I love my Escort 8500. I shopped for quite a while and picked it over the V due to looks one I resolved performance was about equal. Oh yeah... I forgot the guy at Car Toys was able to give me a deal after talking to him for a while. I told him I'll go back to doing more research and he told me "take it off my hands now and I'll take $50 bucks off the sticker". I was headed out of town on a road trip so the timing was perfect. My wife likes to all it my "fish finder". Living in WA state with lots of hills it picks up everything (to this point). My only other thought was to go with the battery powered unit for ease of vehicle-to-vehicle use but the rage is greatly reduced in that unit.
I never had much luck with Escorts and definitely do not get the battery version. Yes it looks clean without the wires, but as the battery weakens, the unit goes into a power conserve mode that will get you into trouble. Also battery units do not have the output necessary to handle the multiple direction and source sensing that the V has. Guess which unit I prefer? Oh yeah, you can always send your V back to the factory for an update.
the arrows really do make a difference. I've had the multiple signals at once happen and knowing where they are coming from is key.
V1 is the best period I have owned many and the rest suck compared to V1 Ps try using the search function, this has been discussed in many many posts.....
V1................there is no substitute. I have mine hardwired in and its a life saver. The directional arrows are extremely infrormative.........
I forgot, it's not just the arrows that are important; it's the number counter identifying how many potential threats are out there. It is common for radar cops to hide near a 7-11 with self-opening doors. Users of lesser radar units will just ignore the warning, while V1's indicate that there is more than 1 threat. On the highway, cops can work in pairs where the lead car provides the initial warning that you react to, while another nearby car catches you when you feel it safe to resume your speeding. The police know that they cannot fool the radar detector, but they can fool you.
Okay I guess I'm the only looser that likes the Escort... I aways trust my eyes before the equipment. I had an older Valentine and the thing was just too bulky. Brian
Heh, tell me about it! Basically, I cannot use the suction cup mounts in the 348 because the thing is srpung so tight that it bounces the unit off the dash in 10 minutes. I've resorted to the sun visor mounts, but I worry that the unit is looking through the sunscreen band of the windshield and might be compromised.
Line of sight is always the best detector. I haven't used one in 8 yrs. It's usually too late anyway. Hardly any cops use anything but a last minute gun-held beam laser. Save your money. -Billy
I'm with you, I like my Escort too. I had a Solo1 cordless for years and working very good, Now I have a new solo2 and it is much better, with some nice new features, and the batteries last about a month in the solo2, you can plug it in if you want to, but I move mine between 3 different vehicles, I ordered extra mounts for each car, and extra suction cups that seam to wear out after a year or two
Seriously bro, you are just asking for a tag. The last ticket I got was from a cop waiting around a corner. Line of sight wasn't going to help. I saw him and slammed on the brakes - too late. They don't use instant on radar here, so a V1 would have saved me some cash. Laser is still not that common and a V1 will see it long before it can get a reading on you. That said, there are situation when even a V1 isn't going to help you. Like when you are the only speeding car on the road for miles and the smokey is hiding just over a rise in the highway with instant on radar. That's when you use street smarts. Always let others go ahead of you so you can get a read when the radar hits them; otherwise you are on your own. Fly safe!
This guy is informative when it comes to laser jammers. http://www.radarbusters.com/radar-detector-info.cfm This is pretty cool http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BeastPower-Valentine-One-Mirror-for-Ferrari-F355-550_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33699QQihZ018QQitemZ280216118213QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
Check out thread "anyone use a V1 radar" under Ferrari General Discusions. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=191157
I had a K-40 twice- once when I was dumb enough to spend $1500 to $2000 having it installed in my Porsche and once when it came with an SL55 I bought used. K-40 in my experience is only good for telling you where the garage door openers, microwaves, and other false alarms are. It never saved me even once and gave a false alwarm at least every 30 seconds in town and every 5 minutes on the highway. Granted I live in Tampa which is a pretty big city. My Escort 8500 was 1000 times better and much cheaper. I'm sure the V1 is as good or better than the Escort based on what I read I just never bought one. Either V1 or Escort will be worth the investment. Alternately, you could become a cop like 285 and post mean things like "who needs a detecor?" We get it, you guys stick together and we are all screwed!
