My Dad is thinking of putting a remote starter in his 2002 Silverado. He is considering Viper, Asto-Start, Ultra-Start, or Polar-Start.

Do you guys have any opinions on these brands?

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...emote+starters

i ran a search couldnt find much, sorry...

 

Thanks for the effort.

 

I've got an ultra start in my junk car. Very nice quality no complaints. I'm very happy with it. It does what it's sapposed to and has yet to fail me.

 

A thirdgen remote start install guide is avaliable at:

http://www.p71interceptor.com/thirdgen/alarminfo

As for brands, they're all similar in the sense that they electrically emulate the ignition switch. Some things to watch for:

-Look & feel of the remote controls. Do you have a dedicated button for for lock & another seperate dedicated button for door unlock? Do you like the visual appearance of the remotes?
-Transmitter range
-Use of outboard which are easier to replace than onboard relays should they ever fail
-Many of the cheap generics have vague instruction manuals that contain errors and words jumbled together that do not make sentences.

A couple other notes:

You'll want the car to have some sort of fuel injection. TPI, TBI or even Crossfire should be acceptable. Installing a remote starter on a carberated vehicle is going to give you some major headaches.

Remote start with an automatic transmission is relatively safe, but is dangerous if combined with a manual tranny. There was a recent thread on this issue:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=146224

If you want keyless entry on your thirdgen, but do not have power locks, see this article:

http://www.p71interceptor.com/thirdgen/powerlocks

 

I've used the one from Walmart called Bulldog a few times.

It's easy to install, works well, and has a few nice features. It's about $45. It comes with an instructional video that helps A LOT!!!!!!

The ones I used were from JC Whitney, and I also got the power door lock remote with them so they were about $65. I don't know what other features the $45 one at Walmart has.

 

Considering the truck has Passlock II, I wouldn't go with anything other than a DEI product (Python, Viper, Valet, Automate, etc.) Their Passlock interface, the 555L is the ONLY Passlock interface I have seen work for long periods without causing problems in the car. Make sure you have a competent shop install it, too.

 

The dei passlock bypass unit can be used with other brands of remote starters too.

The dei 555L electrically emulates the hall effect in the lock cylinder when the remote starter is engaged. There's another non-dei unit on the market that captures the databus signals between the passlock module and the engine module and then will reproduce them as needed. No cutting is required to install the databus module, just strip some insulation off one of the wires on the underdash obd2 connector and connect the bypass wire to it.

You can attempt to make your own bypass unit with a couple resistors and relays, but there is some concern about these setups changing their effective resistance value significantly enough when the temperatures are low that the truck won't start. Likewise, the bypass boxes with dip switches on them are not too reliable either.

 

I have an Avital Avi-Start 3200 system (made by DEI) on my Isuzu Rodeo daily-driver. I love it. One thing I found out is that if you have keyless entry already on the Silverado, you'll have to either carry 2 remotes or get the keyless entry option on the remote start unit. That's what I did. Actually, I had to, since the lock/unlock buttons on my factory remote did not operate when the truck was running. If that's the case with the Silverado, you'll have to get the keyless entry option on the remote start also.

And I agree with 2vModular, get a brand that has a remote that you like. The Avital has a nice looking remote. A co-worker of mine had an Audiovox remote start put on his truck and it has the most ugly, mishapen remote I've ever seen.