Anyone have any idea of what a good radar detector is? I'm looking in the area of $130.00. I know that the Bel's and Valentines are supposed to be the best, but I heard they have like a $300 price tag.

-=-Mike

 

If your local police have laser, then they'll do you no good. Lasers shoot in a isolated beam with no waves going out side the beam. By the time your detector picks up the beam, that means he already has you. If your local police only use radar, then one will help, but there are other ways they can get you. The observation method is undetectable to you or anyone else for that matter. They simply have a spot already marked off at a predetermined distance, they then time how long it takes you to get from point A to point B. And that does hold up in court.

 

I've got Escort's Passport 8500. I've been fairly impressed with it's detection capabilities. It's another one of the $300 detectors though. Check out Car & Driver, they recently had a radar detector shootout. Search their site, it should be archived there somewhere.

 

I suppose something is better than nothing. I'm not familiar with the inexpensive models.

As far as opinion goes...I think anyone who speeds regularly needs to invest in one. I run a Valentine and it has saved my butt countless times. You still need to be vigilant and not rely on it like some form of blanket immunity. Police use Vascar and even planes depending on your local. Can't spot those with your detector.

Here's another link to be a better informed driver and make your own decisions. http://www.speedzones.com/

 

of the cheapest i would stick with a bel model; no sense in thinking your free and clear.....much like anything else you get what you pay for.

i have a bel that retailed for 420; best buy had one in the clearance section for 180 so i bought it. it works very well; but again i use it mainly so i know where the police are.....never once assume they aren't out there. escorts are good as well, but i found they work just as well as my bell. valentine works exceptionally well, i plan on purchasing another for my other car sometime soon.

radar detectors should be used as tools to give you an idea where police are, i don't like the idea that they try to trick people into tickets an the like. never once should you think it's ok to speed, race, or do some other ignorant thing because you have one. driving a sports car i think everyone should have one though.

 

Don't waste your money on a cheap radar detector. I bought my wife the best Whistler radar detector they had at the local shop. Paid about $150 for it. I have a Passport that is now 15 years old and it works better than that brand new Whistler. Yeah, I paid $300 for it, but 15 years later it's still better than the best Whistler and most other radar detectors. Yes, I've done side by sides because some folks just can't believe it's that good. Get a Passport, spend the money and be assured you got the best. And yes, we're getting my wife a new Passport 7500, then we'll see how it compares to my old one.

 

I know Escort will let you get one and return it within 30 days, no questions asked. I think Valentine has the same thing going. I would pick up one of those (or both of 'em), try it out, and see if you think it's worth the $300-$400.

 

You can't find a decent radar detector for $130; just can't be done. The two best out there are Valentine and Escort. I bought both and ran a side-by-side comparison for a week (I drive on the highway for 120 miles a day). Both were about equal in their ability to detect radar.

The Escort was quicker picking up the Ka bands, but the Val was better at the K bands. What sold me on the Escort was that the Val WOULD NOT SHUT UP. It drove me nuts. I've been very happy with my Escort; it'll cost you, but it'll last for a long time.

 

I did some homework and it paid off. Our local police department has a citizen ride-along program. I rode with a traffic cop for 8 hours, and casually asked questions about all the radars used by the various agencies. All of the ones that might get me along my commute are made by Cobra. I bought the Cobra 9100 for $110. On a cloudy day, I pick up the bounce from radar over hills, and at a range of about a mile, believe it or not. On a clear day, it's only about 1/2 mile unobstructed. And though you only pick up laser when they are zapping you, look at your detectors laser capabilities. The laser shoots two beams. A lock, and then a sense. It has to be pointed directly at you to get the lock, just like a normal radar gun. So if you have a decent reaction time, if you hit the brakes as soon as the beep goes off, you can cut speed before he can lock it in. If he does pull you over, ask to see what speed he locked. That's what he can prove in court. I've gotten away with about ten over. 80 mph is plenty to get me there in time.

I'm not condoning speeding or breaking the law. I work in a trauma/burn intensive care unit, and believe me, I've seen the worst. But I do have a problem with people saying I'm not safe because I speed. I know my limits. I'm not a crazy driver. And I made a promise--the day I can't handle my car at 100, I'll hang up my keys.

Just my two cents, sorry it's more like a buck fifty.

 

Amen to that brother! I used to work for the EMT unit back home and most of the accidents that we went to were caused not because of speeding, but because of people being careless. You would never guess how many times I heard "He never turned on his turn signal" or "he passed me while I was turning left and blindsided me" There weren't too many times when we had people saying "well I was doing about ten over and BAM there was the car in front of me!"

Speed doesn't kill, its peoples inability to drive that does. Obviously in certain situations (we just had an incident here in NC with 4 high school kids (tragic)) there were people that just were being dumb.

Anyways, right now I have this Whistler that I just picked up and the thing just pisses me off. They put more time into the compass than they did into the radar detector. Also, it wouldn't let me wire it into the fuse panel since it automatically shuts off anyways. If you think the cobra is good I might pick one of them up. I haven't seen too many of the local cops that are using laser or lidar anyways...

-=-Mike

 

I've had two Bel's that when I bought them were older models and being sold for about $120. Both of them saved my butt so many times, but I can't just haul *** everywhere and expect the detector to save me from tickets. Basically you get what you pay for. If you have laser to deal with in you area, I say get a scrambler or whatever they are called. Any time they try to clock you with the laser and your scrambler is on, the laser will just say "excessive light" and won't give the cop a reading on your speed. Combine that with a descent radar detector and you should be in pretty good shape.

 

Escort/Passport, you get what you pay for and they are the best!

 

get a jammer if they are legal in your state, go to radarjammers.com or radarguys.com, they know their stuff. plus they have detectors at good prices. goodl uck!

 

Another vote for the escort. go to www.radartest.com and then go to high end radar detectors

 

Not that it'll be mentioned here by anybody else (because some people NEED to spend lots of money on their radar detector to feel safe), but my new Uniden has saved me from a ticket twice already. I've been using it for about a month, and I've yet to recieve a ticket.
Up til now, I've lost my license in one Canadian province, one state, and I'm one ticket away from losing my license in my home state. As you can guess, I usually get a lot of tickets.

 

I tried this same idea and then asked the cop to see the speed and he totally denied me. I took it to court only to be told that there is no law that says the cop has to actually show you your speed. So after a couple hundred dollars and 3 points I no longer trust cops and always have my detector. If anyone knows otherwise I'd like to be informed, maybe even appeal my case. Maybe it's just a PA thing.

 

yeah, PA is by far the worst state to get a ticket in. Thats where the most hated cops in the world go, where the biggest bully in elementary school magically disappeared to, and the kid with the shortest nightstick ran to when everyone laughed at him.

Anyways, I picked up a Bel today and I think that'll probably be the one I stick with.

-=-Mike