Best radar detector for overall Protection

[Evolvd]

Keep in mind Waze is only as good as the folks who update it, if you're in a low traffic area or time of day you may never see any updates. And keep in mind, police can see Waze too and move their location to throw people off.

I had an Escort 8500 quite a few years ago and it worked perfectly...I was pulled over twice while using it, once was LIDAR (can't beat that unless you have a scatter device) luckily no ticket. The second time I had my music too loud and didn't hear my detector chirping at me until it was too late. Never needed any arrows, just good situational awareness and not speeding when there was no need to. Mostly highways because honestly, if you're doing 55 in a 45 just to get to the mall, you're only saving yourself seconds...not worth the risk.

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[Kbreese]

Keep in mind Waze is only as good as the folks who update it, if you're in a low traffic area or time of day you may never see any updates. And keep in mind, police can see Waze too and move their location to throw people off.

I had an Escort 8500 quite a few years ago and it worked perfectly...I was pulled over twice while using it, once was LIDAR (can't beat that unless you have a scatter device) luckily no ticket. The second time I had my music too loud and didn't hear my detector chirping at me until it was too late. Never needed any arrows, just good situational awareness and not speeding when there was no need to. Mostly highways because honestly, if you're doing 55 in a 45 just to get to the mall, you're only saving yourself seconds...not worth the risk.

Yeah I hear you, I'm on Long Island though, and there is TONS of traffic here. But I also travel to rural areas of NJ & PA too.

I think the Escort 8500 is the one I have at home, not sure. I just felt like it wasn't really doing much of anything for me & wanted it out of the way. Plus I was also afraid if enticing a break-in.

But it seems some of these new detectors are seriously advanced. Hey, whatever works best for each person.

 

[Xantom]

I have 1 Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar & Laser in both of my cars. I love this detector. I was so surprised at how well it worked I replaced my old one in my daily driver. Really picks up ka from a good distance. I live in a small town and commute to a larger town, and I drive my S550 mainly on back roads. So I do not encounter a lot of police. I rarely come across laser, the last time I did it was too late anyway, but no ticket. No light cams, that I know of I don't speed over hills or around corners where I can't see what's ahead of me. You may have the need for a more sophisticated detector but this one if perfect for my needs. Drive smarter and use the detector as an early warning system.

**Edit I paid ~$150 each for them on woot.com. They come up about once a month on there.

 

[stoli]

I think you'll find break-ins for radar to be pretty infrequent. Very few people have them any longer and most that do have the cheap ones that have no pawn/street value.

You're much for likely to have your car broken into for other electronics/stuff on the seat.

 

[Evolvd]

I think you'll find break-ins for radar to be pretty infrequent. Very few people have them any longer and most that do have the cheap ones that have no pawn/street value.

You're much for likely to have your car broken into for other electronics/stuff on the seat.

That's entirely dependent on where you live. Last city I lived in bums would smash your window just to get a bottle of soda and loose change from your cup holder.

 

[Xantom]

That's entirely dependent on where you live. Last city I lived in bums would smash your window just to get a bottle of soda and loose change from your cup holder.

Good lord that sucks. What city was that?

 

[Evolvd]

Good lord that sucks. What city was that?

Albuquerque

 

[XKRJAG]

I had an Escort Smartradar in my Jag for a while. I don't think they make it anymore, but I'm sure one could be found. It performed about like an 8500 X50 (model before X50 black), so it was fair, but not great.

However, it was nice since it had no display, I removed the Escort lettering and mounted it behind the rear mirror and used the phone for the display. I left it in and it was never stolen when I parked with the top down as it didn't look like much.

 

[Jeff_oddo]

Valentine One

 

[Finally]

I had a nice & fairly expensive Escort detector, but stopped using it after a little while, and it's been sitting in it's fancy case for years untouched. I find the best method is simply to use my own eyes and common sense. However, I'll admit that its trickier when the sun goes down. But I haven't had a ticket in many years (knock on wood). Not including a red-light-camera ticket.

I'll have to try that WAZE app, it sounds great.

Same here... my Escort has been dormant in a box for several years. Situational awareness and common sense seem to work for me. Got a warning 6 years ago, and that's it.

 

[Poppacapp]

Whatever radar detector you decide on, make sure you search the radar detector forums on how to fine tune the sweep ranges. I used my V1 for two years and it was a noisy SOB, but once I used some common custom sweeps it's been a lot more quiet.

Can you PM me some info on this? My V1 is box stock right now. I do not have the Bluetooth APP setup yet though. I assume I need that to customize?

 

[thewoodscrew]

Can you PM me some info on this? My V1 is box stock right now. I do not have the Bluetooth APP setup yet though. I assume I need that to customize?

[ame="[MEDIA=youtube]0dxBN12S9PI[/MEDIA]"]
the video is a little long, but he's very thorough in explaining everything. I used my iPhone with the V1 app to program mine.

 

[stoli]

I used my iPhone with the V1 app to program mine.

And that seems to be a 'must do' now with the V1 as well; pairing to a phone to get the functionality others have built in like GPS and frequency lockout.

 

[Poppacapp]

the video is a little long, but he's very thorough in explaining everything. I used my iPhone with the V1 app to program mine.

Thanks for the info! I joined rdforum last night and plan to get the V1C. I have a bunch of reading and learning to do on these frequencies etc.... i just opened the box, and put the thing in my car. It is quite annoying sometimes with the false alerts... i have learned the areas that do it and hit mute... but still, would be nice to be able to filter them out completely. :cheers:

 

[re-rx7]

I got the passport max2. Love it. Had the 8500 x50 before and loved it as well. Valentine one is old tech and the new radar guns are going digital.

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