Right I'm in the market for a CAT1 rated alarm system.

I'm not after fancy options like remote starting, receiving texts etc, but opening the windows remotely and being able to activate the lights would be nice to have, a bit of a throw back to my old Octavia vRS :P.

I will be fitting it myself (yes I know that means its not approved, but looking at the quality of the install of the BMW dealer retrofit on mine, I can do a much better job - twisted wires and electrical tape anyone :eek: ).

Any recommendations people?

So far the only one on the list is a Toad Ai606 which I can get for £150 with the above add ons.

do you want to prevent theft or make noise?

Just want remote locking back to be honest!!!

The BMW immobiliser is pretty good, I'm not to worried about the car getting pinched, more concerned about my stereo etc tbh.

Sell the BMW and buy a car with one already fitted, save a lot of messing when it comes the time sell again (which MUST be sometime very soon!) :P

*sigh* Mine did have one fitted when I bought it

Anyone got any usefull suggestions :P

I don't want to interfere with the stock immobiliser. I took the old (retrofit) BMW alarm out as BMW don't supply spares for them any more, and mine was fubbard.

Clifford G5 are very good and have the black jaxx, remote fuel cut off as options if you want them.

They do a just alarm too, but IIRC cat 1 means it must include an immobiliser so you won't find a cat 1 without an immobiliser.

At the end of the day having a cat 1 alarm on top of the oem immobiliser won't cause any problems.

Not sure of its CAT rating but I think it would be sufficient.

Cheers Mark.

I know I'll be adding further immobilisation, but its not my upmost concern.

Yeah i know that I just meant you won't get a cat 1 alarm without an imobiliser so i'd look at getting reasonable Cat1.

I think the clifford ones work well, but it;s down the the installer i guess as much as anything else.

Yeah, well I'll be installing it, so it will be done properly. I know that means I don't get a certificate, but I already have one of them

So long as you install it well enough, with the brain somewhere out of reach like under the instrument panel, or even behind a panel in the rear of the car near the boot, I wouldn't worry about having the cat 1 rating. See these pages for some helpful hints Stealth Car Alarm Install - Honda Civic Acura Integra

I installed a Clifford Arrow 5 which is the cheapest g5 model available - and comes with just a shock sensor. I'm very impressed with it, but can't say I have any experience of other systems as it's my first install. I added a proximity sensor that I bought off ebay for cheaper delivered from the US than anywhere in the UK (prox sensor occasionally falses randomly, perhaps once or twice a month - probably just needs turning down a notch).

The system even includes one remote control output that can be set to operate in a variety of ways. Could be used for boot release but would be pretty cool for controlling headlights as it can also be set to come on when system is either armed or disarmed or both, and can be set to stay on for a set length of time (although manual does not state the max length). Also there's another output to stick the interior light on when disarming. The remote works from one end of an Asda wallmart supercentre car park to the other, (even though I installed the antenna horizontally under the dash, and recommended position is vertical on rear view mirror).

The other feature is a crazy sounding siren YouTube - Skoda Favorit - Clifford Arrow 5 alarm (turn down volume) supposed to be able to remove some of the 6 sounds by cutting loops inside the siren but I didn't manage to get the cover off :(

I think the more expensive Clifford systems mainly just add extra included sensors, extra sensor inputs, extra controllable outputs, more nice buttons on the fob with which to control your outputs, and better siren designs with battery backup etc.

Looks like the window control system is quite pricey though http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/5089 so would come in at over £150 unfortunately.

Stick a Skoda badge on it, as good as any car alarm :P

Thanks for that Mr Newman, food for thought.

And Jeff -

If you want to show off to your friends, get a Clifford.

If you want an alarm which actually works, and continues to work for a long time, then I would go with a Toad. I know Toad do one which is designed for newer cars which have stock immobilisers.

I think you would have to ditch the BMW immobiliser and get an all singing after-market alarm for it to be classed as CAT1... But it depends if you want the cat1 recognition for an insurance discount or just for your own piece of mind. I may be wrong, but I think you need the full lot to get cat1 status, so there are lots of excellent alarms out there which are not cat1 but do a very good job as a simple alarm.

Edited 1 October, 200817 yr by VRSPhil

No you have to have an imobiliser and alarm tested together to make it cat 1, hence the BMW one wouldn't be any good.

The toad alarms are ok, but if you get it for a good price the clifford ones do work very well and are reliable.

I'd have a Clifford over a Toad any day. VRSPhil, you're the first person I've ever heard to rate Toad :eek:.

Then again, as stated else where, it must be getting close to change time. :P

Fit the alarm, fit the supercharger then sell it to buy an M3 evo?

I'm not getting it supercharged!!

M3 Evos are overpriced imho. The 328 is like 80% of the car for 50% the cost

The 328 is like 80% of the car for 50% the cost

But the 20% makes all the difference! :P

I don't WANT an M3. I do however want to get some recommendations for an alarm!

Looking around, all the reviews and things seem to say Toads are great for reliability, Cliffords a bit fragile and gimmicky too.

I'd have a Clifford over a Toad any day. VRSPhil, you're the first person I've ever heard to rate Toad :eek:.

Well I'm not really a huge alarm expert, so when purchasing an alarm some years ago, I looked up reviews and found Toad to be regarded as the best. Clifford seemed to have endless problems with reliability, particularly the reliability of some of the pointless features they seem to include.

Based on this info I bought a Toad and have had them on every car I've owned since... Never had a single problem. I suppose it's down to personal choice, but my advice is based on first hand experience (as far as the Toad is concerned).

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/betyouaint/Ai606_Install.pdf

Some of the features appear to be more configurable than the Clifford Arrow 5 I have.

Some things I like are you can select quiet arm/disarm chirps and have the warn away loud (on mine you either have both loud all the time or quiet). The output seems to be more configurable than on mine, with ability to disable sensors during operation. Plus the horn honk output is a cool feature too.

Edited 1 October, 200817 yr by anewman

Thats really annoying, only just paid £1 for that document on ebay at lunchtime!!!

Ooops sorry

If you've not yet decided I have just come across this system http://www.directeddealers.com/manuals/ig/viper/N3102V_11-06post.pdf Viper 1002, which seems quite good. It's Viper (directed electronics inc) so the same company as Clifford. Not thatcham approved. About £120 on fleabay.