Best radar detector around $200-$250?
#41
Safety Car
Member Since: Dec 2009
Location: Lake Havasu City Arizona
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SoCal Events Coordinator
St. Jude Donor '12
I've had the V1 since 2009 and its saved my butt many times. It does detect Lidar but as others have said if you get a direct Lidar hit then you've been had. I like the V1 as it tells me where the radar is coming from such as coming at me from the front, coming from behind or left or right. Its a bit pricey, around $499 as i recall. Service is excellent. Lots of false hits but you can turn most of them off. Range is excellent depending on the terrain. 2 plus miles and probably more on the wide open highways. I have zero complaints about it.
#42
Intermediate
Wow...in 20 years of stopping cars I have stopped them all...I would buy a system that will pay the ticket if I get one. Saw one car with jammers and everything. Now that may save ya some money if you get caught often. Anything else is just a shot in the dark. Bty Vetts are harder to catch anyway lol. Drive safe and Smart!
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FYREANT (12-24-2017)
#44
Drifting
My $0.02.
Blend mount? Nah, makes it really hard to see to the right.
I’ve been using a V1 for 20 years. I’ve got two of them and I’ve sent them back for upgrades a couple of times. Since nobody used x band or k band where I live I’ve turned both of them off. That eliminated 90% of falses. The arrows are great. They have saved me several times. I like that the V1 is smallish. I use the suction cup mount just inboard of the sun visor, next to the mirror. Hardwired to the mirror tap. Visor still works, not obvious at all.
Certain led taillights light up the laser alarm, oh well.
Nothing will save you if you are by yourself.
Blend mount? Nah, makes it really hard to see to the right.
I’ve been using a V1 for 20 years. I’ve got two of them and I’ve sent them back for upgrades a couple of times. Since nobody used x band or k band where I live I’ve turned both of them off. That eliminated 90% of falses. The arrows are great. They have saved me several times. I like that the V1 is smallish. I use the suction cup mount just inboard of the sun visor, next to the mirror. Hardwired to the mirror tap. Visor still works, not obvious at all.
Certain led taillights light up the laser alarm, oh well.
Nothing will save you if you are by yourself.
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FYREANT (12-24-2017)
#45
Do you have a link that tells what's used around the state and where?
Only around Salem and I5 will you see lidar and you can see them first if you look hard enough.
You know that spot out east of the Stayton cut-off on Hwy. 20 where the road turns from 2 lines to 4 lines for a nice, long straight stretch?
It's a well known speed-trap.
Often there is a cop parked up against the trees on the south side of the road (usually a dark gray Mustang).
Anyway, I was westbound coming from Sisters and didn't realize I was approaching that stretch until it was too late.
Came around that blind corner and there he was.
Had my detector on and I was quick on the brakes, but it was too late.
The INSTANT-ON feature got me.
Actually, I would prefer something that would melt a LEO equipment.
Last edited by sunsalem; 12-24-2017 at 08:27 PM.
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sunsalem (12-25-2017)
#47
Escort 9500ix here + Blendmount + mirror tap on Amazon.
The 9500ix is amazing, been using it for many years... Picks them up so far away it’s stupid, has GPS for light cams, has GPS memory for false alarms, etc. all you need. Considered one of the top market contenders like V1. V1 is nice but I like the 9500ix better.
The learning curve is nothing, just pay attention to KA band and don’t worry about the rest (except laser).
Saves me at least once every 2 weeks.
The 9500ix is amazing, been using it for many years... Picks them up so far away it’s stupid, has GPS for light cams, has GPS memory for false alarms, etc. all you need. Considered one of the top market contenders like V1. V1 is nice but I like the 9500ix better.
The learning curve is nothing, just pay attention to KA band and don’t worry about the rest (except laser).
Saves me at least once every 2 weeks.
#48
Le Mans Master
It is very easy on the V1, just pull the power cord out and then slide the radar detectors mount off the Blendmount base. The Blendmount uses the V1's suction cup mount (remove suction cups and put screws in their place) as the transition from the Blendmount to the V1. Maybe 20 seconds if you are slow.
My $0.02.
Blend mount? Nah, makes it really hard to see to the right.
I’ve been using a V1 for 20 years. I’ve got two of them and I’ve sent them back for upgrades a couple of times. Since nobody used x band or k band where I live I’ve turned both of them off. That eliminated 90% of falses. The arrows are great. They have saved me several times. I like that the V1 is smallish. I use the suction cup mount just inboard of the sun visor, next to the mirror. Hardwired to the mirror tap. Visor still works, not obvious at all.
Certain led taillights light up the laser alarm, oh well.
Nothing will save you if you are by yourself.
Blend mount? Nah, makes it really hard to see to the right.
I’ve been using a V1 for 20 years. I’ve got two of them and I’ve sent them back for upgrades a couple of times. Since nobody used x band or k band where I live I’ve turned both of them off. That eliminated 90% of falses. The arrows are great. They have saved me several times. I like that the V1 is smallish. I use the suction cup mount just inboard of the sun visor, next to the mirror. Hardwired to the mirror tap. Visor still works, not obvious at all.
Certain led taillights light up the laser alarm, oh well.
Nothing will save you if you are by yourself.
Another factor on the decision is,Does the LEO Know you have a detector? Some states they are outlawed.If they flash you could get a ticket just because you have one.
Last edited by DALE#3; 12-25-2017 at 08:41 AM.
#49
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Dec 2008
Location: Mount Airy NC
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C7 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
I have to agree with all of you that are happy with the escort 9500ix. I have had mine since 2009 and have not had one ticket. It a very good detector with great gps features that are pretty much automated so there is nothing the owner neeeds to do to lock out repeat alarm warnings. Now with all that said; I purchased an R3 several months ago and ran both the 9500ix and R3 side by side on 2 road trips along with waze just to see how they compared. My observations were that the 9500ix picked every damn blindside warning system on every vehicle on the highway...very annoying! The R3 would filter out 99% of them, but I occasionally got one chirp and then silence. The R3 picked up ka much further away than the 9500ix, I mean a lot further. The 9500ix still gave me plenty of warning to react. On my trips I did not once get a laser warning so I can’t comment on that. Laser is just not utilized that much in NC, SC area from what I have seen.
I still have the 9500ix and it lives in my bmw 335i which my son has inherited. The R3 is now my radar of choice for my daily driven vette. The blind side filtering capabilities were enough for me to make the change, but with what I have seen in real world usage the extended distance is just another added bonus. Oh, I haven’t mentioned this but the display on the R3 is great and easily visible even with my aging eyes!
I still have the 9500ix and it lives in my bmw 335i which my son has inherited. The R3 is now my radar of choice for my daily driven vette. The blind side filtering capabilities were enough for me to make the change, but with what I have seen in real world usage the extended distance is just another added bonus. Oh, I haven’t mentioned this but the display on the R3 is great and easily visible even with my aging eyes!
#50
Team Owner
My $0.02.
Blend mount? Nah, makes it really hard to see to the right.
I’ve been using a V1 for 20 years. I’ve got two of them and I’ve sent them back for upgrades a couple of times. Since nobody used x band or k band where I live I’ve turned both of them off. That eliminated 90% of falses. The arrows are great. They have saved me several times. I like that the V1 is smallish. I use the suction cup mount just inboard of the sun visor, next to the mirror. Hardwired to the mirror tap. Visor still works, not obvious at all.
Certain led taillights light up the laser alarm, oh well.
Nothing will save you if you are by yourself.
Blend mount? Nah, makes it really hard to see to the right.
I’ve been using a V1 for 20 years. I’ve got two of them and I’ve sent them back for upgrades a couple of times. Since nobody used x band or k band where I live I’ve turned both of them off. That eliminated 90% of falses. The arrows are great. They have saved me several times. I like that the V1 is smallish. I use the suction cup mount just inboard of the sun visor, next to the mirror. Hardwired to the mirror tap. Visor still works, not obvious at all.
Certain led taillights light up the laser alarm, oh well.
Nothing will save you if you are by yourself.
The blend mount on the mirror is great place and has nothing to do with looking to the right! LED taillights lights do not set off the laser alarm either !!!
Last edited by 3 Z06ZR1; 12-25-2017 at 09:48 AM.
#51
Instructor
LOL...caught on video ls3zob!
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LT4CMG (12-25-2017)
#52
Le Mans Master
That may or may not be my 1LE
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BuLion (12-25-2017)