sla07

so an "event" that happened last night to my gf's car got me thinking about the c6...curious to know what would happen if a window is broken in the c6...would the alarm set off or not a chance until they tried to open the car?...do any of you have aftermarket alarms?...what are the general thoughts on installing aftermarket alarms?

WAwatchnut

There's no shatter or impact sensor on the stock "alarm". It's basically a door guard. Also - there's nothing warning anyone about the "alarm" until after they've already broken into the car, so it's useless as a deterrent, and by the time it goes off, the major damage is already done.

If you're installing an aftermarket alarm, make sure you use a good shop... not your average Best Buy or local car stereo store. The electronics on the Vette are complicated enough that you don't wan't some hack tapping off the wrong wire.

An alarm can be a good deterrent. As long as the car is somewhere that people might look when it goes off, thieves will usually bypass the car with an alarm. All bets are off if the car is specifically targeted by the thieves, or if it's somewhere no one will hear the alarm.

A 2 way remote (which lets you know when the alarm's been triggered) can also be a good idea.

sla07

aahh good info...yea the electronics on the car would worry me a bit...thats why i would be curious to know if anyone has done it...if so what systems did they use?...i had a clifford installed in my last car and worked great until it just started going a little haywire and the alarm would go off randomly...i disconnected it at that point...

Corvettes of Dallas

From a Dealership standpoint -- all I can tell you is we have seen more than our share of "butchered" wiring from aftermarket alarms. It is a complicated system so, be very careful as to who you have work on the Vette. Understand the issue of a broken window but, not sure it is worth the electrical problems we have had to fix.
Todd

sla07

yea doesnt sound like its worth it...thanks for the input...

wbvette

with the security features of onstar I never really thought about getting an alarm. But I also didnt research the reliability of onstar so...........I really dont know

I dont really care I have insurance

RyanC7

if they want it they will get it....

It'sHerVette!

We have OnStar and LoJack. Alarms that blow the horn or a siren are so common that everyone just ignores them. An alarm that notifies you is a better bet.

Kent1999

Not really sure what you are worried about.

1) if you are concerned about smash and grab - don't leave anything in sight.

2) If you are concerned about them stealing the radio, they likely will have to open the door for that, which will set off the factory alarm.

3) if they break a window, and then try to shimmy in through the opening - well - if THAT doesnt get anyone's attention, I doubt a siren would do much better.

4) If you are worried about stealing the car, the factory fob is very difficult to defeat. If they have the time and skill to defeat the factory fob, then the defeat of some cheesy 3rd party alarm will be easy in comparison.

In short-
The C6's sophisticated electronics don't tolerate ham-fisted installer boys hacking into the wiring. Its tricky, even for the most talented shops, and leaves open the possibility of flakey electronic issues down the road. Keep the factory alarm, keep it locked and goodies out of site, have good insurance, and don't worry about it.

sla07

thanks for the feedback everyone!!

i'll leave as is and hope for the best and follow all precautionary measures...

Pack Leader

I agree that false alarms are so common nobody pays attention anymore. Maybe if your alarm horn sounded like an ice cream truck at least the fat kids would come running....

G00SEiv

I have a python 2 way pager on my maxima and it's great, I wouldn't put one in my Vette only because the install on the maxima was .. I could just imagine what it'd be like in the Vette....

rmedina

Very true.. You can't stop a flatbed. I had my 300c stolen a few years ago. My jackass neighbor witnessed the whole incident..

WAwatchnut

The problems with alarm installations are usually tied back to the installer. With the Corvette electronics being what they are (complicated), as a former installer, I'd install only a basic system.

As long as you don't want remote door lock/unlock, and only want a system to trigger when the doors are open, or there's an impact or breaking glass, and you want a siren and your lights to go off, there's only 2 wires from the alarm that need to be tapped into the cars wiring. All other wiring is stand alone, and does not impact the car in any way (unless you want to count a wire to the battery or to chassis ground).

Now the trouble starts when the shop sells you on all of the extra labor items... power door lock interface, remote start, starter kill, etc, etc. None of that is necessary on the Vette, and requires additional tapping into factory wiring.

I know lots of people just say "don't get an alarm", and I don't have one on any of my cars. But on the other hand, I live/work in areas where I feel perfectly safe to leave the car parked without the top on. If I was at all worried that someone may try to break into the car, I'd install an alarm. (Actually, I have two alarms sitting in the garage waiting to be installed, once I find the time... Clifford and Viper are two good companies. Although you had problems with your last Clifford, they usually function well, and when you do have problems, it's often just a bad sensor, or a wiring issue.)