Hi All,

So, the weather is getting colder and I want to prepare for the winter. Have any one of you installed a remote-starter into the car?

If so, then:
1) Which one?
2) How much did it cost?
3) Where did you buy it from?
4) Where did you get it installed?
5) Are you happy/satisfied with it? Does it work well?

I plan on keeping the Acura remote control because of the roll-down window options and memory seats and all that good stuff. So, I just want something basic to start the car. Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

Go to SEARCH, key in: remote + starter

Go to 3G Garage, search for: remote

These, plus the replies you will certainly receive, will make you very well informed.

Not trying to be a wiseass, just something about if you teach a man to fish he can feed himself for life, or something like that

 

Jinen - remote starting your car and letting it idle to warm up is bad for the engine. if you plan to keep it a while, do what Honda recommends: start it, assure it has oil pressure (about 15 secs should do it), and drive off. The car has seat warmers - that will do a lot for comfort.

I could post pages on why an idle warmup is bad, but the short version is it leads leads to degradation of the engine oil by fuel.

 

RR,
I think we may have gotten into this argument before. I have always warmed up my cars and feel that it is a way to pamper your engine. I think the only con is that you will need to change the oil sooner. Other then that, all pros. I not only let the car warm up, I also let it warm up until the temp is normal and not anything below. I would love to see some more back up. Quite frankly, I feel the car will perform way better in the long run. Thanks in advance for your reply. You’re a very helpful member to this forum. Again my but I’m pretty sure I'm right on this one. (Just the way the cars treated me in the past.)

 

modern cars actually don't need to be warmed up, just driving no more than 45 MPH at normal acceleration for a few mins is better than letting it idle and warming up.... a better solution? get the Acura engine block heater, its fairly cheap

 

RR,

Though I agree that warming up the car is not good for the engine, I do it when where is a lot of snow or ice on the windows. It is immensely easier to remove ice/snow from the windows after the defroster has been on for a couple of minutes.

To help minimize engine damage, I try to rev the engine every couple of mins or so to get the oil to circulate to the higher components.

 

Thanks for the advice...however, i did do the search prior to asking information regarding the remote starter...and in the search i came up with quite a few pages regarding this information...i really do not have the time to go through all the pages to find the information that i am looking for...i went through one page to see if something pops up, but it really didn't have information on what types of remote starters people have installed and how much it cost them...there was something about a dealer charging someone aroudn $460 dollars...that's the price that i could remember off the top of my head but i am sure that people have used other cheaper/better remote starters...

basically, i was just looking for quick answers because i really do not have the time to go through alllllll those pages...thanks

 

Perhaps the other hundreds of members don't have time to re-read this repetitive drivel that has been covered repeatedly in previous threads. Perhaps your time is more valuable than ours, I'm not sure.

 

RR,
Any thoughts on the post above?

 

I do not know whether they have the time or they don't have the time to read the post...For example, since you replied, I am assuming that you had the time to "re-read" a post regarding remote starters...There are probably many people who don't even care about the remote starter so they won't even bother reading...So let's not put words into my mouth saying that my time is more valuable than everyone else's...I never said that nor would I be that stupid to say that...If you or any other member has the time to read and answer, then they will do so...If not, then they won't...what's the worst that could happen? <--no one will answer...and that's fine with me...i come to this site to see what's happening with other people's cars and find out some really interesting information...i don't come here to get criticism from you...and i am sure many feel the same way...this site is very helpful so let's keep it that way...and if you were "irritated" by my "re-post" of a thread like this, then why did you read it and reply???

 

Good response, I got a good laugh and head nod out of this one. On the other hand Jinen has a point too about the site being helpful. Sometimes bringing up old threads brings up old information that someone may have not shared previously. I do agree that most of the time it is a pain in the ass, but it CAN be helpful.

I DO get tired of reading through so much crap, especially when most of it is people flaming others....but whatever....I think this is a great forum and the mods do a bang-up job keeping things in line.

 

Many of us are interested in remote start, that's not the point. The point is that if you don't have the "time" to read previous posts on the very topic that you are posting about then you don't deserve the contributions of the some of the most knowledgable TL people around. If you didn't come here to get criticized by me, then smarten up and help youself first before asking others to help you. Lazy blowholes like yourself make this forum worse, not better. Enough of this drivel, move on and quit wasting out TIME.

 

Well let's get one thing straight here...In this forum, people decide whether they want to reply to certain questions/messages or just ignore them and read other fantastic news on this site...right? in this site, people ask for help from each other...if i have a question, i'll ask...if anyone elses has a question and i have an answer, i will answer...do you know why? for the better of this forum...so people have the opportunity to look at topics from different perspectives...If you felt offended or did not like my initial message, then you should not have responded at all...it would have made your life a lot easier and i would not have wasted "your time"....from my understanding, you are the one who is telling me to stop wasting your time but at the same time, you are taking the time out to respond to my messages...a bit weird huh???? i have nothing against you nor your remarks about me being a "lazy blowhole" or anything like that because you mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to me...you don't know me nor do you know whether i am lazy or not...and to be honest, i am the complete opposite of lazy but i guess people like yourself enjoy making generalizations or assumptions so that's not something that i could prevent...so you can continue thinking whatever you like because it won't mean ANYTHING to me....and you are ABSOLUTELY NO ONE to decide what i deserve and what i deserve...okay???

now enough about this...i had asked about remote starters and if someone has answers, then they will answer...if not, it's okay, life isn't over...if people DON'T want to answer or don't know the answer, then DON'T SAY ANYTHING....

I apologize to the moderators for continuing this argument...I had no intentions for such things as I only wanted some advice regarding remote starters...I am aware of the search feature and I do use it but I was unable to find precise information on the questions that I had asked so I decided to start another thread...also, many topics tend to get too much into detail and as a result, the original question becomes quite vague, so that's why i was interested in finding out clear-cut answers...

 

RR,
Back to the topic from before, Any thoughts lol??

 

You do not appear to understand what is going on - the fuel dilution begins in the combustion chamber, right at the ring/cylinder wall interface. Instead of oil lubricating and sealing the CC, it gets diluted and can lead to increased wear real time, even if you change the oil every day. Plus, the oil in the sump is very hard on the bearings, as the sulfurs and water in the fuel form corrosive acids. The mfrs know this - hence their recommendations. "Pampering" is not an engieering term of which I am acquainted, but the library at the SAE has lots of articles on the effects of extended cold start idle times.

It is your car, do what you want.

 

RR,
Thanks again for your response, Let me throw a few more ideas. First, we all know that in a cold car the fluids will be thick, thus not allowing them to flow freely as they would if the car is warm, Also, I would think the manf. would say you don't have to warm up the car because people would get the wrong impression. I mean who really wants to warm up the car in the morning. The consumers will not take it very easily.

 

More hot air from the blowhole. For not meaning anyting to you, your response is longer than a teenage girl's love letter. It pleases me to know that you feed the need to justify yourself at that length. In the time it took you to write that novel you could have been searching the forum and at least attempting to educate your slow self.

 

Maybe you guys are missing the point - or maybe I am. If you've lived in the north for any period of time, you will know that there are times that the frost in the windows makes a car undriveable safely until defrosted. That takes time - with the car on. It may not be great for the car, but it is necessary. The only question is - do you want to get into the car to turn on the car to begin the defrosting - or do you want to use a remote start to do it from the house. So its not a question of whether or not you're going to warm up the car (or defrost), its a question of how you start the car. Am I missing something here?

I, like a lot of people, am considering whether or not to get a remote starter. And I would really like to know specific brands purchased, and costs, as well. Any specific input on that would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Shoot...I bought one for $29 + shipping about three years ago off of Ebay. It was a brand called Omega and was an add-on remote start. I added it "on top of" my Viper alarm with no problems. It might sound cheap, but it did the job with absolutely NO problems and didn't interfere with my alarm. If you're pressed for time, save it, don't bother reading the next paragraph.




It sat in my closet for about a year and a half 'til I finally decided to install it. It meshed perfectly with my Viper alarm that I had on my Accord. I remember installing it and that it took me about 8 hours to do it. This was my first remote start install so I was VERY patient, plus nothing gets done very quickly when beer-drinking is involved. I had to wire the following areas for the (following reasons):
Mount and wire hood-pin switch (safety/security)
Gear selector (safety)
Brake switch (security)
3 wires to ignition (functionality/security)
Alarm (security)- kept alarm from going off when car was started
Dome light- found lead under dash (safety)- door open for more than specified time interval, engine stop
maybe others, not recalling anything else at the moment.

 

I've been doing some research and I came across this remote starter:

Viper 160XV....This particular remote starter is offered by Best Buy for around 200 dollars and then another 50 for the extra module and wiring...so that's around 250...has anyone ever heard/experienced this model???

I agree with CCreek when he mentions one of the purposes of having the remote starter...it gets quite chilly outside to go back and forth from the car...the whole purpose, in my opinion, is to have the car "warm" before i get into it, so once i get in the car, i can turn the heater on and get hot air and use the defroster which would take about 1-2 minutes to defrost the windows rather than 5-8...

umm it's quite confusing as to what to do...whether to get a remote starter or not....but ur input has been great guys (except for one j@ck@§§) ...thanks...

 

The issue of defrosting is real, but let's set some boundaries around it. We get cold weather here in Virginia, and occasional heavy snows. I have found that I can almost always drive away, turn on the defrost, and very quickly there is enough clarity to see well. Today's cars warm up very fast - the 5AT's engine coolant heat exchanger contributes to that speed for example. Seldom do I need to sit and wait for enough air to clear the windshield adequately. Point is, with a remote starter, one gets in the habit - if long idles are done for comfort, rather than necessity, the obvious effects result.

Let's fast forward to Summer - if comfort is the key driver, as it is for most, then the same warm up procedure and effects will occur to have the car "cool when i get in it". Although the effects of long idle are dimished, they are there nonetheless.

Finally, consider also the catalytics - cold starts drive volatiles into the cats, and oil additives can damage the honeycomb rare metals, esp phosphorus which is an anti-wear material.

This has been a good discussion, that is about all I have to say on topic.