My experience, not necessarily the same as yours, but valid nonetheless. I feel very embarrassed often when I see British tourists abroad in their football shirts swigging from bottles in the street. I always find American and Canadians on the other hand polite, respectful and generally friendly, aside from south central or the bronx of course! Manners are something the Brits taught the world, and then seem to have figured that we no longer need them ourselves
You might be surprised but i stick to the speed limits. People get past on the motorways by BMWs doing a 100 and the driver gets called an idiot. Do the same driving a Ferrari or a Lambo and they call you a dickhead. The uk roads, especially motorways are not suitable for high speeds due to a slower driver not seeing you- any fool can drive quick until it goes wrong. Drive to the limits and the police leave you alone.
Facts (despite what you may read on internet chat boards): - Laser jammers do work (in many - but not all - cases) and result in no reading if the laser hits your jammer device in the front of the car. - Laser jammers are illegal in some states (already posted) - Laser jammers/detectors do not give advance warning if the car in front of you is lasered. If your laser detector goes off, its because the (very narrow) beam hit your detector. - Radar has a broader beam and can be detected well in advance of hitting your detector. - Cops in many jurisdictions can and do give spending tickets without radar or laser evidence. One of several sources of information on these devices: How Lasers Work
Why worry what other people think, drive to your abilities, and the road conditions. Always be safe, but why not utilise the speed available of a proper car. Keep your wits about you, and anticipate
I agree with all of the above. Yes, an officer can write you up based on visual estimation. Yes, driving a Ferrari or other exotic car really fast on the high way = greater odds of a citation than driving a more mundane car at the same speeds. And yes, laser = focused light so if its going off its either a false alarm OR you're screwed- hence the benefit of the jammer. I agree with Sid (Daytona355) about keeping your wits about you and if theres an opportunity go ahead and take it. I know several (now retired) law enforcement officers and they are all car guys and wouldn't (usually) write you up if you were just stretching some legs. But driving like a maniac, weaving in and out of traffic, you're getting written up. I look at these detectors as just a little extra warning or help that 1/100 time that I might not have picked it up.
Which one would you guys recommend? I'm actually in the process of buying a device for my 458, the goal being acquiring one that is realiable. Smokey can be very sneaky. I've heard of Passport and Valentine-1. Pros and cons? Lots of tech information available but very few accurate feedback from actual users and Ferrari owners. Also not sure how to calibrate a device for my area (southern Europe) if device is pre-configured from factory for a specific (and diferent) area than mine. Kind regards, Nuno.
Use search. There are several threads on this, including first person real world reports that you say are missing. Also, there are head to head tests on the web, I gave one such link above. There are others Finally, laser jammer, laser detection and radar detection are different things. So you need to know which you want and that will influence which brand and model you buy. Wanting it built-in and thus "hidden" vs. dash or windshield mounted is another choice you have o make first. You will want to research the relevant laws in your area too, because the police will know you have any of these devices if they want to (they have detector detectors). And you should research what brands and band of radar and lidar are used where you live and compare that to the bands detected by the various brands.
I have made many comparisons the Valentine1 is far superior for the Ka radar band used by the California Highway Patrol and with their gadgets And apps I have turned off the K & X bands not Used here. The often ignored factor is placement on my 575 I have found the higher you mount it next to the Top of windshield the longer the range. I move it To my other cars a 911,MB E65,BMW340i,and a Panamera this is also true . The other thought is You don't have to drive flat out all the time or like an idiot on a mission to pass every car on the road Weaving in and out of lanes etc. I enjoyed the vintage Experience in a365GT 2+2 just listening to the Engine feeling the car more then a Banzai run In a 458 for a long period of time. Take it to the track or very lonely roads to drive Very fast.
I would imagine things are different in Portugal. But in the USA, I say this as a very long time Valentine 1 user, get the Passport either 9500CI (custom install) or 360Max. The best summary I can give you is the V1 is the best detector of the 20th Century. The 360Max is the best of the 21st (so far). I tried several tests with my V1 vs the 360Max and every time the 360 was better and its anti falsing and GPS learning simply cant be touched- and the 360 has arrows... (sorry to sound like a promotional piece, but thats simply my experience).
Ive never had a problem speeding and being pulled over with a jammer on with the three cars I have it on
Exactly. I don't speed in build up areas, but A/B roads and motorways are free game...Especially here, just outside of Barcelona even the roads are completely empty. Empty motorway = loud pedal. I don't have a detector or laser jammer. Lived here a year now and been stopped once (random stop checking for drunk drivers). In fact since living back in Europe I've been fined once, and, get this...for 1kph over the limit .
Yes you are correct..a big difference between Laser and Radar... I have successfully defended my self in traffic court with errant Radar readings.. But I do have a past military background in ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) and ECCM (Electronic counter-countermeasures) I always enjoy the times when I have been able to discredit so called "experts" brought in....
Jammers are also illegal in the UK. If the police find one on your car you risk a charge of "Perverting the course of justice". That can result in a prison sentence (unless you've got a good lawyer).
They have to not only find it, but prove you used it. Very difficult to do, and so far, having run them for almost 20 years on various cars, they've never ever found it, nor even looked for it. Your average plod these days is so thick, you would just tell him it's a garage door opener and he wouldn't be able to prove otherwise