New car, ALP install and review

[CJR238]

Finally decided to put my 04 Acura TL with over 250k into semi retirement and get a new CM vehicle. It took a lot of time to find just the right candidate that had all the traits needed in the ultimate CM vehicle and fit my needs but i finally decided on the 2014 Mazda 3 GT.


Knowing i did not want to peace it all together over time like I did with the TL i went all out from the start with some serious help from my install buddy.


Upgrades and CM's:
-Tinted windows.
-ALP, 2 front 1 rear.
-PYTHON 5706P security and remote start with window control upgrade and 2 way communication up to 1 mile.
-RedLine BS/RDR.
-V1 with YaV1.
-Laser targeting system.


The Mazda 3 has the perfect grill for any CM installation, hides the heads very well and has lots of placement options.



30% tinted all around:









Left ALP head:



Right ALP head:



Rear head, passenger side:



Interior CM placement:


Red circle on left is V1 remote mute, red circle right/center is ALP control.




It took quite some time getting it all together but over all a very clean straight forward install.

The ALP is one great parking sensor/jammer, they are on top of all the new guns and the updates needed to stay ahead of the ever changing game. This is manly due to BestRadarDetectors and the RALETEC testing team that actively are testing and providing data for updates to ALP. I also use the parking sensor mode a lot and it works very well, plus its consistent enough that i trust it.

A few negative notes.

- Mazda 3 is very tight fit and finish and many parts are permanently put together like the front nose that's riveted together and the front dash that's pretty much one peace.
- ALP was relatively easy to install, heads are nice and small for placement but the cable length is just way too short for rear installs, especially on a hatch back. The 3 is a small car and i was still 3ft short cable for the rear head and the CPU was installed by me feet. We made a RJ25 cable extension that fixed that issue.
- The V1 CD and remote volume do not seem to work with the BT dongle and YaV1 when set up together, never shows settings and lags.
- If i want to use the app for the aditional ALP features the key pad will not work so its one or the other.


ALP testing (thanks to RedRocket for his help and use of his skills and guns for testing):

X2 = 2 runs

Yellow = PT


The testing was done on a rainy day, and though it had semi stopped raining there was some mist kicked up from the rear that we thought helped a bit on the rear. You can see the only PT's on the rear were where i had no head protection.


The results:



Though its rare i get hit with laser and i dont ever see the new guns many would like us to beleve are more prevalent i did get one encounter the ALP saved me form on back roads:

[Qui-Gon]

Finally decided to put my 04 Acura TL with over 250k into semi retirement and get a new CM vehicle. It took a lot of time to find just the right candidate that had all the traits needed in the ultimate CM vehicle and fit my needs but i finally decided on the 2014 Mazda 3 GT.


Knowing i did not want to peace it all together over time like I did with the TL i went all out from the start with some serious help from my install buddy.


Upgrades and CM's:
-Tinted windows.
-ALP, 2 front 1 rear.
-PYTHON 5706P security and remote start with window control upgrade and 2 way communication up to 1 mile.
-RedLine BS/RDR.
-V1 with YaV1.
-Laser targeting system.


The Mazda 3 has the perfect grill for any CM installation, hides the heads very well and has lots of placement options.



30% tinted all around:









Left ALP head:



Right ALP head:



Rear head, passenger side:



Interior CM placement:


Red circle on left is V1 remote mute, red circle right/center is ALP control.




It took quite some time getting it all together but over all a very clean straight forward install.

The ALP is one great parking sensor/jammer, they are on top of all the new guns and the updates needed to stay ahead of the ever changing game. This is manly due to BestRadarDetectors and the RALETEC testing team that actively are testing and providing data for updates to ALP. I also use the parking sensor mode a lot and it works very well, plus its consistent enough that i trust it.

A few negative notes.

- Mazda 3 is very tight fit and finish and many parts are permanently put together like the front nose that's riveted together and the front dash that's pretty much one peace.
- ALP was relatively easy to install, heads are nice and small for placement but the cable length is just way too short for rear installs, especially on a hatch back. The 3 is a small car and i was still 3ft short cable for the rear head and the CPU was installed by me feet. We made a RJ25 cable extension that fixed that issue.
- The V1 CD and remote volume do not seem to work with the BT dongle and YaV1 when set up together, never shows settings and lags.
- If i want to use the app for the aditional ALP features the key pad will not work so its one or the other.


ALP testing (thanks to RedRocket for his help and use of his skills and guns for testing):

X2 = 2 runs

Yellow = PT


The testing was done on a rainy day, and though it had semi stopped raining there was some mist kicked up from the rear that we thought helped a bit on the rear. You can see the only PT's on the rear were where i had no head protection.


The results:



Though its rare i get hit with laser and i dont ever see the new guns many would like us to beleve are more prevalent i did get one encounter the ALP saved me form on back roads:

Looks good, CJR! How long did the install take overall?

[CJR238]

Looks good, CJR! How long did the install take overall?

Over all about 8 hours, the remote start with the added features was the hard part. The ALP took only about 2 hours i would say, and most of that was because we had to extend the rear head cable.

[CJR238]

Add another rear head.

That's no fun, unless your offering me one free.

I was going to do 2 rear and 2 front, but i have never been targeted in the rear plus i like the game. Maybe at some point, but its got to have a way much longer cable included.

[Veil Guy]

Nice looking ride, nice looking install.

I guess you finally came around to the notion that the ZR4s are outdated and that the LIs are not keeping up.

Looks like you've made a very wise investment here.

Really nice of RR to assist.

I need to come around too and bite the bullet and put them on my 260k mile Bimmer!

VG

[CJR238]

Nice looking ride, nice looking install.

I guess you finally came around to the notion that the ZR4s are outdated and that the LIs are not keeping up.

Looks like you've made a very wise investment here.

Really nice of RR to assist.

I need to come around too and bite the bullet and put them on my 260k mile Bimmer!

VG

Actually the ZR4's still worked well for my area, and if it wasn't for RadarRob finding me a good price on LI's years ago i would have still been running the ZR4's. Glad he did though, the LI's were so much more consistent than my ZR4's.

But like anything else you need to move on and though i loved that 04 TL with over 250k it needed a rest so I gave it to my GF and all the CM's in/on it (ZR4/LI/9500CI) and got the new ride and installed the newer ALP system for long term protection. Wouldn't make sens re-installing an old system on a new car or not going with the newest system available.

Ya, RR is a great guy, we had a good time too. Especially lunch where we got the best Rubin's i ever had.

Put them on, but do it on a new car.

[Veil Guy]

Maybe a 991 turbo s? My next BMW?