# Project TTS-SF Part 11: Cause for Alarm



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

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Welcome to installment 11 of our 12 part series of Project TTS/SF, for Fourtitude.com In our last installment, we watched as Tomas Sport Tuning installed the excellent Meisterschaft GTC valved exhaust. Now we’d like to show you how we plan to protect our investment with a Viper 5902 HD alarm and the new Viper GPS Smartstart for iPhone. We’ll also have a look at a unique countermeasure product that helps hide your car from police laser speed monitoring systems. 

Without getting into actual numbers, I’ve got a lot invested in upgrading this TTS’ power, style and audio upgrades highlighted in this webisode series. Even if with no modifications at all, having a car stolen is something no owner wants to experience. It’s a point of pride. You love your car and the modifications that go along with it so why not make it harder or near impossible for anyone to take. That was my thought process when I started shopping for a good security solution for Project TTS-SF.


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My journey for peace of mind started with Aaron and Jeff at Audio Images in Burlingame, CA. I stopped in and the three of us had a conversation regarding the best all-round solution for securing the car, wiring it to my iPhone so that I could monitor any alerts, and then if possible add web based GPS tracking. We talked about quite a few choices but when the smoke cleared it was pretty obvious that Viper had the best all-round integrated solution.

Viper offers a set up called the Smart Start GPS, which essentially ties in the three key features I wanted in a very clean and non-obtrusive package. The set up works with iPhone, Android and Blackberry smart-phones, which worked out perfectly. So we based the whole alarm set up on the very competent Viper 5902 Responder HD security system. The criteria were pretty straight ahead. I wanted Remote door, windows, trunk, filler cap door, remote start, and tilt/shock/interior proximity sensor functionality.

The best protection in terms of rf transmitted codes in a security system is through encryption. The Viper offers SuperCode, which is a highly advanced rolling code type encryption. This prevents would be thieves from being able to record and retrieve your rf signals in an effort to snatch your car shortly after you arm it. This was also a vital feature. 


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The Responder HD has a full color 2-way remote, which replaced my Audi key fob and has a range of 1-mile via the Viper Digital Spread Spectrum Technology. I always say I am not too interested in mating anything to the car that doesn’t match the Audi level of quality and the remote absolutely fits the bill. People have gotten so used to their keyless entry systems that we often forget that OEM often doesn’t offer the same level of protection as a robust system like this.

My next mission was getting this system to integrate into my iPhone. Viper offers a solution called the SmartStart GPS, which addressed my remaining two pieces of criteria. 
GPS based vehicle tracking and violation alerts and notifications.

This set up also has functions like SmartPark which allows you to geotag the location of your car and even snap a picture of its location if you are at say a crowded mall or the ball game. Which is a pretty useful function as well as the Speed Alert, which hits you on your smart-phone if you are trusting enough to give your kid the keys to your car and they end up driving a bit faster than you can appreciate! There is also the Viper Motor Club that I enrolled in as well, which is a roadside assistance program. Finally, our system also provides Low Battery Alert, which is another vital function that texts you if your battery power drops for whatever reason.

All in all, I have been very happy with this system and the guys at Audio Images definitely set me up properly with a great recommendation. 

In this installment, I also wanted to share some info on this new countermeasure product that I installed as I feel that it ties in nicely with the security system upgrades. I was on a popular website for countermeasure technology which covers everything from radars to laser jammers and everything in between. First off I am in no way encouraging anyone to break the law by speeding. I will say however that if you drive in a spirited fashion and have ever been hit with a laser gun it’s a very expensive ticket and no fun to deal with at all. 


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I found a product called Laser Veil Stealth Coating out of Pennsylvania. According to my research on their website, Laser Veil is a military-grade anti-laser stealth coating for your headlights which absorbs police laser radar targeting range. The headlights are the first area that an officer will target to try and get a speed reading based on their laser reflections. Veil actually gives you up to 10 additional seconds of reaction time to tame your right foot and start acting responsibly. The kit I picked up came with the coating product, instructions and a foam applicator brush. Installation of the product was incredibly easy and I had both sides done in under 15 minutes including masking of the body panels. I’d say for its cost, you’d be missing the boat to not pick up some of this stuff and cover your assets!

Tune in to the next installment here on Fourtitude when we explore what it will take to bring this lightweight, high horsepower car to a halt.






*MORE INFORMATION*

* Project TTS-SF Index *

* Project TTS-SF Photo Gallery *

* Viper Alarm Systems *

* Laser Veil Stealth Coating *


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