replacement alarm on the cards

Clifford concept car alarms ... good or bad reports anyone ?

as some of you may know we had alarm trouble a few weeks ago and since then have been looking around to get a new cat 1 sorted .

provisionally booked in for weds to have a clifford concept installed and then an additional switch to corporate the turbo cooler timer is about £500-£600 max the going rate ?

I have a clifford concept 300 that went wrong a few times so was really anti- clifford, but it turned out to be down to bad instalation. Just make sure you get it done somewhere reputable.

from what i've heard recently Clifford are now crap - in fact i've got a toad alarm being installed tomorrow. i've always been a Clifford fan and anti toad - but the toad ai606 really kicks the crap out of the Clifford, all reviews so far have said the same. my mates got it on his car and loves it. plus the accessories are cheaper. i'll post up tomorrow once its al installed and let you know. but i spoke to 6 installers before getting the toad, and only 2 (one being gap security who are crap) recommended the Clifford.

edit: my Clifford 300 was brilliant, but the new range is not new - its the old range stripped down but for the same price apparently. also clifford are in finiacial trouble at the moment i hear....

It was Gap who fitted mine....poorly

yeah i've heard alot of bad stuff about them - they try too hard to sell too.

some reviews for you:

Ai606

Alarm revies type stuff

To be honest as long as it is CAT 1 for insurance purposes then why bother with a name or an exspensive one? Clifford is not my cup of tea! some say it's the best out there and other say it is far from even any good.

Heard nothing but good about Toad alarms. I went for a budget one Laserline however even they get a good rep.

It always boils down to if a thief wants your car no matter what system you have on your car they WILL steal it. Prevention imo is pointless as if it is a pro then it's a goner.

I really can't see how a Toad alarm can 'kick the crap out of a Clifford'.

Don't get me wrong, i love the Ai606 for it's simplicity and reliablility, and having been personally involved in it's R&D, I know it's a good unit, but to be fair, it's pretty basic if you compare it to the features on the Concept 650.

The C650 has a dual zone proximity sensor. - That means that movement on the inside of the vehicle will trigger the alarm, and a movement too close to the outside of the vehicle will give a 'warn-away' tone. Proximity sensors are unaffected by wind, meaning that you can leave windows open, roof off, and it will still operate the same.

The Toad alarm only has ultrasonic interior protection - Great for most cars, but not ideal for aero's

The Clifford has RPM dependant auto locking - The alarm will lock the doors whenever the RPM exceeds ~2000 rpm and will continue to do so every time a door is opened. So if you let a passenger out, it will re-lock the doors.

The Toad has autolock. - In this case, it will lock the doors once, within 10 seconds of the doors being shut and the ignition turning on.

The Clifford has 200ft remote range

The Toad has 20 ft

The Clifford optional outputs that can be used for many different functions, including ignition over-run/turbo timer.

The Toad also has optional outputs, but they're far more awkward to use. (you have to push and hold a button for 3 seconds before the feature will operate.

The Clifford has a programmable 'intelligent' siren. - You can choose up to 6 different siren tones from 15 different variations to personalise the siren sound, making it easier to recognise your alarm instantly. - It will also stop chirping on arm/disarm to let you know when the internal siren batteries are dying. - It also changes the arm/disarm tone to let you know when the battery in your remote is going flat

The Toad has a standard battery back up siren.

The Clifford has an optional feature called Blackjax - Excellent anti-hijack feature that doubles as protection against car theft even if the correct keys are stolen

The Toad has nothing similar

The Clifford can easily be connected to a remote start system that is also safe for manual cars. Intellistart

Toad do not offer a remote start, but aftermarket ones can be fitted with lots of wiring alteration and relays, and ONLY for auto's.

What I will say, is that Cliffords can pick up a bad reputation from two sources. Bad installation, and owners that are either technophobic or don't read the instruction manual. In both cases, the Toad will generally still maintain it's reliability.

I've been in the trade for 15 years now, and both systems are probably the best out there IMO, (I have tried most). If you want a feature packed alarm and you like gadgets, go for the Clifford. (Avoid people like GAP that just want to throw it in and get away as quick as possible.

If you just want a good quality, "it does what it says on the tin", go for the Toad.

Hope that helps

I have the 650. I've had nothing but issues with it and have taken it back several times. I do agree with Matt though. I think the installers are cowboys, and i've got a bad install. All the sensors are far too sensitive and if the wind blows the alarm goes off.

my clifford has been very good, intelistart,blackjax,turbo timer,proximity sensors etc

no problems yet.

Just to add a Clifford alarm came with my current supra and its utterly crap. I use the term crap as it seems to go off whenever it wants, middle of the night, 10 mins after leaving it etc. Absolute rubbish

Had a cobra on my last supra and never had a moments trouble with it. Simple to use and did the job

I have the 650. I've had nothing but issues with it and have taken it back several times. I do agree with Matt though. I think the installers are cowboys, and i've got a bad install. All the sensors are far too sensitive and if the wind blows the alarm goes off.

Just to add a Clifford alarm came with my current supra and its utterly crap. I use the term crap as it seems to go off whenever it wants, middle of the night, 10 mins after leaving it etc. Absolute rubbish

Had a cobra on my last supra and never had a moments trouble with it. Simple to use and did the job

Both cases of bad installtion by the sound of it.

In the manual, it tells you how to recall the last 8 trigger events of the alarm. Tell me whats setting it off, and what model you have, and I'll tell you how to fix it

Cool, thanks Matt. I'll have to send you a PM

yeah sounds like pretty much the advice i got, just bad wording on my part as usual (blame the alcahol) but for what i want it for, toad seems to be the right choice, and im always up for trying a different product.

Thank you for all your advice it is much appreciated.

only now were in a dilemma if we going for the correct alarm or not.

At present we have Toad but after it going stupid 2 weekends ago and screaming its nuts of for over 5 hrs starting at 3am we had to leave the car unlocked.

hrs later when we took car to fill her up the darn alarm went loopy again and after another embarrassing hour of folk admiring car for the wrong reason we had to cut the wires on the toad just for some silence.

We dont want to spend money on an alarm if we going to live to regret it as they dont come cheap and dont wanna throw good money after bad.

we having the alarm fitted at 'select marques' jap imports

Carlton miniott, Thirsk.

after 3 chats with the lads there they have advised two alarms , but unfortunatley one of them would not been meanable cos of the turbo timer cooler. so was told we need to go for the clifford and they seem rather confident that there wont be any false alarms on it .

so should we take the chance or re think this whole thing again?bearing in mind at the moment god forbid anything happens to supra then the ins may not pay out cos its not got a full working alarm system.(yes denial is a great thing but ........ )

any more help or advice will be appreciated thank you

minx

I've had 4 toad Ai606's (In different cars) - Can't fault it!

MINX - the car doesn't have a turbo timer, or is it one you've already installed?

Bob whats the 'greedy' unit thats on the lower part of the centre console?

guys at motorscope say its a turbo timer plz dont tell us that they have it wrong . as they claim its all wired up and just needs connecting into the alarm !!!

hence another reason why we having new alarm installed

2morrow as the toads dont allow for turbo timers apparantly but the clifford has additional parts that can be added into the alarm system to allow the timer to work and not react with the alarm.

u got me baffled now lol

Bob whats the 'greedy' unit thats on the lower part of the centre console?

Greddy boost controller?

Bob whats the 'greedy' unit thats on the lower part of the centre console?

guys at motorscope say its a turbo timer plz dont tell us that they have it wrong . as they claim its all wired up and just needs connecting into the alarm !!!

hence another reason why we having new alarm installed

2morrow as the toads dont allow for turbo timers apparantly but the clifford has additional parts that can be added into the alarm system to allow the timer to work and not react with the alarm.

u got me baffled now lol

Hiya Claire, the greddy unit is the boost controller - if this Motorscope is the same bunch that want to put the wideband oxygen sensor inside the original first cat, then please please please take the car somewhere else - they obviously don't know much about Supras and may end up causing damage to your car!

Not sure where recommended places are in relation to you, but have a look for hyper sports & racing, and Chris Wilson (member of this forum).

If you need any help or advice, feel free to gimme a bell on 07971 923891