SECURITY: for your charger

[Charger500]

THANKS!!

[Charger500]

These are a lot of great ideas and great discussion. I have a 70' charger 500. I only reason i worried about is that I have to drive it to school to the city (San Francisco) and might have to park it on the street and just for general protection to. I think when I put the MSD in I'll also hook up a kill switch and I think that might work best for me. Thanks again!

Charger500

[hemihead]

I disable my electrical system myself before I go away but when I'm home, I have a German Shepard and a Colt .45 Model 1911. 

[Ghoste]

Was it South Africa where someone was marketing an undercar flamethrower to unleash on carjackers?  I suppose you could rig up something similar based on motion detectors to discourage thieves.  Of course, it comes back to my point about survivor lawsuits.

[The Ghoul]

shaved door handels and a hidden fule cut off valve, at lease thats what I have planned...
I was also thinking lexan windows for the special type that likes to toss bricks through windows 
imagine the suprised look on there face when the brick comes bouncing back at them! thats almost worth hiding a camera inside the car just to see!!

[Highbanked Hauler]

ignition kill switch  

I have been looking for an (I shoot to kill) sticker or something like it to put on the window plus I have got  a few more goodies inline.

[Todd Wilson]

I'm going to have a lojack installed in my Charger.

It won't keep them from stealing it but I will get it back and someone will be going to jail.
http://www.lojack.com/

Problem is no one will go to jail at least not in Kansas. Its called joy riding here not car theft.  Cops are not concerned about car theft. Its one of the lowest priority things they have. You are supposed to have insurance on the car. Some one steals your car they are out joy riding in it. A 69 Charger or a 1997 Honda Civic  its simply a car to the cops.



Todd

[Headrope]

I post information on the Internet about what security devices are in my car - along with pictures - in an effort to take the fun out of it for the bad guys.
I mean what fun would it be to steal a car when all you have to do it log on to a Web site, right?

[TK73]

I'm going to have a lojack installed in my Charger.

It won't keep them from stealing it but I will get it back and someone will be going to jail.
http://www.lojack.com/

Problem is no one will go to jail at least not in Kansas. Its called joy riding here not car theft.  Cops are not concerned about car theft. Its one of the lowest priority things they have. You are supposed to have insurance on the car. Some one steals your car they are out joy riding in it. A 69 Charger or a 1997 Honda Civic  its simply a car to the cops.



Todd

Figures...

There was a story about cops dressing up and sitting at street corners like beggars to see who was not wearing seat belts and radioing ahead to a squad car to ticket the drivers (Seattle I think).  What BS, get out and bust car thieves!!

All about the $$ though.  $80 to $120 per seat belt ticket, no $$ generated for busting thieves.

[Headrope]

What BS?

Washington State Patrol troopers conducted that operation in Parkland. Approximately 30 people were ticketed for not wearing seatbelts, two unlicensed drivers were found and eight arrests were made, mostly for outstanding warrants - all within a four-hour period at one intersection. Total bad guys caught: 40 within four hours.

In contrast - and also in the news at about the same time as the WSP operation - Puyallup Police detectives (Puyallup is 10 minutes west of Parkland) arrested a suspected car theif and two of his aquaintances after a three month investigation was interupted by a homeowner catching the suspected thief in the act. Before the investigation was halted, an undercover officer had purchased four vehicles from the suspect. Detectives are now looking for a third aquaintance of the suspect. Total suspected bad guys caught: Three within a three-month period - each of whom still have to go through the judicial process.

It's not just about the money.

[Todd Wilson]

It's not just about the money.

Its all about the money in the USA! Most of those arrests if you look at them all they had to do was post bail and pay a fine and away they went.


Todd

[Ghoste]

Whether the police are on diligent searches for car thieves or not the fact remains that with the incredibly escalating value of these cars even as parts wrecks, the onus is on us to do everything in our power to prevent the police from ever having to look for the stolen car in the first place.
How many keep a vicious dog near their Charger?

[Blakcharger440]

There is no money in car thieves for law enforcement so they focus on tickets. Law enforcement is a business just like any other business that needs to generate capital.....$$$$$.

[Ghoste]

Or maybe the police are frustrated by the fact that real criminals appear before a judge who slpas them on the wrist and turns them loose.  Moving violations allow them to still do some good for the community (arguably in some cases) and feed their families.  Is it the need to generate revenue or cynicism that makes them concentrate their efforts in easy areas?

[defiance]

Well, I'm not really that worried about it to be honest - I'd be highly surprised if someone read my post who happened to be nearby, able to identify me and/or my vehicle, willing to steal my vehicle, and able to execute such a plan.   Even with the info I just gave, someone would have to set off the alarm for a few minutes to get it, get it disabled, so so in such a way that the starter disable is bypassed, hot wire it, and get away.   I don't believe the car is ever in a location where someone could do that anyway.   So, I'm willing to accept the small additional risk if it will help someone whose car may be exposed to more high-crime areas than mine.   A lot of these little tricks are pretty simplistic, only take a few extra minutes to do, cost nearly nothing, and as a whole can notably increase security.

man,did you use to be a car thief?you have the most detailed fool proof alarm ive evn heard of!! great job,Andy

Nah, I spent several years as a competitor in car audio and working in the industry.   So, A) my car at the time was MUCH more of a target than the charger (it had public appearances where the stereo equipment & install techniques were being shown off - so undesirables could see exactly what, and where, was in the car, and could easily follow me home -- and you don't have to steal the whole car to get that stuff), and B) security was a judged category for car audio competitors.   So, I developed lots of little tricks from other competitors, judges, and training programs.   Worked, too; Only time my stuff ever got jacked was after the ex-wife took that car, I spent a year or two completely broke, and I put some leftover equipment in a beater-car (old buick); at the time I didn't have the $50-$150 to spend on an alarm brain, so it was unprotected.   In hindsight, I shoulda sold some of the stuff and bought an alarm, but lesson learned.   Anyway, the point is - once you get into the habit of some of this stuff, it's like second nature.  

Not nearly as much security went into my wife's car, but she works in a relatively high-crime area, and with 3 attempts so far (over 6 or 7 years), not one perp's gotten a single thing of value out of the car.   Always 'deterred' by the violently loud alarm

Another thing about alarms that bugs me, though, are the wanks that set up their alarms so that they go off when a cat walks on the car or something.   Dammit, if people didn't hear alarms all the time, they'd pay a LOT more attention, moron!!   If one of my alarms goes off, A) you *KNOW* something's up, and B) everybody around knows it, too (VERY loud ).

hm.. some more random points..

- if you do use audio equipment, replace screws for amps, cd players, speakers, etc. with square-head screws.   Thieves don't tend to carry them around

- Make sure that your alarm LED is VERY visible from any point of view outside the car.   If you need multiple LED's, do it; they're cheap.  A theif faced with two cars he can jack or jack stuff from will go for the one that appears easiest.  Visible LED's indicate an alram; if the 'alternative' doesn't have one, you just saved yourself the cost of a window.

- Make sure nothing else of value is visible from outside the car.   If you've got a CD player, remove the face.   If you don't want to carry it, at least hide it so it's not visible from outside.   Don't leave CD's, cell phones, anything worth more than $5 where it can be seen from any angle outside the car.

- I dunno, there's probably a lot more I do, but like I said, you get so used to a way of doing things, you take for granted some of the stuff that's not so obvious to someone who doesn't do it on a regular basis.