right? hehe, :p

[gumbel]

In addition to all above...

Keep your car empty, empty means no bag, no laptop no expensive stuff or anything valuable inside the car that is visible from outside. Even coins can attract thieves.

When you park, take out one of the sparkplug cables or ecu fuse and take it with you. The car wont start without these things.

[Muzz]

When you park, take out one of the sparkplug cables or ecu fuse and take it with you. The car wont start without these things.

Oh so simple and so effective:thumbsup:

[string]

Even better is the main fuel relay; it's right at your knee so it's zero effort to get it and put it in your pocket. Well, that is if you don't have many interior panels :)

[Bayani]

Doesn't anyone just fold there car up? LOL :P

[silver_screen]

i do!! and then it goes in my pocket :D

[tron07]

Garage and lock your car at home, take the public transport....

[Muzz]

Garage and lock your car at home, take the public transport....

Hmmm, i dont know about that, with all these hijackings and terrist attacks these days, you cant be too safe.....

[silver_screen]

thats a good idea.. leave the car at home.. i had my 180sx broken into.. IN MY HOUSE. so was my rx7...

leaving cars @ home isnt the greatest idea either..

[SNKS2K]

i reckon its just not safe to leave any cars at your house. lol :p

[jeffske]

sell your car so they cant steal it

[silver_screen]

i agree.. never leave cars @ my place :(

[riruiz_88]

this is one mad thread boiz. good work in it. im just curious with the removal of the ecu fuse. u's been sayin that removin the ecu fuse makes it harder for theives. wouldnt the removal of this fuse throw out the memory of the ecu, cause u would be removing/puttin it back in every time u leave the car? just a thought.

[Bayani]

It's not advised; it's really like the suggestion to sell your car so they can't steal it, it's too extreme, lol.

Generally, ensure you don't give the temptation to steal your car to theives, and notify them it's going to be hard, will mean they'll probably not steal it.

It won't throw the memory out, it'll simply clear it and re-learn. No biggy.

[lilwilliam]

remove ur clutch they cant get anywhere if they cant put ur car into gear.

[Muzz]

remove ur clutch they cant get anywhere if they cant put ur car into gear.

ahhhhh, if your gonna go that far, why not just remove your engine lol.

[[[d a n n y]]]

another good thing is the keypad actiavated alarm system featured on the Sti..
it actually works

[AsH_]

Get some guy to stay in your car disguised as a car seat...

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4259/disguisedasacarseat7247xo2.jpg

[jeffske]

anyone ever hear the story about the guy who had several car batteries in his boot and wired up his driver seat so if the car got stolen the thief gets a nice little "shock"
apparently the cops found out about it and said it was "illegal"

[mrwillz]

negligence

[jeffske]

negligence

how is it negligence? negligence is when something is unintentional.
i call it sweet justice

[Bayani]

It's Negligence because he's leaving a live wires where anyone whom entered his car gets electricuted. If they had a heart attack and died, he'd be up for criminal negligence occasioning death.

presendence: robber whom tripped on hose and broken ankle or some crap.

Laws have been changed to prevent lawssuits like this, but the guy with the battery's would't get away with it.

Why he needed several batteries, I don't know. one would be sufficent; as it's a short burst of electricity when a trigger is activated.

[mrwillz]

thanks for that
*now back to my law case study*

[jeffske]

man i know where to come to when i have legal issues, you guys are very knowledgeable
they should have the anti car-jacking flame throwers like you can get in south africa

[Mr_will]

negligence

actually, itd more likely be recklessness.

[joey99]

for recaros, what I have done is replace the bolts with round head HEX bolts (just make sure they're high tensile ones) .. and then filled the holes up with car filler .. then painted them over with matte black paint. it looks like it's just riveted on.

[Bayani]

actually, itd more likely be recklessness.

No, because it wasn't carelessness; there is intent to cause harm. He didn't 'leave' the wires around; he wired up for the purpose to cause injury.

[jeffske]

wonder if u can hook up a smoke machine to the inside, so when the alarm goes off it pumps unlimited smoke (you cant steal what you cant see right) !
I know they use this technique in warehouses over in Europe

[chartinael]

well, i would use a switch that interrupts the fuel pump feed and use an oem honda switch so that potential thieves have no clue that the switch doesn't do, what it says it does.

aftermarket switches are noticable, obvious honda switches in appropriate places are not ...

I used an unused but oem switch.

[Bayani]

wonder if u can hook up a smoke machine to the inside, so when the alarm goes off it pumps unlimited smoke (you cant steal what you cant see right) !
I know they use this technique in warehouses over in Europe

These systems already exists for cars; as well as offices.

[Mr_will]

No, because it wasn't carelessness; there is intent to cause harm. He didn't 'leave' the wires around; he wired up for the purpose to cause injury.

recklessness =/ carelessness.

you cant just go shifting the mens rea around like that, intent has to be more specific

[Bayani]

recklessness =/ carelessness.

you cant just go shifting the mens rea around like that, intent has to be more specific

I didn't mean that Recklessness was the same as carelessness; what was meant was: that the aspect of carlessness OF BEING reckless was not present.

The individual has created a device for the sole purpose of causing harm.
He was not wiring a device; and decided to leave the wires where the lay to be continued later (thus carelessness). He completed the device for it's intended purpose - to harm.

[Dell99]

omg i can't believe that no one has mentioned about the advertisement about the monkey that stays in the boot and hits the thief if they try to steal it. LOL :D

If someone can find that video on YouTube it would be that much more sweet, thus u guys know what i am talkin abt

[terryansimon]

omg i can't believe that no one has mentioned about the advertisement about the monkey that stays in the boot and hits the thief if they try to steal it. LOL :D

If someone can find that video on YouTube it would be that much more sweet, thus u guys know what i am talkin abt
how nice. this is my first post in this forum. (=

anyways, I believe you were talking about this video?

Trunk Monkey clip on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_b67AsM8FM&mode=related&search=)

[lazymofo]

you mean this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUxpB9K9tQo

[Muzz]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ1AZ9BawIA&mode=related&search=

[Joel The Mole]

does anyone know where to source one of the fuel line switches??

[string]

Jaycar :D

[aznsiko]

Smart

[wilzee]

Put a set of flame throwers underneath the driver and passenger doors and burn the mofos while they try to get in the car! Now that will Deter theives!

[Muzz]

Its great that everyones putting in their own input:thumbsup:

As somone mentioned with his recaros, using uncommon bolts/nuts, like allen key type fasteners and torx fasteners will make stealing things impossible without the right tools.

Use these less common fasteners to bolt in your soundsystem/amps/seats/etc and everything valuable that can be removed quickly otherwise.

A thief may very well be carrying a screw driver or shifter, but i doubt he would be carrying a set of allen keys or torx bits. Plus fancy bolts and fasteners look great if there visiable!

[D4rk4n63l]

more info on these type of security bolts http://www.endeavourtools.com.au/online_catalogue/fastening_solutions/security_fasteners/security_screws

[Bayani]

Five year-old thread.
Updated it to include some of the early responders to the thread.

So.. Resurrected. ;)

[noisuf]

Great advice. It's especially important considering how easy it is to steal a car irrespective of alarm system. So easy to pop up onto quick jacks and roll up a tray.

Something that nightmares are made of. ;)

[Dyln.bxtr]

Main relay is a pretty good idea actually. I might start trying that one.