[mduchesne]

I am getting ready to order my first radar detector becasue I will definitely be needing it. Anybody have any suggestions? I am pretty much set on a Valentine One, but if someone has comments or has had better experience with a differenent one, I would love to hear it.

Matt

[ShihearKallizad]

100% Valentine one. Nothing even comes close. Especially because it has the direction arrows. Make certain you are getting new one with pop detector. Remove display is very cool too.

[Jerel56]

As I've never owned a radar detector, I was wondering if the dealer can hard wire one into the car and, based on experience, what is the best place to mount one. I should take delivery on my E90 in the next few weeks (hopefully) and, I'm seriously looking at picking up the Valentine you mention above.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Jeff

[schuyler]

Congrats on your purchase Jeff. I have to say from experience that V1 is best out there yet. It can be hard wired into the car (plenty of e46 owners have done it) but I've yet to hear that dealerships will do it for you. You can either do it yourself or have some radio/alarm shop do it. I'm sure there will be DIY writeups on how to do this on the e90 when people finally get their hands on the car. Best mounting is to have the main unit sit somewhere lower where it can't be seen through the windows and then have the remote display higher where you can see it while driving.

Oh, and the Escort 8500 is the only other radar detector that even comes close to the V1.

[Jerel56]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated! Will it work as effectively if I put it below the NAV system. I assume it needs a clear shot through the windshield.

[Jason]

I've always had mine up high on the dash so I'm not sure how effective it is down low. I assume it can still do the job if the main unit is down low because V1 seems to advertise it as such. Check out V1's pdf on their remote display, it says

"The Concealed Display Kit (optional) makes Valentine One less noticeable to others outside your car. It allows you to operate Valentine One with its lights blacked out, yet have a fully operational display module down low in the car where
it’s not visible outside." - http://www.valentine1.com/moreinfo/C...ay_pg18-19.pdf

That makes me think you can just put it lower in the car and still work? Maybe someone can help answer this better.

[booyah]

Yep, I love my V-1! The best detector out there and once you live with the arrows there is no going back to a regular radar detector!

Yes the detector needs a nice clear shot of the open road

[SCA]

V1! Best in the business! Upgradeable too!

[ziv]

The V1 has to have a clear view through the front and rear window, for the arrows to work correctly. If you place it low, the radar antenna will still work, but the arrows (and perhaps the counter) will not be accurate. You should mount it high on the windshield, but make sure it's not being abstracted by any blue tinting, or metal objects, or your rear-view mirror.

The V1 is by far the best RD in the market. I have 2 of them, one in each car. They've saved me a lot of money, and stay reliable through the years, unlike BEL, which stop working after 1 year because their filter burns out (I've had 3).

The V1 is worth every cent. POP isn't that important. Read Mike V's post on POP. He thinks that all of us should write letters to abolish the POP guns from the streets. He actually hates it and says that no radar detector, can accurately detect it, and that no POP gun can accurately measure someone's speed. The burst is too short...

[SCA]

Originally Posted by ziv

The V1 is worth every cent. POP isn't that important. Read Mike V's post on POP. He thinks that all of us should write letters to abolish the POP guns from the streets. He actually hates it and says that no radar detector, can accurately detect it, and that no POP gun can accurately measure someone's speed. The burst is too short...

I just upgraded mine to have POP. $55.00 A few people at BimmerFest have been busted by POP.

[booyah]

I love my V1, I just wish they could make it a little smaller? I have asked them, but it cant be done because of the ant they use and if it was smaller the range would go down.

I wonder why Mike incoorperated POP into his detectors then? Im sure because all the people want it and he had to do it to keep his customers and new ones as well.

[Majikthese42]

I think you might have better luck with a car stereo shop.

I'm a big fan of the V-1 remote display.

I have two cars set up with the V-1 main unit in a Case Logic visor organizer (about $8, Target Stores) mounted on the passenger visor. Other setups I've seen have included main units in the center rear headrest (X5) and under the rear package shelf (M5). Running the connecting wire down the "A" pillar in a car with head airbags can be a challenge, although I've done that on one car.

I also have a couple of LIDATEK laser jammers. BTW, none of this stuff is 100% foolproof and can't protect you from a pace (*&%$#!, I can assure you) and it just may be easier and less costly to try to drive along with the flow of traffic.

[CnoteMD]

I definitely plan on getting a V1 by the time my car comes in.

Does anyone have instructions for hardwiring the V1 in the E90? I have seen the DIY instructions for the E46. Hopefully it won't be much different. Also, does anyone have a good spot for mounting the remote display unit in an E90 with Idrive? The ashtray seems quite shallow in the E90.

Michael

[Heliskyr]

I have not used a V1, but have been using a Escort Passport 8500 for 4 years now. In that time I have logged close to 120K miles (I drive a ton for work), with a huge portion of that being highway or major roads (meaning, well over the speed limit). ZERO tickets, but have been lit up many times, from K to Ka to Laser (lots of laser in WA state).

This detector has saved my butt more times than I could ever count.

You can get the specs from the Escort websites, but a couple of quick points: dual DSP's for enough computing power to sweep the whole Ka range continuously to keep up with the newer Ka guns, very low incidence of false positives (once you turn off X band reception which no one really uses any more), can get hard wire kit relatively cheap (mine was $80 installed), can also get remote laser detector kit that puts sensors on each bumper (never used myself), highly programmable, etc.

Since I purchased mine they have upgraded the unit to the X50 version, which supposedly boosts sensitivity another 50%.

All in all, I wholeheartedly recommend this unit-- it has performed flawlessly for me.

Another caveat-- as others have mentioned, no technology is foolproof, and there is certainly no substitute for a sharp eye for traps and a quick foot to the brake! But this detector will definitely buy you much needed time to keep those insurance rates low!

[Majikthese42]

By request, Valentine-1/Case Logic visor mount setup in an Acura....

[audionet1]

Is "POP" laser? They use laser a lot here in Florida, just wondering if POP was the same thing? I'm gonna need a radar detector - I can't imagine hard wiring it in, I'd be afraid I'd tear something up. Ha

[arnie]

hi matt, whats the price of a good radar detector? i'm trying to source one in the uk.
waiting on delivery of E90 330i
cheers mate

[audionet1]

I found this site while researching Radar/Laser Detectors. These people test various detectors in "real world" conditions and are unbiased. Looks like the Escort X50 takes the cake in nearly every test category with the Valentine trailing a little behind that in performance.

http://www.speedzones.com/

[audionet1]

Also, Check this out; Escort versus Valentine shootout:
http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleID=9090

[romeo26]

is radar decters legal in cali?

[timzerofive]

Now I never owned one so I just want to get a more clear idea as to how it works. First of all, does the cop have to be aiming at you with a radar/laser detector in order for the alarm to go off? If that is the case, wouldn't it be a little too late? In addition, of the few times I've gotten tickets, they didn't clock me, basically just did it by visual. Since this is the case, I'd rather know before the cop is on to me and slow down knowing a cop is coming up. Also, regarding the false alarms... I mean if its tripping false alarm every 5 miles and I'm slowing down every 5 miles, it really defeats the purpose. Can someone shed some light for me.

[timzerofive]

Originally Posted by audionet1

I found this site while researching Radar/Laser Detectors. These people test various detectors in "real world" conditions and are unbiased. Looks like the Escort X50 takes the cake in nearly every test category with the Valentine trailing a little behind that in performance.

http://www.speedzones.com/

Haha part of this article reminds me of that movie the Big Hit - their phone trace buster buster buster.

"...Some radar detectors have a feature called VG-2 Alert. This feature is a true detector-detector-detector..."