[Official] What's the Best Radar Detector?

tooohip

Jammers are legal in more states than not. Or I should say, they are not Illegal! ;-) Either way, just as your cop friends, who use their radar/properly, if you use your detector properly, you will still avoid most tickets. As is always said, you still need to be aware of your surroundings and not become lazy because you have the detector running.

__________________
Lance
KW Variant 3 Coilovers | Stillen Sways | Stillen Gen III Intake | AAM HFC | AAM True Dual CBE | AAM Comp Oil Cooler | Hawk HPS Pads | Volk TE-37 | Hoser Keg Tap

wstar

Well there may be a disconnect here talking about the legality of jammers. Laser jammers are still legal in almost all states, but active Radar jammers are illegal throughout the US by federal law (and for that matter, most active radar jammers that were ever marketed sucked anyways). This is a good map for laser jammer legality issues: USA Laser Jammer Laws - Guys of LIDAR

__________________
7AT Track Car!
Journal thread / Car setup details

dcrew1x

I've used the Escort Passport 8500 X50 series for quite some time now.

It works well and you can get them fairly cheap now. I stuck with the RED light version to match the interior of the car.

PASSPORT 8500 X50 - Escort Inc.

My brother has the Valentine 1 and IMO goes off way too much for things on the same frequency other than radar.

There is also the high end model of the passport series:
PASSPORT 9500ix - Escort Inc.

It offers GPS technology to eliminate false alarms and also adds safety/speed camera detection warnings as well.

In the end it depends upon how much money you're willing to spend. GL

__________________

2009 PG 6MT Sports Stillen Gen3 CAI | Stillen CBE | AMS Short Shifter | Nismo Brace Kit

FuszNissan

I hear you, but most cops leave them running, they don't turn them off, and then turn them on when traffic is coming. I have been saved atleast 50 times with my V1, and for that reason. My V1 gets annoying sometimes because it picks up the radar 2-3 miles away. I am sure there are some techniques, but I haven't ran across a cop that had one. Do you think it's because the quotas are low, unless your a motorcylce cop?

__________________
Mods: Too Many to list!
LouFuszNissan
ZDAYZ 2012

theDreamer

Fuzz is right, many cops leave them on. I have driven past a few cops who I was picking up Ka on and then they shot me with laser, great way to give yourself away. Though I do agree, a good cop will properly place himself.

__________________
theDreamer's Z // Fast Intentions // Uprev // GTM // HKS // TEIN
theDreamer's Silvia // URAS // GREDDY
Houston Zs // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

One_Quick_Z

How about not speeding/driving like an idiot at all and that will save you from tickets

I can see speeding maybe 10mph over the limit on the highway but that is it.



DAN

__________________
-My BRZ with exhaust will decimate all if we overnight parts from Japan-

10 Civic EX Sedan- Current Daily

wstar

It's kinda narrow-minded to equate speeding with driving like an idiot. You can drive like an idiot at any speed, and you can drive very responsibly at any speed (given attention to conditions and an eye towards the probabilities of various possible "surprise" scenarios).

You have to remember that speed limits are set to cover not-so-optimal cases. They rated a particular stretch of road as 45mph because they felt that was a safe speed for all legal drivers, even the (unfortunately common) case of a relatively poorly-skilled driver in a top-heavy SUV with poorly-maintained brakes, etc. Think about it: if it's "safe" for a dump truck to be taking a given road at 60mph, would it not be equally safe for a smaller/lighter vehicle with vastly superior braking and suspension performance to go perhaps 80mph (or more, depending) on the same road?

Of course that's considering it from the "one car on the road alone" angle. Beyond that you have to consider the other traffic (e.g., even if your car can safely handle a given stretch at 120mph, it might be very imprudent to do so in medium-thick traffic averaging 75mph). You have to consider how you'll respond to sudden failures and unexpected actions on the part of others, which is why driving at the limit of the car's capability in a non-track scenario is generally a bad idea. You have to have some extra grip and margin of error left for the unpredictable. And you have to be good at monitoring conditions way ahead of you on the road and planning your actions accordingly (and slowing down when you don't have enough data, such as coming up on a tall hill that blinds your view of the road on the other side).

But it is possible for a rational person to drive safely at speeds that are unrelated to the posted limit. Blanket statements like "10mph over the limit is ok, but more is not ok" are just as bad as the original blanket speed limits. They have nothing to do with actual safety at a particular speed in a particular scenario.

__________________
7AT Track Car!
Journal thread / Car setup details

cwj370

I have a radar detector and don't drive like an idiot. The small town I drive through to get to work each day is a speed trap. Out in the middle of nowhere and very little traffic, they have lower all the limits down 5- 10 miles per hour. They do allow 4 miles over before they pull you over. So you are driving along in the middle of nowhere and the limits go from 50 to 40 to 45 and back to 40 within a few miles. It is real easy to let your speed creep up a few mph and we r talking a few mph. So I love having mine, if for nothing other than keep me aware of the different speeds. And it goes off everyday atleast once.

mannyz

Dan, I do have to respect your comment but I think it was out of the line. Nor everyone who buy a radar is to drive like an idiot, sometimes we buy the radar to dont get caught by abusive cops that give you a ticket even if you go 7 miles over, like what happened to me and that make me buy one. Since then I havent get a speeding ticket, also having a radar keep you more aware of what your doing.

Whoever owns a radar knows that they are not ticket safe, but more as an awareness device, every time that thing beeps it makes you either slow down or look at your speed if you are distracted. So I think the comparison of speeding and idiot does not take place.

jginnane

My experience is that most police officers don't mind seeing radar detectors, since these help keep you focused on road conditions.

Our stable of detectors is of the low-rent variety -- a Beltronics 995 in the Z, a Beltronics 995 in the Acura TL, and a Beltronics 965 in the new Honda Element (so it wouldn't feel left out.

My stepson has a Valentine, and swears by it. He needs it. But equipping all three cars with some RD protection is cheaper than his one device. (Ebay: $145, $145, and $85.)

These are good enough for the high-density Jersey driving we do... the biggest rule we follow, besides knowing these roads, is to never be first in line.

Some buying tips: (1) Escort and Beltronics are the same company. The Passport 8500 is probably all the same internals as the Bel 995. I've looked, and they never compare their own models in road tests... we know the 965 is just _slightly_ better than an old Bel RX-55 circa 2002, but not enough to justify a new purchase on K and Ka bands.

(2) Blue LEDs for an extra $40-50 over red LEDs are not as much fun as smoking crack, I'm told. There is no difference btw the internals of the two models. The blue will probably give you more night blindness (but we always run ours in "dark mode" at night anyways.)

(3) Buying in the non-driving season, like around February, is WAY cheaper than when the roads are dry and you want to move. In fact, saving all your electronics buys until the month after Xmas is a great way to say big money. We're still waiting for the Garmin "fusion" device that'll be both an RD and a GPS.

(4) MOUNTING POINTS. Some people like the sun visor. Some like the window. Some like a dash mount. Since we take the RDs down every time we park outside, the glass mount is good enough. As to effectiveness -- at only 60, you're moving 88 feet per second. A few inches up or down in the dash area isn't going to give you more than a few milliseconds. The main thing is to keep it from distracting your road focus.

antennahead

Speeding and driving like an idiot are two different issues. You also mention "I can see speeding maybe 10mph over the limit on the highway but that is it" ....... driving "10 over" on the interstate where I live will get you a ticket for sure in certain jurisdictions. I am a very observant and defensive driver, and never drive too fast for conditions, but as wstar said, "it is possible for a rational person to drive safely at speeds that are unrelated to the posted limit". I like to know when someone is spying on me with radar or laser

John

JB1

After carefully considering the different options, (V1, Escort, Bel) I bought a Beltronics GX65 last year. Tried it out on a Chicago to Orlando road trip over the Xmass holiday and was very pleased with the performance. If nothing else, it made the trip a lot more comfortable, not having to keep an eye on the speedo the whole time. And no, I wasn't racing, a Toyota Matrix is not suited for that type of driving But on long hauls like that it is nice to be able to keep the cruisng speed a few MPH over the posted limit, situation permitting of course.

I now have the detector permanently installed in my Z on the rearview mirror with a "super Z mount" and "invisicord". Overal performance of the GX65 is great IMHO and very nice features are the GPS database for red light camera's and known speed traps and the option to lock out know false allert areas.

ZKindaGuy

The best of the best = the Beltronics STI Driver...and its the only non-detectable radar detector on the market.

wstar

I'm buying a new detector soon. My inclination is to stick with V1 as I have for years, but now I'm starting to do some research in case things have changed lately. Any further opinions on something a person like me (who would pretty much get tickets constantly without his V1 or something similar) might prefer these days over a V1?

__________________
7AT Track Car!
Journal thread / Car setup details

Azroadster

I would go with the V1 but I can't afford the tickets! I have three friends that I travel with all the time and it's amazing how many times that my Escort is screaming at me and the V1's never go off. Two of my buddies have gotten tickets using the V1. I have been saved numerous times by my Escort. To each his own, I guess.

AZ Roadster