Car Alarms for MX5

[R LTD]

I'm seeking advice on the best type of alarm to fit to an MX5. The Insurance
Coy require me to fit a micro sensor or else I have a $1500 excess.
Surprisingly, they don't seem to require an immoboliser fitted.
Have owners found a particular brand of alarm is better than others and where
is the best place to fit the sensor(s). I'm assuming that an engine
immobiliser is worth fitting; any views on this.
I'm in Wellington; have correspondents had experience with local installers
who have a good reputation for fitting alarm systems to MX5's.

Tony

[EricW]

Hi Tony,
The two major brands are Mongoose and Dynatron, both seem as good as the
other. I personally have a Mongoose in the MX5 and a Dynatron in the BMW and
both work well. The Mongoose in the MX5 has an immobiliser as standard and I
can not think of a good reason not to have one .

The microwave sensor in my car, which is an auto, is fitted under the centre
console, either under or just forward of the ashtray, I can't quite remember
which. The doors boot and bonnet are operated by switches, the doors by the
light switches and the others by small contact switches.

Adjusting the microwave is a bit of a black art, it needs to be sensitive
enough to detect a hand going into the car, but not sufficiently sensitive to
be set off by breeze or a passer-by if you are parked with the top down, but
it also needs to be able to trigger the proximity warning outside of the car.
That can be hard to achieve, it took me at least three tries.

I'm sorry, but being in Auckland I am not aware of who does a good job down
your way, but others on the list will know for sure.

By the way, what did you finish up buying?

Regards

Eric West

[EricW]

Hi Tony,
The two major brands are Mongoose and Dynatron, both seem as good as the
other. I personally have a Mongoose in the MX5 and a Dynatron in the BMW and
both work well. The Mongoose in the MX5 has an immobiliser as standard and I
can not think of a good reason not to have one .

The microwave sensor in my car, which is an auto, is fitted under the centre
console, either under or just forward of the ashtray, I can't quite remember
which. The doors boot and bonnet are operated by switches, the doors by the
light switches and the others by small contact switches.

Adjusting the microwave is a bit of a black art, it needs to be sensitive
enough to detect a hand going into the car, but not sufficiently sensitive to
be set off by breeze or a passer-by if you are parked with the top down, but
it also needs to be able to trigger the proximity warning outside of the car.
That can be hard to achieve, it took me at least three tries.

I'm sorry, but being in Auckland I am not aware of who does a good job down
your way, but others on the list will know for sure.

By the way, what did you finish up buying?

Regards

Eric West

[Grant]

The microwave sensor on my car was positioned under the centre console under
the electric window switches. The only place I could find to fit. I have
used this position on my NA and NB cars. Difficult to get the sensitivity
set right though but seems ok now. I had to set both stages (dual stage
sensor) to their lowest sensitivities in the end to prevent triggering when
parking in windy conditions, especially if parked under a tree. Mine has two
immobilizer connections as well. The immobilizer auto sets after 30 seconds
of switching the ignition off. Took a bit of getting used to, having to
remember to reset the immobilizer before starting but am used to that now.

Grant.

From conf@waipunahotel.co.nz Fri Apr 27 17:05:19 2007
Content-class: urn:content-classes:message
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Subject: Northern Departure Point for BOP Poker Run 15 May
Date: Thu, 5 May 2005 08:19:42 +1200
Thread-Topic: Re: A mini MX5
Thread-Index: AcVPsedFdaZcQEAXR/iQwSpz6qBn+gBMfrHw
From: "Nicky Patchett" <conf@waipunahotel.co.nz>
To: "MX5List" <mx5list@mx5club.org.nz>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Precedence: list
Message-ID: <1WqqID.A.F4.TdYMGB@L733>

Hi all,

If anyone is interested in taking part in the Poker Run that the BOP Club has organised for next Sunday (the 15th) Keith and Annette will be departing from BK in Mt Wellington at 6:30am. (...sounds right up your alley Gazza )

Apparently the organisers are booking a venue for lunch so its advisable to let Keith know if you're a confirmed starter that way he can pass on a guesstimate of numbers from our area. His contact no for work is (09) 630 7996.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Nix

[Grant]

The microwave sensor on my car was positioned under the centre console under
the electric window switches. The only place I could find to fit. I have
used this position on my NA and NB cars. Difficult to get the sensitivity
set right though but seems ok now. I had to set both stages (dual stage
sensor) to their lowest sensitivities in the end to prevent triggering when
parking in windy conditions, especially if parked under a tree. Mine has two
immobilizer connections as well. The immobilizer auto sets after 30 seconds
of switching the ignition off. Took a bit of getting used to, having to
remember to reset the immobilizer before starting but am used to that now.

Grant.

From conf@waipunahotel.co.nz Fri Apr 27 17:05:19 2007
Content-class: urn:content-classes:message
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Subject: Northern Departure Point for BOP Poker Run 15 May
Date: Thu, 5 May 2005 08:19:42 +1200
Thread-Topic: Re: A mini MX5
Thread-Index: AcVPsedFdaZcQEAXR/iQwSpz6qBn+gBMfrHw
From: "Nicky Patchett" <conf@waipunahotel.co.nz>
To: "MX5List" <mx5list@mx5club.org.nz>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Precedence: list
Message-ID: <1WqqID.A.F4.TdYMGB@L733>

Hi all,

If anyone is interested in taking part in the Poker Run that the BOP Club has organised for next Sunday (the 15th) Keith and Annette will be departing from BK in Mt Wellington at 6:30am. (...sounds right up your alley Gazza )

Apparently the organisers are booking a venue for lunch so its advisable to let Keith know if you're a confirmed starter that way he can pass on a guesstimate of numbers from our area. His contact no for work is (09) 630 7996.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Nix