If you got the ticket for doing the speed limit, you ether really pissed off the cop or ran into bad one, most of the cops aren't going to go out of their way to nail you unless you drew their unwanted attention like acceleration, passing or loud pipes, tint etc.

The only times I had cops give me BS tickets is when I did something that drew their attention, we all hate to admit it when you get pulled over that you did something wrong in the first place.

Nope, he even admitted to my lawyer he did it just because he saw a young adult in a sports car. Figured he could write a ticket and I would just pay it, my lawyer told him if he finds him doing it again he will file against him for suspension.

But back to your point, a radar detector is viable even at $500 per unit and a very good asset to assist a driver.

There are to many situations where they don't work at all and even with the hope that you have the best system out you still need the laser jammer mounted into grill and a radar detector mounted in another area.

Then you need to hope and pray that you get some reflections off someone ahead to warn you and if the cop is using LIDAR or a instant on or hand triggered unit, your nailed.

So with the short range of current detectors ( no time to slow down) and laser and LIDAR, then why even waste the money on them.

Oh good we are back to a logical discussion.
Define short range, I can pick up cops easily 1 mile away with the V1, if that is not plenty of time to shut it down then you are going waaay to fast. Also, I don't think anyone here will argue you can beat a laser offense, yet. You can try to disable there end with jammers but I have already posted many states are shutting that option down.

Also, the "average" cop is not going to be using effective offensive techniques. They use the easiest method for them, switch on/off K or Ka or even just leave the signal actively on, this will quickly be picked up by any decent radar detector.

You are just wrong. Sorry. Any time you have ANYONE around your car who is hit you WILL pick scatter for an instant on KA shot. It's just the facts of how radar works. The only time you are defenseless is when your alone for miles down the road.

Lidar is stupid easy to beat with jammers which work on EVERY current lidar gun. And it's really a moot point since 90% of the patrol LEOs that you encounter don't have Lidar equipment.

I'm starting to think you are just a troll. You can go read countermeasure forums that have actual LEOs on them and they know what works.

so unless a radar detector works 100% of the time in all situations it is a waste of money? :icon14:

my x50 has saved me from a number of radar traps. i got the warning before a bend, slowed down, saw the leo when i came around the bend, smiled and went on my way unmolested. the savings in insurance alone makes it worth it.

now it didn't save me from the ticket when i got tagged with lidar, but i don't have a jammer, and never expected it to save me in those situations. :tiphat:

a smart driver with a good detector can get a ton of value from it.

Here is a police radar industry link to show you what you are up against.

http://www.mphindustries.com/pdfs/POP%20Technology.pdf

Just for the hell of it I picked up the best xrs 9570 cobra radar laser detector with POP, best buy had and went trolling for traps in the Z. I know ppl will say its a crap detector, but with their 15 day return policy I figured I would play around.

Overall it did indicate 4 mc cops with KA that came up behind me , in about a 10th. mile away, really no time to slow down if speeding. Next a local PD set up stationary KA band only tenth mile warning. Next ran into 3 situations of state police set up and the same thing KA warning only about 1/8 mile .

Next a state police following me keeping his distance, it didn't go off at all, even with him tailing me for 2 miles and keeping slightly under the limit.

Also tried to see if a laser pointer or infrared remote would trip the laser function and it did nothing.

Ended up returning it to best buy and just happened to run into another customer returning an escort 9500 ix and I told him what I encountered and he said the escort was about the same and didn't give adequate warning to slow down. He was returning it and waiting for the lastest escort model to hit the market.

I might try the top escort model when it comes in to really see if these work, with the best buy return policy its worth a shot, but so far from what I have encountered with the lastest cobra they are still useless.

So it detected 8 out of 9 cops you ran across? And there's no way to tell if the last actually had his radar on? If 1/10 of a mile isn't enough time to slow down, how fast are you going? And using Cobra to illustrate your point doesn't really prove anything. They're crap.

Since you're convinced that the plural of anecdote is data, I'll counter your scientific testing with my own. Today alone, my Escort pointed out three cops with plenty of room to slow down.

Not to mention you've complained about "biased reviews" every time a counterpoint to your position has been submitted, but your link above is the manufacturer of POP radar. Are we pretending they're not biased to sell a product too? Even that link shows that a radar detectors work for traditional signals. POP is not impossible to defeat unless you're the only one on the road. A good detector will pick up the splash from others being radared.

Did not speed during the test of the cobra unit. I would have bought the escort 9500 ix and play with it, if it wasn't for the guy returning one already , that said it didn't detect much better than the cobra unit I tested.

So I decided I'll try the escort max when it comes out and see if its any better.

Even with the claims of the one radar review that is supposed to be an ex radar cop and instructor on the escort 9500 ix , it still failed to detect the Lidar or laser and even if a cop waits till you are insight and uses the instant on function. It boils down to once he sees you and sets the detector off , he will of already nailed you.

So even if the detector works 50% of the time , the odds are stacked against you no matter what you do or how much you spend.

:iagree: You took the words out my mouth. Plus, let me reiterate the Cobra Radar is a Pieceoshyt... If that's his test point???? lol. This whole discussion was meaningless.

Laser/Lidar will not be defeated without a separate laser jammer. It's silly to use that as a knock on a RADAR detector.

I actually had a cobra 9570 and it worked pretty well! Saved me several times on the highways of Austin and on windy roads around lake Travis. I had no complaints with it besides the fact I read all the hype about the escort and sold my cobra to my mom. They both give me ample warning.....

Funny how all the actual owners of radar detectors seem to all report that their unit has saved them multiple times when they apparently don't work.

I have owned both the cobra 9570 and now the escort. To be honest as stated before, they both work. The cobra worked very similar to the escort. The only thing I would argue is that the escort has better range, but the cobra 9570 gave me plenty notice of KA band when cops were hiding under bridges on the freeway. They ave both gave me plenty of notice doing 85 on a 65. In my opinion if someone doesn't want to break the bank the cobra works fine! And I would have kept it but my mother wanted one and I got the escort. Major difference? No not really! If you get hit by a laser and are speeding "it's to late" you might as well pull over! Got hit twice on a trip to Colorado with the escort. 2 tickets with laser. But a speed trap or cop using K, KA the detectors either or work pretty well. They do work! It just depends on if the cop has his radar gun on!

^ Exactly. A radar detector by itself is not going to save you from all tickets (as csgleon proved). I have a 5 year old Beltronics STI and it works just fine for RADAR, does nothing for the state police that use mostly if not all laser guns. If you want protection from laser, buy a laser jammer, if they are legal in your state. I had a Laser Interceptor on my 350Z and it performed amazing, gives you time to slow down and then turn it off so they can get a reading of your speed. If you are relying on just a radar detector for protection you are going to have a bad time and will be spending $ for tickets.