Has anyone fitted a remote Viper start system to their Zed? And know of a reputable fitter
Viper Smart Start
- Thread starter RobertOwen
- Start date
Interesting bit of kit... but I'm not sure why you'd want this. Starting your car unattended is illegal in the UK I think. Remote unlock and lock might be useful if you've locked your keys in the car I guess.. which I've done once in 25 years of car ownership. The tracking part could be useful, depending on how it works, to find your way back (plenty of phone apps already to do this) to the car maybe. GPS tracking isn't quite so hot when stolen as it can be easily masked by thieves.
Sounds a bit more hmmm maybe than 'woohoo' IMHO. Still, as I say, and interesting bit of kit.
Sounds a bit more hmmm maybe than 'woohoo' IMHO. Still, as I say, and interesting bit of kit.
Very useful IMO, had one for 6 years on my last car (Actually a Cliffird G5) great for defrosting a frozen car throughout winter and cooling a baking hot car on a summers day before getting in! Also used to start it as I approached the car so the oil pressure was up and engine was settled ready to drive away as son as I got in.
KarlosG said:
+1 These are the 3 reasons i installed it on my previous car! Unfortunately for you i am from Greece so i can't recommend you my installer. One thing to have in mind though is that this is a tricky installation and you should go to someone who has done it before or you might have problems such as the car unlocking when you remote start it etc.
KarlosG said:
The thing to consider here is, as I believe it to be illegal to leave a running car unattended, not only do you risk prosecution (unlikely as it may be) you also invalidate your insurance if the car is stolen while running unattended. I know you'd say, well its locked... thieves can pop locks easier than starting the car. Leaving it running unattended could give them a head start.
The viper kit has this covered. When/if a thief manages to open the car when you remote start it from your alarm controller and tries to either put 1st gear in,press break or the gas pedal without the key inside the engine the alarm locks down the car and turns the engine off. That's why i said on my previous post that installation must be done by someone who knows how to do it. 
I believe this is true if two conditions are met... Keys are in the ignition and it's on a public road, so on your drive (private land) and no keys in ignition your all good.Maniac said:
Yes obviously the Clifford had this covered too, if the car was opened (door, boot, bonnet), handbrake released, jacked up, screen smashed, internal motion sensor disturbed, etc. then the engine stops and the siren sounds.
The Highway Code rule 123 states:
The Driver and the Environment. You MUST NOT leave a parked vehicle unattended with the engine running or leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road. Generally, if the vehicle is stationary and is likely to remain so for more than a couple of minutes, you should apply the parking brake and switch off the engine to reduce emissions and noise pollution. However it is permissible to leave the engine running if the vehicle is stationary in traffic or for diagnosing faults.
The Driver and the Environment. You MUST NOT leave a parked vehicle unattended with the engine running or leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road. Generally, if the vehicle is stationary and is likely to remain so for more than a couple of minutes, you should apply the parking brake and switch off the engine to reduce emissions and noise pollution. However it is permissible to leave the engine running if the vehicle is stationary in traffic or for diagnosing faults.
I just thought it would be a good idea to run the car to non cold condition before zooming off. I will pay for carbon credits and plant some trees.....I just saw this on yahoo homepage and thought thats a nifty bit of kit.... also using sirri you can talk to your phone to start the engine a very good party trick.... similar to the film 2012 when the russian gets in the bently and says starrrrtttt. Still im just making my list of things to add and I haven't even got the hardware (zed as yet) so im hunting for that first... this is a very good forum.....
Oh got that's another thing... BMW don't recommend leaving the car stood idling... and you should drive off asap lol... this is because the oil pressure is so low at idle that unless the oil is already warm, it doesn't circulate well which of course increases engine wear...
I'm like the 'find the chink in the armor' guy lol...
I'm like the 'find the chink in the armor' guy lol...
My brother had a remote start on his Dodge SRT8 and while we were on the ferry going from vancouver to vancouver island he sat on the key in his pocket and started the car, he got alot of laughs from all the other passengers after the announcement over the ships pa system. His system had a driver recognition card that he carried in his wallet so if anyone other than himself tried to drive the car away it instantly stopped the engine, pretty cool system i thought.
Maniac said:Oh got that's another thing... BMW don't recommend leaving the car stood idling... and you should drive off asap lol... this is because the oil pressure is so low at idle that unless the oil is already warm, it doesn't circulate well which of course increases engine wear...
I'm like the 'find the chink in the armor' guy lol...
What?! That can't be right surely? It's a hell of a design flaw if it is, an engine should be able to cold start and sit idling, it would normally allow oil to circulate and parts to expand and seat correctly before being under load, reducing wear!
Perhaps this is why they spec a 0w30, I did wonder why the winter rating was so low, shame you cannot go any lower.
KarlosG said:Maniac said:Oh got that's another thing... BMW don't recommend leaving the car stood idling... and you should drive off asap lol... this is because the oil pressure is so low at idle that unless the oil is already warm, it doesn't circulate well which of course increases engine wear...
I'm like the 'find the chink in the armor' guy lol...
What?! That can't be right surely? It's a hell of a design flaw if it is, an engine should be able to cold start and sit idling, it would normally allow oil to circulate and parts to expand and seat correctly before being under load, reducing wear!
Perhaps this is why they spec a 0w30, I did wonder why the winter rating was so low, shame you cannot go any lower.
In relation to BMW at least, I think it affects some engines more than others. There's a school of thought that the N52 valve issues (tapping) are caused by insufficient oil flow. Hence why some see it more than others because some people idle or do less mileage than others. There are also other issues, fuel contamination, catalytic convertor issues etc, all of which creep in when engines idle cold. A car should be driven off as quickly as possible after starting. Might not be good for us, putting up with a cold car for a bit, but its certainly better for the car.
edit: http://www.dadacanada.com/idling-facts-and-myths/idling-myths.html
Speaking as someone who builds and maps engines a lot of what is in that link is IMO total rubbish!Maniac said:KarlosG said:Maniac said:Oh got that's another thing... BMW don't recommend leaving the car stood idling... and you should drive off asap lol... this is because the oil pressure is so low at idle that unless the oil is already warm, it doesn't circulate well which of course increases engine wear...
I'm like the 'find the chink in the armor' guy lol...
What?! That can't be right surely? It's a hell of a design flaw if it is, an engine should be able to cold start and sit idling, it would normally allow oil to circulate and parts to expand and seat correctly before being under load, reducing wear!
Perhaps this is why they spec a 0w30, I did wonder why the winter rating was so low, shame you cannot go any lower.
In relation to BMW at least, I think it affects some engines more than others. There's a school of thought that the N52 valve issues (tapping) are caused by insufficient oil flow. Hence why some see it more than others because some people idle or do less mileage than others. There are also other issues, fuel contamination, catalytic convertor issues etc, all of which creep in when engines idle cold. A car should be driven off as quickly as possible after starting. Might not be good for us, putting up with a cold car for a bit, but its certainly better for the car.
edit: http://www.dadacanada.com/idling-facts-and-myths/idling-myths.html
lolI'll highlight a few points....
Another common misconception is that " it's better to let an engine idle than to continually shut off and restart the vehicle".
The truth is that frequent restarting has little impact on engine components such as the battery and starter motor.
Sadly battery and starter motor are the least of your worries if constantly starting and stopping, these are cheap and easy to change... Main and big end bearings on the other hand mean engine out and strip down, which are what wear every time you start an engine with zero oil pressure, as well as coking of components from the extra fuel injected during and after a restart, cranking fuelling and after start enrichment (An engine needs to run richer immediately after starting or it may hunt).
• First, since an idling engine is not operating at its peak temperature, fuel combustion is incomplete.
What?? lol Once an engine is up to normal operating temperature (Circa 90c) it will stay there unless your moving, very cold winter air can over cool an engine a little ( Specially if you have the cabin blower on).
Excessive idling can cause water to condense in the vehicle's exhaust. This can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system.
Yes it can.... But much more so when you turn the engine off, the flow of hot gasses stops and the exhaust starts to cool and condensate!
The tests measured the amount of time needed to raise the coolant temperature from -100C to its normal operating temperature of 800C
No road going car's have a coolant operating temperature of 800c, I think the author is a little confused!
But all that aside with a frozen or misted up windscreen it is unsafe/impossible to drive and so warming it up at idle to clear this cannot be avoided, hence a remote start can be very helpful and save you sitting shivering in your car adding to the misted up screen.
After writing all that I've just noticed it's talking about 11.0L truck engines which of course are designed to maintain operating temps when fully laden, as a result at idle and with empty loads they can over cool and god knows where they are driving these things as it talks about temps as low as -300c which won't help either!!
