[Official] What's the Best Radar Detector?

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.

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.

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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

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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

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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?

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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.

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spearfish25

I LOVE my Passport 9500ix. The GPS capabilities make it worth the price alone. The detection range is superb. I can't figure out why people continue to buy the V1 which is now terribly dated technology with a high false-alert rate.

Do your self a favor...go for the 9500ix. You won't be sorry.

theDreamer

Yes and no, in Houston a lot of cars are still using the K band because it blends in with all the "other" frequencies. Those extra alerts might be officers down a street by a grocery store, cops have gotten smarter with where they sit knowing many people now use radar detectors. I also have my V1 set on L mode, it goes off a bit more than I want but it keeps me alert and I know my area so I know when it goes above a certain level it is a cop.

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thezmonster

get V1 it will save u tickets and it covers 360 around ur car

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.

dainedazz

i gotta question for the ESCORT 8500/9500.
now i know Beltronics & Escort are from the same company.
i currently have a beltronics vector 995 & looking to upgrade to the 8500 in the future.
can the Escort fit in the Beltronics mount? because i have it attached to the stem of my rear view mirror & was wondering if its the same mount? ALSO, is the hardwire kit the same for both?

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jginnane

Have you found anything that says the Escort 8500 is an upgrade?

I'd go to a 9500 or 9500ix if I needed it ... but don't. Escort/Bel doesn't put out a lot of tech detail on their equipment, you might have noticed ... most of the websites that sell these say various models are 8x or 10x as powerful/effective/faster than "Asian imports", but I don't know anyone who's hawking Asian RDs. (You won't find them on Ebay, either.)

You can get these types of answers at any authorized reseller. My personal testing is to drive with 3 different models on at once and see how they respond to actual conditions. Not much difference in reaction time between the Bels and Escorts. Surprisingly, my son's Valentine didn't do so well in a few instances.

wstar

Well, I've been using the V1 for about 10 years now. I'm very familiar with that and comfortable with it, but it was stolen and I need a new one, so I'm just taking the time to shop around a bit once more. Stealth against RDDs isn't at all important to me, as RDs are both legal and common around here. I'm just looking for the best protection possible, but of course that doesn't just mean max sensitivity. Fewer falses than I get on the V1 would be nice too.

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SlikNik

After watching tons of videos on You Tube, and reading about the Escort/passport 9500IX. I will be purchasing the 9500IX.

I always leaned towards the V1 but I think the technology in the 9500IX is superior.