Wouldn't say it's the best out there but its a good one.
Whistler XTR-695 Laser/Radar Detector
Got it for Christmas and have been tickled pink so far:bigthumb:
I got a pigtail off of fleabay for 10 bucks and wired into rearview mirror. No dangling wires is always a plus.
i love my cobra iradar. it had iphone/android app to sync with to show u a map of all the speedcams and other stuff in realtime. you can also tag and recieve tags of police campers. uses the gps from the phone and has a ton of features. all this and only 125$
Escort 9500IX check it out costly but absolutly works..........I did a lot of research on units and found this one in my opinion is best for me......there is a post on the board somewhere that is worth reading ......buy no other i'm telling you this one works period. go to their web site and read up
How well will these detectors work against a gun? The two times in the past 10 years I got a ticket, they had a speed trap with a speed gun pointed at people coming down the street. Will any detector on the market pick this up?
How well will these detectors work against a gun? The two times in the past 10 years I got a ticket, they had a speed trap with a speed gun pointed at people coming down the street. Will any detector on the market pick this up?
If it's radar then I'll pick um up 1/4 mile away. I think a lot of cops just leave there gun on so I pick em up when they are cruising in the viscinity. Laser doesn't bleed so much and it would be more difficult to react to if they snap you coming around a corner.
Verry happy with the Escort 9500 ci.
Havent had a need for the laser shifter yet though - 2000 miles so far.
:bluecap:
If they have the instant on guns and your alone you're screwed, if they zapp a car in front of you first then you get a warning. I just drive within reason and don't worry about it.
Ive had two Bel RX 65 radars which have been great but finaly tried out Valentine 1 and it blows away the Bel and Escorts. You can also add a Blinder m20 to jam laser signals.
You will find that some people feel as strongly about radars as they do about auto vs manual and catch cans.
That being said, you may first want to define a budget. You can spend anywhere between ~$100 on the low end and ~$2500 on the high end for a radar and install. Having a budget will help people make recommendations. Do you want a portable or hardwired installed unit?
I have a Escort Passport 9500ix and am happy with it so far. It retails for about $450 and can be installed and powered in a variety of ways. I mount mine low on the windshield so the cord lays flat on the top of the dashboard and then drops down to the power outlet.
Whatever detector you buy, go with the Blendmount. You can also buy a pigtail for the Valentine or Passport that will plug into the back of you mirror. If you have a auto dimming mirror ??
If you want the best go with K40 they run about $400 to $450 been a while since I got mine. This is by far the best not to be rude to forum members those other are crap IMO. K40 backs the product. K40 will pay for "ALL" speeding tickets that you get the 1st year. That is how confident they are in there product. When I was stationed in WA got 2 tickets with in a week totaled about $500 big ones and K40 paid. They do make higher end ones as well with the same type of guarantee. Is how the cop got me was he kept his finger on the trigger when I drove by he got me. When I talked with K40 about it they said its a trick the cops use so your detector doesn't go off. I know some that have been mentioned are good but I believe you get what you pay for. Iv been running the K40 for 8 years now and no issues "knock on wood".
Dude! K40 is overpriced garbage, detecting range is comparable to the $29.95 Walmart special Cobras and such, it ain't a trick the cop is using it's K40 just being typically useless :lol: Try a V1, or expensive Bel, just try one!
claiming one model is above all others is merely a distraction, if you truly want to find out which ones test better, do some research and find out for yourself what options and price point is best for you. A radar detector company that pays for tickets you get simply means the radar detector didn't work well enough to give enough forewarning to avoid getting the ticket in the first place.
Instant on will nail you if you aren't paying attention, but a good detector will pick up instant on when he zaps someone else ahead of you, and you have to be aware of the tones and how to react when you hear it.
Valentine1 has a great reputation for the 300-400 dollar price range, so does the passport 9500, and many of the bel units that are made by the same company as the passports. If you want to see where the radar is coming from, the valentine shows side, rear, and front indicators, passports tend to just alert that it exists. Personally, i prefer the passport solo x2 or x3 because its cordless, has decent range, and has proven dependable over time. Its predecessor was an escort 8500 which performed great for me and also tested on par with the valentine.
claiming one model is above all others is merely a distraction, if you truly want to find out which ones test better, do some research and find out for yourself what options and price point is best for you. A radar detector company that pays for tickets you get simply means the radar detector didn't work well enough to give enough forewarning to avoid getting the ticket in the first place.
Instant on will nail you if you aren't paying attention, but a good detector will pick up instant on when he zaps someone else ahead of you, and you have to be aware of the tones and how to react when you hear it.
Valentine1 has a great reputation for the 300-400 dollar price range, so does the passport 9500, and many of the bel units that are made by the same company as the passports. If you want to see where the radar is coming from, the valentine shows side, rear, and front indicators, passports tend to just alert that it exists. Personally, i prefer the passport solo x2 or x3 because its cordless, has decent range, and has proven dependable over time. Its predecessor was an escort 8500 which performed great for me and also tested on par with the valentine.
"Instant on will nail you if you aren't paying attention, but a good detector will pick up instant on when he zaps someone else ahead of you, and you have to be aware of the tones and how to react when you hear it".
Kind of hard to do that when your the only car around. Also the reason why they pay for your ticket is they are that confident in there product. Read there web site. These are units that go in high end cars. IMO the k40 is the best on open road I have gotten warnings as 5 or further miles away on the highway which is great. I have had others I. The past and they sucked. Which again you get what you paid for. Pay for quality not quantity.
No matter what you purchase, your radar detector is going to be useless against the practice of "Instant-on" speed detection, especially from a police unit strategically placed. You car can't decelerate quickly enough in the split-second that it takes to lock in your speed. That's why it's important to be aware of your surroundings.
Escort 8500 they now have a smartcord that connects to iphone and android phones if you are near other Escort users you are in a rolling social network the system lets the detectors talk to each other and the gps in the phone lets you know you are approaching a potential speed trap. It also include the red light speed camera database.
Gonna throw in my $0.02... Have had a wonderful experience with my Passport 9500ix. Hadn't had one in 7-8 years, previous detector was hit & miss, but boy has the tech come a long way. Paid for itself within a couple of months (two unavoidables I wouldn't have known about if not for the detector). Also highly recommend the Blendmount/Invisicord combo if you want a clean, practically wireless install you can easily do yourself (I'm a mechanical moron & did it) - had to have a clean look for my baby. The range on the 9500ix is more than enough, & the gps feature that "learns" where false alarms are is reeally nice. Didn't think it was that great a feature myself until it started working. I now get zero false alarms near my playground.
There is something to be said about the "Escort Live" products (that network with other "Live" users via smartphones), but I imagine they will have to gain quite a user base to be noticably effective on a fairly often basis. Course, I suppose it would only take one other active user traveling in the opposite direction within a reasonable time period. Though it does require a fairly sizable cigarette lighter adapter thingy, that has another cord that must be plugged into the detector & also requires a paid subscription after the first year (2012).
Re: "Instant on" traps - if you've got a decent detector & get busted by one of these... you're completely relying on the detector, which is not advisable. Going 90mph over a hill, past an exit ramp, past a tree/brush line & other similar "blind" spots, is just begging for it anyway. Though my 9500ix has picked up some sneaky snakes practicing the instant on (via previous trigger pull), I think they forget or don't know how much detector range has improved as of late. Regardless, I still pretty much drive as if I don't have a detector, but when it saves me from those little surprises now and then, it's worth it's weight in gold.
TLDR... from experience, Passport 9500ix works well & is a great supplement / insurance policy for the ultimate warning system/detector - your brain.
With my passport 8500 and solo x2, i've always gotten forewarning with plenty of time to react so i didn't get a ticket to start with. Reading comparison testing, the k40 doesn't perform any better than the others do, although the k40 model that is remote mount with jamming performed decent, it wasn't better than the 9500 tested at.
Mine always detects at least a mile ahead, sometimes 2 miles ahead which is plenty of time to slow down and avoid the ticket to start with, and yes, it picks up instant on when cops use it on others, there is always a chance that you will be the first target, and in that case you cannot avoid it, you will get caught. The solo x2 wireless has worked as well as my 8500 did, and i'm happy with it, and it only cost 380.00, much much cheaper than a k40 and i've never needed escort to pay a ticket for me in 8 years.
Not much to see because it is ci. That's what you're paying for. See my photo album for the most obvious alteration, the forward laser shifters.
The radar detector is behind the front grill/bumber and always out of sight. The rear laser shifter completely blends in with the license plate. The biggest decision is where you want the read out contoller to be mounted - mine is left front of shifter but I can think of better places now like just below the rpm guage in the well - i think in front of the seat belt light would be perfect - but that would require more cutting so to speak - something I tried to minimize. I could snap one pic of this if you like.
Iv seen white heads, driving slow cause all kinds of wrecks. Some day soon I will be one of those white heads.... Driving FAST
What about the jammers ? Bull Sh!t snake oil or not ?
FlatTop
The best place for the display I have seen so far is in our Auto-dimming rear-view mirrors. Even more $$ of course. If ya dont mind, post an interior pic too. Thanks Drifter.
I see this a lot on the forum, but I never actually see a price. Would anyone mind sharing a ballpark on this?
For what it's worth, I'll have to do everything online. This includes paying for a new mirror, the actual radar detector, and labor. I'll have it shipped to me, and I'll worry about installing it myself.
Seems like it would be a much cheaper alternative to the $2k K40/Escort.
Expensive...yes. the very best....also yes. I went to a dealer that carried both the passport 9500ci -and- the K40 Rll 360.
For about $100 more, the K40 is a far better unit by way of performance , and stealth installtion. At least, that is my opinion after having used it now for two months.
Radar detector saved my ass today. Friggin white chevy compact undercover snagged the prius in front of me - showed up on Ka band on a busy 70 mph freeway and wouldn't dissappear for miles. Couldn't believe it but took my foot off the accelerator anyways ... Saved me $300 and points no doubt.
Have only had one save from the laser shifter in 3 months so if your looking to save $$ that would be the first thing to let go.
A rear view mirror install somehow behind the glass would be awesome. As I said before an install in the rpm dash guage well, set in to the lower wall would also be great(see last pic).