Next mod: Radar dector
 

What's the best radar detector I can buy? That's definitely going to have to be my next mod as I've only had my car for 4 days and have managed 2 tickets. I've had a few in the passed but none ever seemed to work very well.

hey i believe there has been a post about it somewhere if you just :search: it helps alot

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22650

Because radar detectors are just about worthless now days. Cops are using laser to clock your speed. Try slowing down speed racer

A lot are still using traditional radar in my area. I'd say your mileage may vary.

valentine 1

Intuition>detector...IMO

local jurisdictions are using conventional" ka,or k" band.state police generally use laser.laser units are very expensive and "state" budgets will allow,but local town budgets, generally not.

Or you can just let people be. Who cares if they dont use the search function . Sometimes people want to have a new discussion and not wanna have to post in a thread that has a lot of posts where no one will see them because its so long.

Valentine 1 and Escort Passport 9500 are the ones to look at. The V1 is tried and true, while the Passport is more high tech. I have a V1 personally and it works well. Laser jammers and sprays exist but I don't believe the success rate is very high for them. Having a laser detector isn't particularly helpful either as once you get the warning, you're already busted. Intuition is very important when it comes to not getting caught. Try to remember where cops hide on the roads you regularly take, and don't speed through unfamiliar areas.

I believe the correct answer for me to reply with is "don't speed" but I know that never worked for me, so I won't bother telling you something I'm sure everyone else will.

val 1 points to were the radar is transmitting,and generally
it gives more than ample warning so you can adjust your speed

nah i was just making sure to show him that some other people have spread there own opinions already :respekt:

Budget: Beltronics Vector V955 (very good bang/buck performance)

City driving: Escort Passport 9500ix (eliminates false alarms)

Top performing:

Valentine 1: Arrows give useful info on where the threat is coming from
Escort Redline: Best range detection

No budget: Look into remote installed detectors

No radar detector will save you from tickets, but I've always liked having an extra pair of "eyes" on the road to let me know of anything I might not see.

Best practices are to:
1) Not speed of course
2) Use a "rabbit"
3) Know your area

Well thanks for all the replies gentlemen. Knowing my area is important I'm very aware of that, but for some reason when I drive the frs I kinda just forget where I am and start imagining a perfect world free of cops with radars . . . guess I gotta snap out of it and start keeping my eyes peeled more

I've heard many times by the time the thing goes off they already got you. Save your money and just buy speakers for that stock stereo my friend. Or get blinders which prohibit them from clocking you. Check your laws though they are illegal in some places, in texas its legal... but what isnt legal in texas... seriously?

If it's legal in your area I'd recommend a laser jammer on top of the detector... it gets expensive, but that's what will really save you.

I've been watching for a deal on the Passport 8500ci plus. Pricy as hell but after living with windshield mounted units I'd like to get the receiver out of the interior.

I use an Escort Solo
 

Mounted to rearview mirror stem with bracket.

Not a guarantee of not getting tagged... but it sure helps sniff out where the LEOs tend to position themselves (or hide); you learn where not to speed. On the highway... I've had this puppy sound-off way in advance of a state trooper parked along the highway with rearward radar or lidar.

To OP... 2 speeding tickets in 4 days? Be safe!

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psb6fb20dd.jpg

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...ps67340271.jpg

I've always wanted a radar dector but where does one purchase such an item?

^^^THIS^^^

And slow down please.

The Escort Passport 9500ix can optionally hook up to your smartphone; whenever someone with one picks up a laser or K band it automatically broadcasts the GPS coords to their server, which then warns all of the connected smartphones in the area. It's pretty much the only laser countermeasure other than jamming.

I'm planning on getting a 9500ix + direct wire cable + proclip setup.

Valentine 1. Pricey, but good. Also nice that you can remote mount a display, and hard-wire in the unit (at extra cost, of course).

A nice (free) tip is to get good at reading brake lights. If you're driving down a freeway a bit faster than you should, and you see people start to brake up ahead, it's a good indicator that there might be a patrol car in the median or coming from the opposite direction. Works like a charm, and you can get really good at spotting what is normal braking (like for traffic flow) and what is more "panic" braking (for a previously unseen cop)

A Valentine 1 and Laser Veil paint will give you at least a little bit of time to slow down if you get lasered from a distance. Requires good intuition, etc, to avoid getting blasted by a laser gun point blank.

Internet shopping is a nice way to go. I found the Escort Solo -- refurbished -- for 50% off of new. Lots and lots of evals on the Internet... Find one with good evals and then shop for your best deal. Valentine always scores top-o-class... and it is a little spendy.

Self-control. Though if I wanted to I'd spring for a Bel STI-R plus or 9500CI; these are custom installed/remote mounted units with GPS capability.

Unfortunately true. If you live in a dense metropolitan area that's over-policed with many jurisdictions crammed into so much square mileage, it's a fair bet they're running laser. Last I checked on the subject, my county cops ran laser and state troopers run radar in the cars while driving with standalone laser guns if they want to setup a trap. I can't say that with much veracity, but it's what I've heard from the few local LEOs I've spoken too.

Valentine 1 ... I own one of the first year production models.

I've sent the unit back for "refreshing" 4x's now at minimum cost.

So it stays current wth all the r bands and laser updates...

Looking ahead (line of sight speeding), staying out of the hammer lane when possible and using trafic in front of you as blockers.

Also checking your 6 every 30-45 secondsHTH,

HAZMAT

"smart play!" "blending" with traffic,being careful when traveling through
"smaller" communities,and paying attention to the unit when it "lights up" (arrow indicating direction of radar)
especially if the warning is weak (val 1),as this can indicate traffic being "sampled" by "instant on" straight ahead,
or even behind when a fast mover.(black & white) is coming on. most important,is when the thing "touches off" to slow down
until you can ascertain if it's a threat,or not.

Marijuana.

A combination of your speedometer and the speed limit signs? :happy0180:

^My choice^

Beltronics makes damn fine units if you can't stand the ugliness of the V1. Also you can get a non-coiled power cord for the 12v behind the glove box and mount that puppy right up next to your rear view with the cord running along the headliner.

Works great.

I like this: (coming preloaded with Redlight camera locations is nice)
https://www.beltronics.com/store/pro...d=16212&cat=25

I like my radar detector, not because I'm a speed demon but because cops are not in the business of safety. They are there to generate revenue and we have a lot of cops that will ticket you for 2mph over, especially if you're in a construction or school zone.

Not getting a ticket is always easier than fighting one or paying one. This advice is from someone who doesn't like driving more than 5mph over the limit.

Word. I can always pay my attorney to dismiss them of course but I always much rather not have them at all.

Budget minded (~$200): Get the Beltronics RX65 Pro with the S7 antenna (not the newer one with the M4 antenna). You can tell because the serial number ends in S7 instead of M4. Can be had used for under $200 on eBay. This unit has sort of a cult following among radar enthusiast. It's an excellent performer for the money. You cannot get better bang-for-the-buck than this detector. I have one of these that I take with me when I travel and am renting a car or traveling with someone else that doesn't have a detector.

Excellent Range & Information ($400): Valentine 1. The V1 is still a strong performer in tests done across the national and the detector I personally use. As far as out-right range goes, the V1 is usually one of the better performers in this category, but for traditional radar range isn't as important to me as information. The bogey counter as well as the arrows provide excellent information about the signal. No other detector offers this level of information to the driver about the signal. Mike Valentine prefers the term "Radar Locator" for his V1. The newer V1s can also pair with a SmartPhone via a Bluetooth adapter to provide even MORE in-depth information about the signal. I haven't had a chance to play with this yet because my older V1 doesn't have this feature, but I am considering sending it in to be upgraded to support it.

Excellent Performance & Features (~$500-$550): The Escort 9500ix is an excellent performer with one fantastic feature set. The GPS unit to eliminate false signals in a city environment is fantastic. If I didn't already own a V1, I'd consider this heavily, but most of my driving is country highway and interstate, so the falses aren't as annoying to me as someone who would drive in the city a lot. Another consideration in this category would be the Escort Redline which doesn't have the GPS features of the 9500ix, but it has the best off-axis performance of just about any detector put up against it. Both of these detectors can be paried with the Escort Live cable and a smartphone to add more crowd-sourced data (and GPS to the Redline) for a better experience.

Money to burn ($1300+)? The Beltronics STiR Plus is probably the way to go, but I've got no experience with it. It's Radar Roy's favorite detector of 2012 and performs outstandingly in independent tests, but at a price tag of $1300, it better. Others have also mentioned a laser jammer, which is really the only effective defense against laser and worthwhile if it's widely used in your area. It's not very common in my neck of the woods so I don't have any advice to offer on them.

More information that you could ever want to learn about RADAR/LIDAR systems at my favorite site for this, http://www.radardetector.org. If you haven't heard of Radar Roy and you're an enthusiast, he's got some good reads!

past*

There is a better thing than using a radar/laser detector, you might want to do more reading on it, it's called "don't speed." try it, that stuff works

i know, crazy right? :o

Auto service guy at walmart says hes running iRadar, just a $100 and works perfectly? He told me its undetectable in Canada too ( because its coming from your phone).. wondering if anyone tried it?

Beltronics v10 blows

i returned it 2 days ago, just saying

this is outrageous advice,but the real beauty of these devices is when you are NOT paying attention to your speed as opposed to outright speeding.many local cops will pull you over for 5 over,because it becomes a "revenue" issue with them.believe it or not,if they got ya locked up for 5 over,it still is tough to beat it in court,ESPECIALLY if it's a small town jurisdiction with a money flow problem...just sayin'

How do you even get tickets in this car? Takes me like a year to get up to highway speed it's so slow!!!

Also OP must not be the sharpest tool in the shed if he can't seem to match the numbers on his speedo with the numbers on the signs around him. I think they teach you numbers and counting pretty early on in school right?

Ummm... it's your job to be paying attention to everything when you are driving.

of course,but the point is,"sometimes" EVERYONE allows their speed to get a little high for the existing conditions,and having a radar detector warning you allows you to adjust your speed,BEFORE you get caught! just sayin'