ExRedRacer

I may be looking to get a Radar Detector soon for this ridiculously fast blue car in my garage. I do the I-5 North trip to Mt. Vernon every so often and there are some nice 70 mph stretches along the way and it's really easy to go way beyond.

Any recommendations for a device that sniffs out the WSP?

JETninja

I recommend the Beltronics Pro500, it has GPS so you can tag false alarms (they are everywhere!) and it will remember them. Amazon has a great price atm.....

HDLARRY

I haven't looked at radar detectors for a few years but when I did, the consensus was the Valentine 1 for highway driving and Escort 9500ix for city driving. I'm sure that there are improved models by now.

Non of these things do you much good against the instant on radar and laser guns unless your lucky enough to catch a reflection off a vehicle ahead of you.

The best information I ever found regarding this subject was on the radar detector forum. They try to present information on the different manufacture models in a non biased way. http://www.rdforum.org/content/which...-should-i-buy/

c4cruiser

In the Thurston County area, laser units seem to be the most-used devices. I see lots of WSP vehicles parked on the side of I-5 with a Trooper holding a laser unit or the instant-on units out the window of their vehicles. Motorcycle Troopers are nearly always using laser. Then there are the airplanes....

Kevin_k

Valentine 1 for highway for sure is the best. Its a bit expensive compared to others but you get what you pay. The Valentine 1 is very sensitive and will detect Radar a long way off. Using it in the City you get a lot of fails positives. If a cop is using instant-on radar your chances of detecting it before he gets you go down but you still have a fighting chance. The Valentine 1 does detect laser however if you get the laser pointed at you and you are speeding no way will you be able to slow down before your caught. Laser unlike Radar wont be bouncing off other cars etc.. so you get almost no warning when it is being used. The only thing about Laser that helps the speeder is that it has to be stationary so a cop cant just be driving around with it on in an unmarked car and get you. As for airplanes... I go with a lawyer to fight the ticket.

Knob Jockey

WSP primarily uses Laser on I5 from my experience. My V1 helps me spot their 'hiding' places when hit. Staying at 10 mph over the speed limit doesn't seem to ever attract their attention.

They are also using more cleverly disguised unmarked vehicles to catch speeders/aggressive drivers. Red Ford F150 pickup with strobes in the tailgate and a full size SUV with a big Seattle SoundersFC decal in the back window were two surprises.

I like the V1 because my main use is when I'm out exploring new territory and the arrows let me know if I can ignore an alert or not.

With so many cars using Laser/Radar as driver's aid, false alarms are everywhere and cannot be programmed out using a GPS-based database. The new V1's have a filter for this ("Junk Fighter") but I don't know how effective it is.

Getting the free Waze app for your smartphone is very useful on I5 or any busy route. It's peer-based and I've found it to be a great addition to the detector.

last901

All good advice.

Wildmanht

I have moved my car to Washington and it lives at my GF house until I move there for good. Have to say my Escort 9500ix picks up all signals freeway or city in Washington with no problem. Saved me sooooooo many times in So Cal as well. My GF loves it when she drives my vette that we are getting one as well for her ride.

As someone mentioned, the Ford F150 LEO trucks as well as the really unmarked cars are what you need to watch out for...

jrprich

I have used Escort products for 20+ years and my Escort 9500ix has never let me down. The GPS feature is very useful at blocking local signals that are no police radar. The Escort 9500ix has now been replaced by the new Escort MAX 360 that has all the features of the 9500ix plus directional arrows similar to the Valentine.

SmileyOr

the Waze App has been very useful when traveling the hiways in Washington and Oregon.

mr84monte

My 9500ix is in one of my trucks that I drive in rush hour, and in the last year or 2 has become kind of annoying due to collision avoidance. I seem to get around one of those cars on my way to and from work, which gives off false alarms, then traffic flow either speeds or slows and I always seem to catch up to them or vise versa. The vette has a Max 360, but since I don't drive it that much it's taking awhile to learn false hits, but for sure has less false hits from collision avoidance. At least with the arrows on the 360 and V1 you can figure out if you need to speed up or slow down, which I didn't think was a big deal when I first bought my 9500, but after it beeping at you off and on for 10 miles in traffic you start to wish you had arrows. They say that the V1 is quicker to pick up and change arrow directions, but has lots of false hits. Along with the detectors I also use waze.

NOWUCME

"None of these things do you much good against the instant on radar and laser guns unless your lucky enough to catch a reflection off a vehicle ahead of you." They also use to say you had to have a laser jammer system to beat laser and none was known.

If they just sitting by the road or coming towards you with a radar gun on you may get a hit early enough to help. ??

DidntSettle

I agree. I think they will indicate that you are about to receive a ticket more than guard against one. I have ridden with cops and seen how these things work. Instant on, and you are toast.

Grim Reaper

I run a Passport 9500ix and have had no issues.

danh52

Move to Oregon LOL. The cops seem to be MIA here lately, it you aren't going at least 10 mph over on the freeway you'll get run over.

I have a V1 but haven't used it for a long time. Not complaining

KenHorse

Same here, have had it in my C6 and now my C7 and it works just fine (saved my *** a few times it has!)

last901

Wow, lots of great advice and information here. Just enough to make a decision not only on which detector to buy, but to wonder if you should buy one or not. I can't anything to the discussion thus far, except to mention some thingsI've experienced.

The last speeding ticket I received was by way of instant-on radar. I "earned" it for my failure to see the signs that reduced the speed through a stretch of I-5 that had some construction work underway. I'd used this route many many times and it had always been 70 mph so when I saw theState Patrol car ahead, I slowed down gradually to about 73 as I passed the trooper as my Passport detector blared away. The trooper pulled me over and gave me a ticket for 13 mph over. That's when I learned about the reduced speed signs a couple miles back.

Now I made no complaints and accepted the ticket without fuss, thinking that my "proven method" of beating radar tickets in court would bail me out yet again.

Wrong, and I won't go into my process since it no longer seems to work. BUT.. when I looked at the citation I noticed there was a box for the officer to check if the violator was using a radar detector. I guess he failed to se my Passport but I'v wondered ever since what might have happened had I taken it to court and the citation noted my use of my Passport. Wonder if the LEO's still have that option to note on the citation and what, if any, additional penalty might result.

Secondly, even my highly rated Escort Passport would drive me nuts sometimes with all the false alarms and bogus readings. I finally just stopped using it and drove more carefully. Easier and easier to do as I reached the point where I became eligible for AARP membership.

There are still times when I wish I still used it, but haven't received a ticket since and don;t miss the distraction of the detector.

Oh, one final note. It seems that my tried and true method of beating these tickets in court doesn;t really work anymore. I guess I wasn't the only one to read the book and so the court system knows how to counter my process. If you do want to contest a ticket, I suggest you hire a good lawyer.

YWZ08

Not in Portland. You can't even go the speed limit most of the time...lol

ExRedRacer

Thanks for all the responses and recommendations...I appreciate them.

I've decided to forgo getting one, at least for now, and depend on that Waze app and common sense. I'm going to take the several hundred dollars a detector and proper mount would cost and use it for some Christmas shopping for those seven grandchildren of mine.

AaronZ51

That sounds like a good plan for now, Joe. I've been using a V1 for about 20 years - I sent mine in about 10 years ago for an upgrade (less than half the cost of buying a new one). Most times I don't go fast enough to worry about getting a ticket but I still like to know where traps are.

I've been following this post and reading more on the latest technology since I'm either moving my V1 from my current car to my new one or upgrading it since I'll likely still be driving my '08 - it has Michelin all-season tires that are rated for cooler weather.