Scared Camaro owner

I'm new to this forum and new to forum's in gernal...Ok i have a 91 camaro rs which is my first car the car that i have always wanted. Im really starting to hook it up. It really means a lot to me. Well i have this real shady neighbor and his friends that are always stoping by are even worse. They did a drive by on my old neighbors and drove them out of there house. Any ways my car was recently broken into lucky i had just bought a pretty expensive car alarm that pages me when it goes off. By the time i made it to the window to look at what was going on they had already ran off. I don't even know how they got in. They only got the stero half way out. My question is how hard would it be to steal it even with the VATS and a good car alarm? I also got one of those so called "strong" break clubs. The one that locks the break pedal. Also what else would any one suggest doing to secure my car? I am really scared my car is going to get stolen. I live in Fresno, California which is the second worse city in america in car theft.

well i'm not sure if its legal or what but i'd keep a big ass dog in the car at night time if i had to park on the street :p if you're really that worried about your car getting stolen then get it fully insured against theft or damage, that'll cover you all the way.

Trust me, it is not too hard to steal a car that has VATS or cheap alarm. If someone wants it bad enough, they'll get it. I sell alarms and can get them pretty close to bullet proof but there's always the way around things.

relocate

yeah. That's something that really worries me. Well let me tell you how easy it is to break into a 3rd gen camaro. My friend...who is also 16 figured it out in about 30 min. (that was w/o breaking any windows or locks) and if he tried a second time it would take him 5 min. I'm not gonna say how he did it b/c I don't want to place info in the wrong hands, but 3rd gens are definitely vulnerable w/o some alarm system.
Well it seems like they were going for your sound system rather than your whole car...right? But there are always a few things you could do to at least slow them down. Standard safety like the club and an alarm system like you have. Another thing that adds a little hastle..but could help give you a bit more piece...is to unhook your battery and take it in the house w/ you at night. Of course all of these things are a hassle, but it depends on how worried you get...the extra hassle could help put you at ease. Oh, and be sure to remove your CD faceplate when you aren't around, and cover up speakers that are visible from outside.

Most of what I have said are ways to prevent your entire car from being stolen, but not good to prevent break-ins.

If someone has a good idea for that kind of prevention...I would like to hear some as well.

sleep with a gun, and park the car by your bedroom window at night, thats what i would do

screw relocating, make them relocate!!! fight fire with fire, literally, you'd be amazed at how fast some one will move out after you fire-bomb their house...

p.s.- the dog might pee in the car

screw relocating, make them relocate!!! fight fire with fire, literally, you'd be amazed at how fast some one will move out after you fire-bomb their house...

p.s.- the dog might pee in the car


Classy :iceslolan

all good suggestions so far and i agree with all of them.... good call on the dog peeing too..... but from my, well my friends, experiences he has a 74 camaro and he was coming out of a store when he saw someone tryin to get in his car so he bum rushed they guy and beat the living shit out of him- ended up in the hospital pretty messed up. let's just say that guy prolly won't come near his car again. but really it comes down to precautions and most of those have been brought up already. just thought i'd share the story.

P.S. as i have been in fresno before i'd also suggest the relocation suggestion, but that's just my opinion.

if you have subs in the car, one way to help from some one stealing them and the whole box is it bolt the box to the car, grandted that involves drilling holes, but if you are worried about it then go for it.

if your so worried just put up a security cam , if something happens to it you got video

i have a 1990 z28 it has the pass key for the VATS system, if some one tried to steal my car. it wont run if you try to hot wire
it. the starter would have to be changed and so would the
entire ignition system. the only way some one could really
steal one is to hook to it and drag it away. i used to have a
91 RS with a v6 3.1 liter, whats yours got in it. I had to get rid
of mine, the Vats system would kick in while driving down
the road, shutting the hole car down, came close to totaling
her out twice. gm dealer wanted 1600 to replace the system.
i just traded her in on a 90 z28 with a 5.0 liter and a 5 speed.
very fast, it is in imaculate condition also has wide tires on it.
traded the 91 and give 1,000 to boot. i wouldnt take 20,000
for it.

the vats system is very good, you really have to know what your doing, and almost have a wiring schematic of the car to figure it out, and then have all the propor resistors, its a pain. but for added security, instead of unbolting the battery everytime you want to park it, install a hidden kill switch somewhere in the car, that will cut power to the ignition switch. so even if they do know how to wire it so they can bypass the vats, there wont be any power to send to the starter. very simple, very cheap, AND lowers your insurance if your carrier knows about it. As far as breaking into one, there is a very simple way of doing it, breaking the glass, but thats all cars. to get into a camaro with T0tops is a breeze, to get into a camaro with a solid roof is harder, but still not that hard, theres honestly no real way to keep someone from breaking into your car if they REALLY want to, only ways to keep the car in one spot. as far as fighting fire with fire, here were i live, i would have no problem keeping a loaded 12ga by my bed, and when the alarm goes off, unloading at em. but sounds like with the kind of guys your dealing with its a bad idea. cuz they will likely go after you and people you care about just to spite you. so unless your prepaired to kill them all over this, leave the guns where they are. rather, install the devices you already have, aka the club and whatnot, install the kill switch, and set up the camera like someone else said. so that they wont be able to steal the car, just vandalize it, and steal stuff. which you will have a tape of. and can use to prosecute them. also something to concider, is a locking car cover. if your car is hooked up, rims, paint, tinted windows, visable sound system, its a big fucking lure that draws every shady character to it. put a dull, boring car cover over it, and run the metal cable throught the loops on the bottom, and lock it with a pad lock. yeah takes a bit more time, but what they cant see, wont intice them. plus its the added pain in the ass that they would have to deal with, and those guys dont like spending unnessesary time trying to get at stuff they are after.

actually VATS isn't too hard to bypass. i had to do this because i transplanted the wiring harness, motor, and everything else from a 90 RS into a 71 just recently, and i had to learn how VATS worked. there's 15 different resister values for keys, and the resister values are listed on websites. all it would take to steal a car is to break the plastic off the steering column and plug in resisters into the connecter with purple and white wires and move the slide switch until it fires up. i've been told that the wrong resister value will lock the ECM for 10 minutes but i dont think there's any truth to that. there's also another method which involves making an
"anti theft, theft device" which is what i did. it's a timer circuit that puts out a square wave at 50hz. cost's about $5 to build and parts are available at radio shack. and it connects to the dark blue wire going out of the pass-key module to the ECM. probly too much info but well. I know it's a pain in the ass, but i'd recommend unplugging the ecm, or pulling the ecm fuse. might only just slow em down, but it's something that most car theif's dont think about.

Well I'm an electronics technician and I would wire the car alarm to the chasis and body so when it's armed all of the battery voltage and current is running through the chassis and body and when someone touches it they get a really good shock. Might need a second battery too.

Just get along with everybody so that they don't mess with ur car. Make it very clear what will happen if they mess with ur car. U can talk all the smack u want to me but don't mess with any of my rides. I had a guy steal the CD player out of my truck in high school. He went to jail but i am still waiting on the day he gets out. I already got to his friend that got out first. Pay back is a bitch. I have wanted my camaro for to damn long so if anyone messed with it i wouldn't hesitate to take a shot. My car means alot to me it goes beyond just being my car.

Any way where did u get ur alarm and how much did it cost? It sounds like a good one. I heard about the whole pager thing.

Get something nice and "accidently" leave it in the car in plain sight. When the theifs come to steal it, have them meet the cold steel of a 12-guage. Be friendly and tell them to leave NOW!! Should do the trick.

Well I'm an electronics technician and I would wire the car alarm to the chasis and body so when it's armed all of the battery voltage and current is running through the chassis and body and when someone touches it they get a really good shock. Might need a second battery too.
lol... can't they sue u for that?

hmmm, park the car in the garage? lol

lol... can't they sue u for that?
who cares, they wanted to steal it, and you got the tape to proove it :P

Well I'm an electronics technician and I would wire the car alarm to the chasis and body so when it's armed all of the battery voltage and current is running through the chassis and body and when someone touches it they get a really good shock. Might need a second battery too.
I am too but that would never work unless they grounded themselves somehow to complete the circuit.

sleep in your car with a gun :-) but seriousely i dont know mabey if you get a car cover with a lock? the california car covers are pretty tuff. but if i recall a radio in my 84 took about 5-10 min to remove. you gota un screw a bunch of screws. you could get some speial 3 star screws and buy the adaptor.

line the back of the stereo system with razor blades.. if they steal it, the proof is on their hands, and all over your carpet.. lol

I think if you worried about the entire car being stolen, the hidden kill switch is one of the best ways to go. I have one in both my 71 nova and convertible vette because they are REALLY easy to get in to. If you are worried about people stealing shit in the car, Id recommend the car alarm and something that wil also make you car lok cool.. put some dark tint on it. Or some mirror tint. If people cant actually see in your car they are less likely to try an break in. I know personally that if i couldnt see what i was gonna steal before i stole it, I wouldnt try it.. :). And the camera idea is a good thing to do as well.

Rob

that is a smart answer

look i agree whole heartedly that no one messes with my babies, but with the people hes dealing with it gets more complicated, you talk shit, you pull a gun, you die. the car aint worth the pissing contest. no car would be. thats what im talking about. if you live in georga with the local teens trying to let air out of your tires, its a different story. theres a big difference between high school punks, and professional car theives. i think the best course of action is to make sure the car is covered, if they cant see it, they cant be interested in it, lock it, put the kill switch in it, and set up a camera to cover it. that with your alarm should proove rather effective. and hell, if you wanna tell your neighbor about it, dont brag, but just strike up a conversation, be like "

hey man, dunno bout you, but ive been having trouble with people breaking into my car, but if got it figured out, im gonna put a cover on it, and lock it up, and disable it at night, and im gonna have a camera on it so if anyone trys to get in, ill have a record of it, how smart is that, you might want to think about doing some stuff like that yourself, ya know, just in case. have a good one."

that way, you dont let on that you think its him, you arent challenging him, but you are letting him know whats up, and if he knows theres a camera on the car, and your making it harder to get into, hes gonna tell his boys, and more likely than not, they are going to look for an easier mark. that way, no conferentation, no hard feelings, and no stolen camaro.

as far as the vats, im not sure about the third gen system, but i do know the early 90s corvettes vats and the newer passkey systems do have lockouts for anywhere from 5 to 40minutes, if the wrong resistance is used. im a chevy tech assistant, an electronics and covette specialist, and have had that headache far too many times, trust me its real.

I think the electronic kill switch is one of the better ideas. So is the camera. Maybe a small sign that says "These premises under video surveillance" with a motion detector controlled light for the driveway would help. I have a feature in my car that won't let you start it unless the rear defrost is turned on while you crank the engine-even with the key. I'm pretty sure you can hook those up to any switch in the car.

Is there such a thing as a feul cutoff unit? I'd like to get one of those myself.

fuel cutoff would be the same as an ignition cut off, if you dont allow power to the ignition then no signial is sent to the fuel pump, or you can wire the switch between the ignition and the fuel pump, allowing the ignition to crank the engine and whatnot, but the fuel pump would not turn on till you flipped the switch, so it would make alot of noise but not go anywhere.

My friend has a 70 chevelle and we were talking about theft and I bet him $20 I could break into his car and steal his stereo within a minute. His smile ended when I unlocked his car with a metal rod within seconds and was ready to kick out his stereo.

Note to all... if a thief wants your stereo, he wont give a shit what happens to your car. Just rip it out, kick it out, do whatever he can to get it even if he tears your whole dash to shit. They are NOT going to try to 'unscrew' your stereo... wake up people. :p

Vats is junk!
Pretty much every factory system sucks... only good one is onstar and thats because they can track it... but at that point thecar has already been stolen!!!

Get a good aftermarket alarm shave the door locks and handles bullet proof glass lol there ya go! :iceslolan

a drive by? lol, yes get a gun. if someone tried that shit with me they would be in for a hell of a surprise.

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:disappoin:

Vats is junk!
Pretty much every factory system sucks... only good one is onstar and thats because they can track it... but at that point thecar has already been stolen!!!

Get a good aftermarket alarm shave the door locks and handles bullet proof glass lol there ya go! :iceslolan

i'd like to see you steal a car with VATS

VATS alone took 50% off of corvette theft in the first year it was implemented. i think that's pretty impressive. i'm confident in my VATS system. besides in my opinion, if some1 were to take a car that had VATS they would have to have alot of time to do it. since you have a car with a alarm that pages you when the car is broken into, i don't think they will ever get the time they need to steal it

VATS alone took 50% off of corvette theft in the first year it was implemented. i think that's pretty impressive. i'm confident in my VATS system. besides in my opinion, if some1 were to take a car that had VATS they would have to have alot of time to do it. since you have a car with a alarm that pages you when the car is broken into, i don't think they will ever get the time they need to steal it
DUDE are you serious???? Yes, any new alarm when first out in the market throws a loop to theives but after that's been mastered, it is nothing more than a speed bump. VATS systems have been implimented for over 20 years now. Trust me, it takes very little time for someone to bypass these. I install remote starters for a living and it only takes me a few minutes more to properly bypass these systems. Yes, they are better than nothing especially for the idiot punk but not for the career theif. :sly:

VATS systems have been implimented for over 20 years now. Trust me, it takes very little time for someone to bypass these. I install remote starters for a living and it only takes me a few minutes more to properly bypass these systems. Yes, they are better than nothing especially for the idiot punk but not for the career theif. :sly:
ur right, there not hard to bypass...once you learn how to do it. i know how to do it but it took me a while to learn, and obviously you know how to do it, but the average camaro driver and rookie car theif knows nothing about the system except it's a keyed resister.

btw how do you usually go about bypassing it to install a remote start, i've never seen one done.

Get i would say 2 mean big ass dog. It will work i would be scared

Get i would say 2 mean big ass dog. It will work i would be scared

Except maintaining those dogs would cost more than what you bought your car for after a while. :lol2:

yeah but it would keep the little uckers away from the car am i right?

03cavyTT - does your sn stand for a twin turbo'd cavalier with the ecotec?????

ur right, there not hard to bypass...once you learn how to do it. i know how to do it but it took me a while to learn, and obviously you know how to do it, but the average camaro driver and rookie car theif knows nothing about the system except it's a keyed resister.

btw how do you usually go about bypassing it to install a remote start, i've never seen one done.
http://www.catchacall.com/vatts.htm

Go to the bottom. I usually use method A unless the car already is showing signs of problems then I may ask the owner if they want me to do method B but usually only if I am installing an alarm at the same time.

eh, well of course if you use the correct resistor wired into the system it will work, i thought you were saying that some kid with a pair of wire cutters and strippers could wire it to bypass the system. i somehow doubt that these guys know about the vats system to that degree, seeing as chevy vehicles arent very hot items in the car theft world, and doubt seriously that they know the wiring, and what values the resistors have. so yes, if you know the info, and have diagrams, and now the resister rating, then its pretty darn easy to bypass, but for a car theif that just broke into the car, hes not gonna be able to get it started.

eh, well of course if you use the correct resistor wired into the system it will work, i thought you were saying that some kid with a pair of wire cutters and strippers could wire it to bypass the system. i somehow doubt that these guys know about the vats system to that degree, seeing as chevy vehicles arent very hot items in the car theft world, and doubt seriously that they know the wiring, and what values the resistors have. so yes, if you know the info, and have diagrams, and now the resister rating, then its pretty darn easy to bypass, but for a car theif that just broke into the car, hes not gonna be able to get it started.
Well, yes there is a way around it quick. I just do not want to tell those that do not already know. It requires very little work to get the system in fail safe mode then the car can be easily started. Trust me, I also work on insurance recovered vehicles and have seen it plenty of times.

It really no different than aftermarket alarms. There is always a way around them so you can drive them if something happens. Just the higher end units have a better way of masking this from the theives.

interesting *scratches chin*