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Since I'll be driving the GS home over 1600 miles, I've been pondering whether or not to purchase a Radar Detector. I'm not a huge speeder, it's mostly to keep me honest.
I had an old Passport something something around 6 years ago that was decent, but I've not been up to date with them anymore.
If you have or had one, please do share your thoughts and experiences!
I have an escort 360 max with GPS. I like it, and I believe it is one of the top of the line before you go to integrated systems where you have to drill into the car. I bought a blendmount which tucks it nicely under the rearview mirror and doesn't require modifications. You can use the supplied cigarette style power adapter until you get it hard wired to hide the cords.
I have an escort 360 max with GPS. I like it, and I believe it is one of the top of the line before you go to integrated systems where you have to drill into the car. I bought a blendmount which tucks it nicely under the rearview mirror and doesn't require modifications. You can use the supplied cigarette style power adapter until you get it hard wired to hide the cords.
From looking at the spec sheet, it doesn't particularly mention the benefit of a GPS-enabled unit other than "technology to actually learn your route and automatically eliminate false alerts unique to your daily drive" . Do you have any comments on that?
exedy699, You are correct. The GPS allows for things such as automatic doors, and things you pass on a regular basis to be learned and muted for future drive bys. It also adds the ability to tell you of upcoming speed traps and cameras. I like the GPS feature. It also has a paid subscription you can add that gives live info of hazard locations and cops. I did not pay for the subscription as I don't speed often.
I currently use the Passport, which is a model or two below the 360 Max. It's older but still has GPS, which is nice for traffic cameras and mapping garage doors, etc. The detector certainly saved me from quite a few tickets.
If you're not a "heavy" speeder, you could probably make due with just driving smart and using the Waze phone application. Personally, I run both to make sure I'm good to go.
Don't let it give you a false sense of security, though. A skilled police officer with an "instant on" gun can still lock in your speed. A cop with lidar (laser) can actually pick you out of a crowd of other cars.
I am really used to having one. Like you, I don't go nuts on the road, but it's also easy to get going faster than I thought. Also, when passing on a two-lane, it gives a hint if the car coming at you in the distance might be checking speed or not. So I have hardwired in a Valentine V1.
I have the Escort 360 MAX as well and it is a great detector. As stated above, it has some really nice features and you get the arrows like the V1 has. It is nice to know if they are behind, beside or ahead.
Before I picked up my '14 at the Museum, I only had sat in a C7 twice. Once was at a dealership to make sure I fit comfortably, and the second time was at a different dealership to see how the V1 would work hanging from the rear view mirror.
While I wasn't setting any land speed records on the cross-country return trip, the V1 definitely earned its place in my C7 with the sheer number of alerts it gave me.
I disabled the 'low level' warnings so that just radar and laser would set it off, and didn't have any issues with building securing systems on the drive. It's smart enough to let you know whether it's an actual cop or just someones cruise / braking system, and you'll really come to appreciate the directional arrows as a solid 'quick glance' setup.
As most mentioned it's not so much that I NEED to look out for LEO, rather it reminds me they might be around and to be weary of my speed. I'm not speeding all the time or trying to impress anyone, it's more than anything the peace of mind. I had the Escort Passport some years go which let me know (in the middle of Nowhere AZ) there was a cop a mile out past some hills, which was simply good to know as going down the hill its easy to carry more speed.
Passport Max II here... The passport series shares the same guts so you can get a great detector if you can live without Bluetooth and or directional arrows... Plenty of options which do great. Use the detector, don't be the rabbit; let someone else lead and get blast by laser worst case. Use one of available apps to supplement the detector and its really bullet proof combo with some common sense.
I'll never travel on road trips without one at this point. I use the blend mount but I keep the cord to easily mute the detector. Its not a big deal, but I can live with the cord rather than prying at the detector every time I want to mute the thing.
For longer trips, I honestly get so much more useful data from WAZE. If you can keep an iPad with connectivity within sight distance (or a smartphone), you'll have construction, traffic delays, previously reported police locations, and current map and route plan data available in real time. I used to run with WAZE and radar (Escort 8xxx) and found the radar to be more of a distraction in strange surroundings.
Use your eyes, enjoy some great tunes, the new wheels, and consult your little WAZE screen every so often. The difference between cruising at 5 over versus 20 is a stress free trip that arrives within a few minutes of the alternative. Familiar roads and neighborhoods might be a more suitable deployment for radar snitchers.
Just wanted to add a little info... The technology is changing rapidly. Just a year ago the detectors recommended here would all serve you well, today maybe not so much. New type of Laser speed gun is cheaper and harder to defeat. Almost guarantees you will get the ticket if you are above their threshold.
The technology in the Radar detectors is also different. I looked heavily at the Escort Max 360 and decided against it because of the digital technology it uses. The "M4" design is less effective on certain radar guns, the ones you want it to be most effective on. Also the GPS is a double edge sword. With new Ka band traffic monitors and collision avoidance sensors on many new vehicles the false alarms will be plentiful. The GPS will track where they are however some are moving targets. Evidently you can fill the GPS's memory with this information rendering it useless or much less effective.
I was going to put in a built in system but the only ones that do the entire job, dealing with false alarms, collision avoidance, traffic monitors, new laser guns, instant on radar, segmentation of Ka band and more is the new Escort Max Ci 360 ($3800 installed) or using the AL Priority system with an existing detector ($2000 not installed). Seems those are the only 2 on the market that will get the entire job done. I can pay a lot of speeding tickets for that amount. That said I have only had 2 speeding tickets in 20 years (no radar detectors the entire time).
I had a 9500 ci new in the box but decided against the integrated installation in the C7 and sold it. After looking at many and contemplating the Max Ci 360 I choose to go with the New Valentine 1. It has a couple of features I preferred although it still doesn't do the complete job like the 2 mentioned. The V1 does not have GPS. It deals with the false alarms of the collision avoidance and traffic monitoring systems differently (Junk Filter). It also uses an Analog "M3" sensor that is said to be more effective for distance and for Ka instant on radar guns. The arrows as mentioned are also on the Max 360 but based on the extensive reviews I read, the reaction and accuracy of the arrows is superior on the V1. The V1 also tells you how many signals are being received. Only the newest V1 has the "Junk Filter" and the old ones are an upgrade that cost almost as much as just buying a new one. Another feature I liked about the V1 is the remote display allowing you to run the detector in "Dark" mode. This allows you to mount the display lower than the dash and not have lights flashing in view for everyone around you to see.
I just purchased the new V1. Understanding the limitations of the Laser detector, it still wont be the complete package. Essentially the laser detector tells you exactly when you got the ticket if you use it to speed beyond the threshold of what they let slide. Mostly I'm hoping the analog range of the instant on and the junk filter make it a better choice over the Max 360. It was really difficult to decide between the 2.
As other have expressed, I'm not trying to set land speed records and overall I'm not a lead foot BUT the C7 makes it easy to exceed acceptable speeds. $500 for the V1 is cheap insurance vs. $3800 !!!
Radar Detector?
