radar detectors

[ncwchockey14]

what are some good reasonably priced police radar detectors? are they even worth buying/how many tickets do they actually save you from getting?

 

[2007TahoeLTZ4x4]

how much are you wanting to spend? considering how expensive tickets are

 

[KMeloney]

what are some good reasonably priced police radar detectors? are they even worth buying/how many tickets do they actually save you from getting?

Six. No, wait -- seven. They'll save you from seven tickets, but that's it. And not necessarily seven in a row. It could save you from two, and then you'll get a ticket, but then maybe save you from five straight. It all depends...

SERIOUSLY though... No detector will save you from ANY ticket if you don't slow down in time. But if you drive defensively and let the RD assist you, then you'll soon never want to be without a RD.

I have a Valentine1 -- which is expensive -- that I rely on tremendously for highway driving. The range is great, the arrows are a MUST, and I KNOW that it has saved my butt on a number of occasions. (Even a buddy, who was following me in his car with his radar detector on, called me on the way home from a golf outing to see what kind of RD I had, since mine picked up a well-hidden bogie WELL in advance of his. He literally bought a V1 the next day, and raves about it as much as I do.)

If a V1 saves you from two tickets, it's already paid for itself. Fact is it will save you from many.

/< / /2 /<

 

[05Yukon]

I have 2 Valentine 1's and love both of them. Best radar detector made in my opinion.

 

[Copper&BlackYukon]

I have 2 Valentine 1's and love both of them. Best radar detector made in my opinion.

I second that! I've had experience with them all and the Valentine is the best without a doubt. I have mine hardwired into my yukon at the very top of the windshield above the rear view mirror, with the hidden display sitting flush with the plastic below my onstar buttons. (A great set up for those crappy states that don't allow them)

 

[2007TahoeLTZ4x4]

i found a great deal on a laser jammer (zr3) and a radar detector (sr7) so i have 2 things running side by side which i thought was overkill but it was like a 2 for 1 deal so i figured wth but in retrospect it has saved me from a bunhc of tickets bc i do alot of hwy driving

theres even this small town i drive through all the time and i swear they TRY to get me whenever they see a black tahoe bc i had one cop see me reach into his back seat and grab his lidar gun shrug his shoulders after it wouldnt work and give up (i was at a stop light at the time)

v1s are the **** too though

 

[chris_u]

valentine is good but pricey. if you want one that just a good a the V1 and has a better price get the escort 8500 in blue. saved my butt for the past 4 years.

 

[Stargazer]

I've had my V1 for many years now and it's saved me many times. But like KMeloney said, you still have to drive defensively. Without the V1's arrows, though, I feel like I'm driving blind.

Mine is hardwired into the fuse box and I put my hidden display on top of the steering column:

 

[73shark]

Had an Escort and a Passport and now have a Valentine 1. There's no comparison IMO. V1 is worth the money.

 

[ATM_Football]

:cuss:The only bad news is they can't help you if the cop has a laser gun.

 

[Copper&BlackYukon]

I've had my V1 for many years now and it's saved me many times. But like KMeloney said, you still have to drive defensively. Without the V1's arrows, though, I feel like I'm driving blind.

Mine is hardwired into the fuse box and I put my hidden display on top of the steering column:

I could never run "all bogies" set up on my V1 the thing would drive me nuts. Just curious why you don't run yours in logic mode?

There is a Escort 8500 in my shop truck, and if someone offered to trade it for a V1 I would say yes before they stoped asking.

 

[KMeloney]

valentine is good but pricey. if you want one that just a good a the V1 and has a better price get the escort 8500 in blue. saved my butt for the past 4 years.

Unless I'm mistaken, the 8500 doesn't have direction indicators like the V1. That may be fine if you've never experienced the arrows -- but once you do, you'll never want a detector without them.

 

[tac53lpd]

Not going to help you with laser. My dept. only uses laser. It's only emitting a signal when I'm checking a vehicles speed. When your radar/laser detector go's off it's to late. If I see a radar detector you're not getting a brake. On the flip side we generally don't stop people until their 15 over.

 

[05Yukon]

I could never run "all bogies" set up on my V1 the thing would drive me nuts. Just curious why you don't run yours in logic mode?

There is a Escort 8500 in my shop truck, and if someone offered to trade it for a V1 I would say yes before they stoped asking.

I believe you have an older model on the new ones A stands for automatic. There is no logic mode now. Depending on how old yours is you might want to consider upgrading. You can look on Vantines website to see what can be done to yours and what it would cost.

 

[Copper&BlackYukon]

I believe you have an older model on the new ones A stands for automatic. There is no logic mode now. Depending on how old yours is you might want to consider upgrading. You can look on Vantines website to see what can be done to yours and what it would cost.

Yeah I check for updates a few months back, they said there were some but wasn't worth performing the update. What an awesome company, telling someone they don't need it. I didn't know they changed the setup.

Here is my set up with the flush mounted hidden display...

 

[Blizzardx23]

Not going to help you with laser. My dept. only uses laser. It's only emitting a signal when I'm checking a vehicles speed. When your radar/laser detector go's off it's to late. If I see a radar detector you're not getting a brake. On the flip side we generally don't stop people until their 15 over.

wrong answer...

Radar detectors detect signal in general..If I'm doing 95mph down main street...and my radar goes off because an officer is clocking someone else..Im going to slow down....therefore, its not too late...its early enough to correct your driving before he fires the laser at you..or even notices you at that.

and its a good thing a lot of people hide their detectors these days =) hell...some of them like the newer passports are so small, you could hide it almost anywhere...

 

[DofD]

I've got the Escort 9500ci waiting to be installed at home. Which along with the V1 make up the two best possible detectors out there. Up until now I've used an ancient Bell Vector 3 which has save my bacon countless times. Here's a site for reviews and such http://radartest.com/

 

[KMeloney]

wrong answer...

Radar detectors detect signal in general..If I'm doing 95mph down main street...and my radar goes off because an officer is clocking someone else..Im going to slow down....therefore, its not too late...its early enough to correct your driving before he fires the laser at you..or even notices you at that.

and its a good thing a lot of people hide their detectors these days =) hell...some of them like the newer passports are so small, you could hide it almost anywhere...

Yep. Very true. Now, if YOU are the one getting hit with laser, then yeah, it'll be too late to slow down, since laser is pretty much instant. But if someone up ahead of me is getting hit with laser, then my V1 will pick it up, and I'll react accordingly.

 

[Stargazer]

I could never run "all bogies" set up on my V1 the thing would drive me nuts. Just curious why you don't run yours in logic mode?

Mine is an older model so it is setup on "All bogies." I guess I just like to know my surroundings. I know the patterns of sounds and number of radar devices in an area and at intersections. It helps me notice anomalies. Plus, I'm too lazy to reprogram it :lol:.

Radar detectors detect signal in general..If I'm doing 95mph down main street...and my radar goes off because an officer is clocking someone else..Im going to slow down....

That's right. As long as you drive smart and are not the lead car, you'll be warned--although seeing the cop jump out and stop the car in front of you is pretty good warning, too .

 

[Blizzardx23]

true..but a lot of times...cops sit there and shoot people till they find one speeding...if your radar catches one of his non speeder shots, and he has no reason to move because the car he clocked wasnt speeding...you will have slowed down by then..even though he'd still be hidden =)