Are window radar detectors worth having if I don’t do a full laser jammer install?

Mine has saved me a few times FWIW. Escort MAX360C

 

We don’t get much Laser use where l live. When they do they are out of their car. If you have good eyesight you can spot them and slow down in time if you are not going crazy fast.

I have no idea what the situation is in Boston.

 

It's definitely worth running just radar. Realistically speaking, a very small percentage of radar detector users also run laser jammers. Furthermore, laser isn't used nearly as much as radar by police. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times over the past few years, in any of my vehicles, that my radar or laser systems alerted me of laser guns being shot at my car. They're that rare, at least around here.

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My town is all lasers and no radar. I have two blinders in front and one in the rear. Saved my ass several times.

 

What town is that? I don’t want to drive in that town.

 

I run a Uniden R3, great detector...except when you're around Hondas/Acuras with blind spot monitoring which sets off K band. The range is absolutely ridiculous on Ka, though, like miles and miles. Used in conjunction with Waze I'd say that's a fairly solid combo (this is why I'm so dependent on CarPlay). I turned laser off, because the only thing that ever set it off around here was my iPhone when I'd pick it up to read something. Different areas have different threats. In Sarasota, I've seen MRCD which I haven't seen yet in Jacksonville. Make sure you have something that does a decent job with MRCD.

Since I bought my R3, they released the R7 which has arrows. But solid detector.

As far as laser jammers, if you live in an area where it's really prevalent, look into a good system. They are expensive but seem worth it, the best probably being the Antilaser Priority system. It's probably the only defense against laser because, once your detector alerts you, you're already screwed.

 

YouTube “Vortex Radar” very knowledgeable about radar and the website lists types of radar prevalent by state. Lots of info on lasers


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I went with the radenso pro m. Only detector that’ll filter our Hondas and Acuras. Been really happy with it so far and it’s definitely saved my butt a few times. Still plenty of falses, mostly from construction signs that have radar in them, but not that big a deal

 

Do you need three heads in front? A 458 doesn't really have a lot of front surface area. I've seen 3 recommended to cover the enormous area of an SUV. Just make sure you have a 3 second lockout on the system so that it either switches itself off, or you are reminded to do so.

 

WAZE is better and its free. I have a Valentine One which is excellent, but I don't bother with it any more.

 

$7500 is insane. Get another quote.. Or better, buy the parts yourself and find an installer. It's been a few years now, but my hardwired radar and quad laser jammers; parts + installation in my GT-R, totaled somewhere between around $3k or less.

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I think the quote is a bit high but it also depends on what they are doing.

Better to use a windshield unit than nothing. And adding in Waze helps. In the end the best thing is to use common sense.

I hear more and more jurisdictions are going to laser- BUT- I've been hearing that for 10 years now!

Maybe try a windshield unit and see what you think- you can always use it in another car....

 

Waze OK in the daytime but gets less and less reliable at night when there are fewer vehicles on the road, the cops are harder to spot and there are simply fewer reports. This is where a RD comes in handy. Waze is also dependent on a data connection, so if you lose that, it may not be as accurate as it could be.

 

I'd say it's still worth it to run a radar detector only. I've used an escort 9500i for the last 10+ years, same unit. It's just now failing to aquire GPS signal and as a result is more chatty, also isn't that good at filtering out blind spot mirrors. It has saved me hundreds of times though. In that time I've also been hit with countless laser attempts, and I got ticketed for such once. I was all about getting an ALP system when that happened, but never ended up doing it.

 

$7,500 is a lot of tickets plus legal expenses. Unless one is on the verge of losing ones drivers license doesn’t seem like a good investment IMVHO.

 

There is the classic Ferrari tax if I've ever seen it!

V1, and situational awareness.

 

I would not be without a good detector with a jammer. Here are my “for it” arguments.

I have a 10 year old K40 with laser jammer and it works great. One sensor on the front and one on the rear is fine because of the low radar profile of the car. 5 years ago I did have to have a technician adjust it to filter out all of the new systems on cars around me and the false reports. I don't get any of those now.

I dont think going “naked” is an option. My son, who is 30, got 1 speeding ticket for 10 over and his insurance doubled on his Hyundai. He has nothing else on his record. His insurance will go down in 5 years when the ticket comes off his record. He tried shopping for other insurance and it was the same everywhere. So the insurance “tax” is quite steep for a simple ticket. Imagine what it would have been if it had been a “display of speed” or something like that.

The alternative in my area is you can go to “traffic school” and the wipe the ticket from your record so your insurance doesn't go up (my idiot son failed to do this). But from my point of view, it is a full day out of your life listening to mind numbing crap and what is that worth to you? Also you cannot get another ticket for 18 months or it does go on your record and you then get the insurance tax.

Also, what is not factored in here when making an economic decision of whether or not to have a detector is your peace of mind and driving enjoyment. I never think about how fast I am going in my Ferrari and never look at the speedo or tach. I drive however I want for the conditions I am in and shift when the engine tells my ear to shift. I also had a Mercedes S coupe that I never got around to putting a detector in. I found when I drove the S coupe I was constantly thinking about how fast I was going and watching the speedo and for cops. It totally detracted from the driving experience (probably part of the reason why I hated the car and got rid of it).

So at the end of the day a good radar detector with a jammer is priceless IMHO.

 

no one knows more about this stuff (and most things) than this guy!!

 

Thanks for the shout out my friend

 

On my M4 I have the Antilaser Priority (3 in front, 2 in back), a V1 radar detector and Waze is always running as well. Both the ALP and the V1 run on my phone as apps - it's set up so that once my phone joins the M4's bluetooth, it automatically runs the apps using the Llama app. Plus you can do a bunch of configuration on the apps that you can't do with the standalone hardware. In the Seattle area, a laser jammer is pretty much mandatory as that's mostly what they use. Now in Vegas, it seems that a radar detector is probably all you need. If it saves you from one ticket, it pretty much pays for itself, unless of course you had it installed by some dude that wants to ding you for $7500.

Don't have anything in the 430 - probably need to get at least a V1. Also www.vorteradar.com is a great website for up to date info.

 

I have a question. What does a cop think when his laser is jammed? Presumably he aimed it at you because you were speeding (I mean he's not going to aim it at a Prius waddling down the right lane).

I have no idea what his laser reads if it is jammed (maybe 0 mph). So does he just fuggedaboudit? If I was a cop (I'm not and never have been) I'd stop the guy and issue a ticket based on my estimate. Now I know depending on state laws that might not be good enough for a conviction, but the guy still has to take a day to contest it.

Just wondering what a cop thinks when his laser is jammed. Maybe we have one here who can comment.

 

A laser jammer has a kill switch typically - some will also deactivate themselves after a set time - 1-3 seconds - it gives you enough time to hit the brakes, shut off the jammer and then let the cops get your speed. The good laser jammers will jam right up to the cops laser gun - known as JTG or jam to gun. If you leave it turned on and the cop can't ever get your speed, then he'll know something is up. If it's not illegal in your state, there's not much he can do, but you're going to piss him off.