Installed Curb Alert system

[sesmls]

I installed a Curb Alert Mini system on my BRZ last week: (http://www.southerncarparts.com/curb-alert-p-3474.html)
It has kept me from pulling up too far into parking spaces and scraping up the front underside of my car.

The sensor fit nicely and inconspicuously in the center of the grille, and I was able to neatly run the wires through the engine compartment, under the upper corner of the fender, and underneath the pillar molding, then under the dash to the driver's side kick panel, where I located the little speaker and the control unit up and out of the way. Could have gone through a hole in the firewall, but this seemed easier, quicker and easy to reverse if needed. One wire to ground, and another to 12v. The speaker and sensor plug into the control unit. The kit comes with a variety of hinges for the sensor, and heavy duty adhesive trim tape to hold each piece in place if you don't want to use screws. A one-hour install at most.

Once I properly calibrated it, it works well, beeping three times when the bottom front of my car is 18" from a curb or barrier. It also will beep when the car is pointing at an angle downward to an upward area of pavement, such as when exiting a driveway, or encountering a dip or larger speed bump. It chirps once when turning on the car, to let you know it is activated, and turns itself off automatically a few minutes after the car is shut off. When you start the car back up after parking within 18" of a barrier, you'll get a chirp, and the three beeps again.

[Guff]

That's pretty cool! It would certainly help everyone with lips and drops from cracking things!

[Foobar]

Nice, seems kinda pricey at $160 though. Anyone ever see these go on sale for less? The tech involved doesn't appear to be that expensive.

[ATL BRZ]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Nice, seems kinda pricey at $160 though. Anyone ever see these go on sale for less? The tech involved doesn't appear to be that expensive.

Agree.

[sesmls]

I looked around for better deal on it, but couldn't find one. There's actually a "pro" installable version the manufacturer sells to aftermarket installers that's priced at $400...smaller components, but not by much. I received the "mini" version when I ordered at southerncarparts, which was nice surprise.

[JDMrolla]

I just use these

[Lee358]

It might be worth the $150 in the long run

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by JDMrolla

I just use these

Baller status.

[Foobar]

Originally Posted by Lee358

It might be worth the $150 in the long run

Oh definitely. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather pay $159.95 for this thing and avoid paying much more to replace the front fascia/bumper/airdam, but I'm just surprised there aren't more competitors in this space - while their particular application may be unique and patented, we've had cheap range-sensing gear for some time now.

Either way, I will definitely look into this for my BRZ and my wife's Genesis Coupe.

[Foobar]

Originally Posted by sesmls

The sensor fit nicely and inconspicuously in the center of the grille...

Is the sensitivity granular enough that you can set it up so it it will only detect something that would definitely scrape the bottom? I wouldn't want it to go off every time I go over a speed bump or a driveway apron, for example.

Wonder if we can approach the distributor with a group buy if we got 10 people or more interested in this. I'll shoot them an email and find out.

[sesmls]

Originally Posted by Foobar

Is the sensitivity granular enough that you can set it up so it it will only detect something that would definitely scrape the bottom? I wouldn't want it to go off every time I go over a speed bump or a driveway apron, for example.

Wonder if we can approach the distributor with a group buy if we got 10 people or more interested in this. I'll shoot them an email and find out.

It wii usually go off when pulling into a driveway where apron is at angle from street, and vice-versa, since car is pointing downward in relation to what's in front of it. On the other hand, I've pulled into parking lots where the concrete stops in the parking spaces are low profile and/or speed bumps are not that high, and it doesn't go off, since the sensor is "looking over the top" of those items.

[chulooz]

Id rather pay nothing and learn to properly park my car... Seriously.

[Foobar]

Originally Posted by chulooz

Id rather pay nothing and learn to properly park my car... Seriously.

Cool story, bro.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[OrbitalEllipses]

You coulda copped some curb-feelers for way less than that set you back AND attained OG status.

These people man, they know nothing!