I am going to buy a radar detector for my 550. What is the best one to buy?
Valentine One owners love the arrows, but there's quite a few independent tests that show that other detectors have surpassed the V1 in range, sensitivity, false alarm filtering, quite a few years ago. If you love the arrows and gotta have them, get the V1. If you want fewer false alarms, better range, etc., then consider the top Escort or BEL models (they're owned by the same parent company now and share technology) - Beltronics Radar Detectors :: Performance Rules and Escort Radar Detectors & Laser Detectors - The Radar and Laser Experts - Escort Inc. . The Escort 9500ix (equivalent BEL is PRO500) includes GPS and a safety camera database, which is extremely handy if they use photo radar and red light cameras where you live. The BEL STi Magnum (equivalent Escort is Redline) forgoes the GPS functions, but has better highway range. If they use laser where you live, then the only real defense is to install a built-in detector with laser jammers. Escort/BEL offers the BEL STi-R Plus with ZR4 Jammer or Escort 9500ci with ZR4 Jammer as integrated radar/laser warning systems. Also consider the AL G9 jammer as an independent laser jammer system.
The arrows are the reason I bought my V1. I absolutely love them. Telling you where the source is coming from is incredibly valuable.
Once you become accustomed to using the v1, it becomes very easy to distinguish a false alarm and it can be done with a very quick glance. I've only received one ticket since I bought my first v1 almost five years ago and that was because the officer was using one of those hand held laser guns that they use to pick specific cars out instead of just leaving the "gun" on. I was the only one on the road for miles, so the v1 couldn't pick him up shooting any other cars ahead of me. It did show me the laser instant laser warning when he hit me, but obviously it wasn't useful then other than the fact that I knew he wasn't lying when he said he clocked me.
Thanks for the feedback. I was looking at the Passport 9500ci which is the best part of $2000 installed so I want to make sure I get the most for my money. I live in Northern California near Sacramento and I am not sure whether the cops use lasers or not.
They more than likely do. Here in Indiana essentially all LEO's use kA band or a form of laser. Same with Ohio and Michigan from what I've experienced.
They don't always use laser but many of them do now. I saw a San Francisco cop point a laser gun at me in my Giallo 348 a weekend ago. Lucky for me, I was crawling around looking for a restaurant so I he was disappointed.
I've had an Escort Redline for just over a year. Incredible range. Saved my bacon on more than a few occasions.
I'll tell you a story- I used to have radar detectors in the 80's. Then in the 90's, some valet stole it and I didn't notice. Then, I bought another Ferrari 10 years later that had a radar detector, an Escort 8500 already setup with a wired cord. The 9500ix had just come out, so I quickly traded it in and got the top of the line. It was interesting having it learn the falses with GPS. I thought that was a cool adaptation. Beyond the V1. So one day I drop the Ferrari off for service. And in an unrelated issue, I rented a minivan for more space than my Rovers. I'm driving the minivan up to pickup the Ferrari. The minivan has a huge windshield, as minivans do. I had kept my 9500ix when I dropped off the Ferrari for service, so I had it in the minivan front and center in the windshield just for fun. I round a bend, and under an overpass next to the pylon is a motorcycle cop kneeling. I was in the #2 lane out of 5. I look down at my speed, it is about 82 (in a 65) and as soon as I pass him, he quickly packs up his gadgets and mounts his bike. I watch in my rear view mirror as the little guy gets bigger and bigger in the mirror and then RED LIGHT! I pull over. He's a friendly guy. But, so am I. Getting a ticket is just part of life (I knew I could get it off with traffic school). He used Laser (LIDAR). I asked him, how he knew I was the one speeding with several cars all around me. He said he takes a picture with the red dot on the minivans license plate. I was doing 1-2 mph faster than anyone else. He said his boss (CHP) told him to ticket anyone doing over 80. I won. My 9500ix didn't beep/peep/growl/chirp nothing. And, it had as unobstructed a view as could be possible. The bubble glass on the front of a big-ass minivan. New technology like Waze is interesting. It is social, whereby users report COPS up ahead. If your running the app on your phone in navigation mode then you see the upcoming hazards. A unradar radar detector. Cobra has the iRadar. Which I have tried, and is interesting. It combines a real radar with the social element to combine everyone with a radar detector reporting to the cloud and sharing to all. That gives you a heads up on radar in advance. Escort has a similar system but it is pay-per-month, which I think will limit adoption. The iRadar hardware is cheap (>$200) and if enough have it, you will really limit your exposure... Unless your the first guy after the COP sets up PS - The 9500ix laser detector did go off once. The sun was setting, and it liked that.
As a caveat, this...don't link your accounts... Terms & Conditions: Waze is a privacy accident waiting to happen | Digital Trends
Valentine isn't the only brand with front and rear sensors. I have a K40 hard wired with front and rear sensors and lights in the dash indicating front or rear and audible voice warnings indicating direction. It did not save me from instant on radar when I came over a hill and came face to face with a radar car. Unless the radar is turned on or there is a car in front of you, there is no radar for it to detect in advance and when they light you up you are a goner.
I have the Valentine 1 hardwired up by my rear view mirror in both cars. That way I can switch them out whenever I drive either one. What people don't often do is use V1's programming guide found online to reprogram the V1 to eliminate false alarms. The V1 is shipped with 100% radar coverage. For example. I completely turned off X band. I also programmed it to not alert me to K band unless it's a strong signal, or the signal has been there for over 20 seconds. Viola. no false alerts and GREAT coverage. BTW, laser detection just tells you that you just got a ticket. Only way to avoid that is the laser jammers
Escort has a variety of detectors,and the Redline is the one that Escort says does the best job of picking up signals. On the back roads,my Redline warns me of the Highway Patrol (Ka) well before we can see each other.
Laser jammers are not regulated by the feds, so it's state by state. Laser jammers are illegal in CA. Radar jammers are illegal everywhere...federal law regulated by FCC.
Valentine One. No question. This is 2013, not 1979. My point is all the "good" ones have plenty of distance warning. So what if brand X can sniff out Ka at 2 miles and brand Y does it in 2.5? Doesn't matter at that point. You need different features to keep you better informed and those arrows are almost too good to be true. When my V1 goes off slowly at first and the arrow points behind me, I just hit mute and keep going. If you have ANYTHING else, you will be driving slow for the next few miles wondering where the hell he is.
My response: none at all. I have been driving for 43 years and have never been pulled over for speeding, in any car, in any state. I have never had a detector, and had the one in my Ferrari (which was an obsolete Escort, anyway) removed when I bought the car, and I've driven it 42,000 miles since. I by no means drive slow, just fast enough not to upset the authorities. I nearly always follow the rule "posted limit + 9 mph, max" and have driven past sitting police cars in at least 20 states with no reaction. If you don't drive overly aggressively or recklessly, use your turn indicators at all lane changes and turns, and make sure that all your exterior lights are working properly, you should be able to drive quite happily without ever having to spend money on any detection gear, or looking over your shoulder.
