David of Northeast Ravelco came to NYC to perform the installation. David does mobile installations of the Ravelco throughout the Northeast, and I was his second stop of the day--the first was an installation in the Bronx. |
Not surprisingly, David's Toyota 4Runner has a Ravelco. The vehicle had a relatively expensive alarm system already on it when he purchased it. "But the alarm kept going off, such that the neighbors complained," he said. "Most alarm systems have color-coded wires--it took me under a minute to disarm it." |
I followed along as he installed a Ravelco theft-deterrent system on my LS1 Camaro. Note the factory look of this engine bay for future reference. |
This is a section of the Ravelco device--for security's sake, we won't show you the entire ball of wax: a gray 16-pin coded plug, a gray base unit, and an armored steel cable leading out of the base unit is shown here. |
David began by studying the F-body's wiring. Ravelco has wiring diagrams for any vehicle to facilitate the installation of this system. |
Next, he goes under the Camaro's dash to find a suitable mounting location for the base unit. As the armored cable on the back of the base unit is about two feet long, it needs room behind the mounting location. "The number-one question we get is about mounting location," Dave says. "We want it to be very accessible to the driver, and we prefer not to mount it in moveable locations like a glove box or lighter tray. The only reason we would hide this unit is for aesthetic reasons." As the Ravelco system has never been defeated, you can see why hiding it is not a priority. |
Car theft is a fact of life in America--over 1.2 million were stolen in 2004, according to the FBI. While some are lucky enough to live in rural areas where auto theft isn't a threat, most of us live in suburban and urban areas where it is a real and growing problem. While the FBI found that there was a nearly 2 percent drop in auto theft in 2004 compared to 2003, there are many areas around the U.S. that have seen drastic car theft increases in recent years. The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program mapped the changes in America's auto theft from 2002 to 2003. While many markets, including the New York metro area, Houston, and Chicago, showed large declines in theft that year, many states known for EFI GMs--including California, Texas, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and Illinois--showed 7 to 52 percent increases in auto theft in many of their cities! Faced with that fact, those of us who put a great deal of time and money into our vehicles simply can't afford to not protect them.
"I ended up in this business because I had my car stolen," David, our Ravelco installer, tells us. "I was driving an '86 Honda Accord, and when it happened, I wanted to make sure that it never happened again. So I did a lot of research into theft deterrents, and I ended up contacting Ravelco."
At the time, Houston-based Ravelco didn't have an installer in the New England area--but as it so happened, the father of Ravelco creator Vincent Raviele lived in the area and agreed to do the install on David's 1986 Blazer. David, a grad student with a good handle on electronics, was intrigued by the system's installation, and soon this satisfied customer was the president of Northeast Ravelco, selling and installing the theft-deterrent system that impressed him so much.
"The thing that impressed me the most was its track record. And I wanted something that would work and not be just another noisy alarm system. Plus, every install is different from vehicle to vehicle. And actually trying to defeat it takes a huge amount of time. Let's liken it to changing a timing belt: even if you know how to change a timing belt, there's no quick way to do it. That same theory applies to the Ravelco: even if a thief found out how the system was installed, it would take too much time to bypass it."David was on hand to install a Ravelco system into my 2001 Z28 Camaro. I live in Queens, and high-end cars and SUVs disappear from my street all the time. While anyone who has a vehicle stolen is going to be pretty pissed, you all know as well as I that it's 10 times worse for an enthusiast. We take this pretty personally, and I've had two failed theft attempts on my cars in the past. While I would very much like to invoke my Second Amendment rights in regard to theft protection, NYC is a bit harsh on residents who ventilate people--even criminals. So, just like David, I did lots of research to find a practical, affordable, and most of all, effective theft deterrent--and I ended up looking at Ravelco. This system, including installation, starts at $350 and usually will cost around $400.We'll keep the actual installation process private, for obvious reasons. I was present during the installation and can unequivocally state that this system is for real. On top of the Ravelco's design and the standard in-depth installation that uses yards of identical black wiring, I witnessed David doing several other Ravelco tricks in the engine bay, all of which were designed to thoroughly confuse a would-be thief. The Ravelco is a real paradox: a simple design that makes theft very tough for thebad guys.
PROTECT YOUR RIDE!
Heed these tips to make your high-performance GM a hard target for thieves:
*Locked garage parking is best: if you have it, always use it. Otherwise, park in a well-lit area that's visible to you, if possible
*Don't leave your car running unattended, or leave the ignition key in the car. Car thieves are opportunists
*Don't park in a semi-secure lot with little foot traffic. Thieves love the privacy. Store valuables out of view when you leave the vehicle
*Don't leave your personal IDs or registration/ insurance cards in the vehicle. Roll windows up, put top up, and install roof/T-tops
*If driveway parking, block your valuable vehicle in with another vehicle*If street parking, turn wheels toward the curb and leave little space between cars
*Layer your protection--a combination of theft-deterrents, alarm systems, and recovery systems will do more than just one device
*If you don't have protection yet, disconnect the battery and/or computer
*VIN etching isn't necessarily best--thieves can get keys cut with your VIN