Valentine V1 Mirror Integrated Radar Detector?

I just bought a pre-owned '08 Cayman S and to my surprise I assume it has the Valentine V1 mirror. Can anyone confirm? The salesman really never said much about it either by design or lack of knowledge. Anyway to tell if this one of Ai Designs or a competitors? The car originally came out of NY. Are there any tutorials or manuals floating around on this set up? The on/off knob has a secondary inner knob which I don't know what it does. What did this cost to have installed? It has the receivers on the front and rear above and below the license plates. I'm not so sure how well it works so I thought I'd run my Escort 8500 in unison to see if it's as sensitive. Not sure I trust it yet. My CS originally had a self dimming rear view mirror according to the original window sticker although this one does not dim and has no way to manually dim it. There is a button on the bottom of the mirror that controls a green light on the lower edge facing the driver along with what looks like a sensor. It looks like a self dimming mirror.

I have seen several V1 mirrors-either DIY or a company in florida makes them custom. I have not seen any mountable V1 sensors as in your pics not have I seen them advertised from V1 website.

Interesting. I know of several high end shops in NY that install that V1 mirror. The attachments on the front and rear license plates appear to be some type of laser jammer. What brand, I'm not sure. The Valentine 1 is only a detector and doesn't have integrated support for jammers. Look for more LED's on the dash that may indicate where the jammer display is. The knob you show in the photo looks like the standard on/off/volume control of a V1. The secondary knob controls the warning volume after you acknowledge the initial V1 warning. It works like this. V1 detects a signal and warns you with a different sound depending on the type of signal detected. It will continue to warn until the signal fades or your PRESS the button once. Once pressed, it will continue to warn by at a volume level that is set by the secondary knob. Hope that makes sense. I think you can download a PDF of the user manual on the V1 site.

I was thinking of doing this on my car. There is a thread on this here and also in a radar/jammer forum. The problem with the mirror display is you still need to mount the V1 detector somewhere in the car. It nees to be clear to the front and the rear.

I could not have said this better myself. We have an 06 C4 Coupe in inventory that has a V1 mirror installed although the display is on the left side of the mirror. Looks like the previous owner went all out given that like you said V1 does not support jammers and this car certainly has them. Looks like you got a nice bonus from the previous owner!

I did some additional digging around and found the Valentine head unit tucked in here. So I'm thinking those must be the receivers on the front and rear license plates as the head unit is hidden. I'm also missing the right plastic screw that holds the lower panel in place. Can you get those from the dealer?

I have a V1 and from what I have read it needs a clear view front and back? I am very interested if this works and what pickups were used on the froont and rear. The ones on your car I was thinking they were jammers for laser. This site has a lot of information on radar detectors and jammers. Radar Detector Jammer Forum

Very interesting with the V1 in the trunk. Look at the V1 case, has it been hacking into with other wires running out or is the only connection the RJ-11 jack on the side? I've never heard of or seen the V1 detectors "extended" this way.

He might have bought the mirror at this site. Stealth Mirrors - Valentine V1 Radar Mirrors Or thru here http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=31429

I think I'll send an email to Ai Design in Eastchester, NY along with some photos and see if they recognize the work. Home Page :: Ai Design The original owner lived not far from Ai Design so I suspect that is who did the work.

Yes you can get the missing screw from your dealer. You can get pretty much anything you want from your dealer. Just bring your checkbook.

I contacted Ai Design and asked if this could possibly have been installed by them. This was there reply: "Definitely not us… Please DON’T be offended by any of my comments, but the system as installed needs to be completely redone. Mirror: this is aesthetic only, but you’ve got what we’d consider as the “older” style of mirror treatment with the “bubbles”…pretty commonly done this way, but not here. We do this as you see in the attached photo, which takes some additional finesse. The radar detector is located in the front trunk area? This will need to be moved…the unit should not be located behind a metal panel (i.e.; the hood). We normally locate the unit in the head liner, or sometimes in the rear parcel shelf, where it’s not behind metal. I highly doubt you are getting effective protection where it’s located. That’s a big no-no, where it is. Laser: Yes and no. You have basically 1 full laser system split between the front and rear of the car. Looks to me like you have 1 diffuser only up front…this job smacks of one of our competitors over in CT that does a lot of Dealership work, as that’s a common time/money-saving maneuver on their part. Basically, they take a system made for front laser and split it in half, locating one unit on the back of the car. We do NOT subscribe to this methodology, as you’re basically getting half of the required coverage in the front of the car. In a situation like this, where you’re running 2 diffusers on the car (instead of 3 or more), we’d prefer to do it properly by locating 2 diffusers up front, and leaving the rear alone. Since laser is perhaps a 80-20% front/rear kind of thing, I’d much rather have my clients have full front coverage, foregoing coverage in the rear, rather than ½ coverage in the front and full coverage in the rear. Sorry, but this is a “throw away” install. You need to relocate the V1, at the very least." So, I'm going to disable this system and use my Escort 8500 from inside the cabin. I'll remove the V1 Mirror as the self dimming feature does not work and install a new Cayman S self dimming mirror which Ray Catena Porsche is sending me when I told them the one currently in the car does not work.

Thanks for the followup. I'm far from being an expert in these areas but I have to agree with their response, epecially with the V1 in the front trunk. You will not be getting any rear coverage and the front coverage is questionable. I've seen plenty of laser shifter installs on other cars and they always use two diffusers up front and one in the back. On the upside, since the V1 is a stand alone unit, an investment of a few dollars on mounting brackets and power cords/adapters will get you a fully working unit for a second car or to sell.

Good advice PP. I think I just pull it all off and sell the V1.

A follow up email asking what it would cost to re-do the existing integrated radar detection package properly or replace with an Escort 9500 package revealed this: "No trouble…sorry to be the bearer of less-than-great news. 2 possible repair paths: Repair what’s there: Tear out the laser jamming system out of there and install a Blinder M27 system for just the front. Relocate the V1 unit. I’d prob just leave the mirror alone…what’s done is done on that. Off the top of my head, you’d prob be looking at approx $2K to fix what’s there. Toss what’s there: We’d recommend the Passport 9500ci system. Only issue is that we would have to toss the mirror and start over. The 9500ci has front/rear radar and front/rear laser, but the thing we really like about it most has to do with the GPS capability of the system. Won’t bore you to death about it, but the GPS capability we like a lot, as it lets the system do some things that it couldn’t/wouldn’t otherwise. We generally bill at $3,200 to do the 9500ci from scratch (keeping in mind that the unit in the box is $1,600). If it were my car, cost no object I’d swap everything out for a 9500ci. However, back here on earth, I’d prob fix what’s there…first step would be getting the V1 relocated to the headliner or the rear parcel shelf…there’s a bit of a trick to doing this properly, but that’s where I’d start. The laser system isn’t “bad”, exactly, it’s just that it’s half-strength on the front. Might be able to remove the rear laser, move it up front, and go from there, to salvage the equipment that’s there. Thanks" They must do quality work with those prices.

Search the archives here for the Escort 9500ci group buy that was done last year. We were able to get the whole system (including laser blinders) installed for around $2000-$2100 installed at Danbury Porsche (no longer a sponsor). Most of the time the costs involve how neat an installation you would like. Running some of the wires properly will need bumper removal, etc. That being said, Ai Designs is a well known shop in the area that works on high end cars. I know of another shop in Long Island that does good work as well, send me a PM if you want their contact info for comparision prices.

I agree with the other comments that the owner was hoping the V1 would work through the trunk and those sensors are for a different system, probably a laser shifter. When you start the car dow the mirror display illuminate, is the V1 powering up? The internal radar detectoon "horns" in the V1 cannot be separated and Mike Valentine is on record as saying they would not work correctly if they were separated fromt he logic board by any distance. As for the mirror... I have made several of these and this is not one of mine, it looks like a manual etch which doesn't give the same sort of quality. I think someone linked to my web site above. Some of the prices for installs just blow me away, in my Boxster I made a bracket and put the V1 in the rear between the seats, works great in a two seater, sensitivity was no problem and you could hardly see it from outside the car. If you want radar protection I'd either keep the V1 and mount it in a better location or sell it and put the money towards an Escort 9500ci. You could sell the mirror with the V1 maybe or go back to a stick mirror (or have the 9500ci display embedded). Lots of choices. You mention auto dimming, the current Porsche auto-dimming mirrors cannot be modified in this way, I have tried and destroyed a couple of very expensive mirrors in the process. If I can provide any guidance on mirror mods feel welcome to PM me, I am currently working on two 997 mirrors and one for a Gallardo. Chris.

Chris-thanks for that bit of info from someone currently installing these in some 997's. "When you start the car dow the mirror display illuminate, is the V1 powering up?" Yes, the mirror display does power up, and an LED in the overhead courtesy light also powers up confirming that the unit is active. There is also a audible beep. "You mention auto dimming, the current Porsche auto-dimming mirrors cannot be modified in this way, I have tried and destroyed a couple of very expensive mirrors in the process." Is this why my self-dimming mirror no longer dims? I told the selling dealer about this and they sent me a new self-dimming mirror. How hard is it to replace the mirror? I have my Escort 8500 (on a windshield mount) used along with the integrated V1 and you're right, with the V1 head unit mounted in the front trunk, it is essentially blind and misses radar long after the dash mounted. I will eventually remove the integrated unit, replace the mirror so that it dims and just use the Escort on it's windshield mount.

It sounds like you have the V1 operational (subject to some questions below) and a laser shifter, possibly a Blinder M25 or M27. Has the V1 ever gone off, do you get any alerts? When you start up the display will blink and settle in a mode such as "A", "L" etc, do the lights do anything other than blink, does it show a P then A or A then P? If so then its settings have been altered to adjust sensitivity, band sensing or alerts. Assuming you have a standard hood I'd be suprised if it ever event off, you will obviously have no laser detection (and hence the shifters) but it is unlikely any radar signal would come through a standard hood. Regarding the shifters, have they ever gone off? If it is a blinder it will beep and the LED will blink and, I think, stay solid. Get a friend over and grab your TV remotes, point them at the sensor about 1" away and press buttons as fast as you can, with luck you'll trigger it and can see if it works. If it doesn't I would not assume it is faulty, it's more likely the remote not triggering it. Regarding the mirror, it is likely th eglass was replaced, if they gave you a new mirror and you don't feel the desire to keep the V1 I'd certainly swap it out. I assume it mounts to the glass, removal is easy but be careful. There will be a mounting column on the glass, you rotate that perpendicular to the screen (no levering!!!) and it'll pop right off, installation is the reverse. If you look on the back of the new mirror there should be two parallel clips, these lock on to a button that is on the windshield. It sounds like the best solution (for you) is to keep the shifters, user your 8500 if you don't mind it on the windshield and sell the V1 and mirror as a package on ebay or a forum. I doubt you'll be able to get the wiring for the V1 out of the car but it uses 4 core phone cables and the new owner can get a new power cord from Valentine. You might want to get the cords and power connector so you can sell it as a ready-to-go package. The only concern is the remote audio adaptor mounted in your console, you could remove it and sell it but you'd be left with a hole... I would order up a replacement panel cover for that slot and you'll be back to stock. Porsche are usually pretty fair on prices for bits like that, I can connect you with the parts guy I use if it helps. Chris.

A couple of alternate thoughts (maybe not practical some of them): 1. if you were to use a carbon fibre hood in lieu of the standard aluminum hood the detector location might work looking forward - but before doing that 2. you might try contacting the previous owner and seeing what luck he has had. 3. you could drive conservatively through some known radar traps and see whether the detector detects

If you need help you can check Radar-Mirror . They've been doing these for years and can help get your system working.

So this is just a really bizarre V1 install... I still don't get how they expected it to work behind the metal of the front hood. Anyone know if that would work at all? I do see the response saying it would be ineffective, but still don't see why someone would probably spend like 2k (with the blinder system front and back also) to get this done.

I have left the Valentine V1 mirror system in place "as is" as I run an Escort 8500 X50 attached to the bottom of the windscreen. Whenever I encounter radar the Escort is always the first to alert of a threat. The Valentine does work but is clearly shielded by the hood and is always 2-3 seconds late. I leave the Valentine in place primarily for the laser jammers attached to the top of the front and rear license plates and use the Escort for radar detection. You're right, the previous owner of my CS took it to someone for a V1 integrated system and got a very poorly installed system and more than likely paid top dollar. Then they traded the CS in at a BMW dealership for something else which probably explains why it only had 7800 miles on it when I bought.

Could you show a pic of your radar detector mounted between the seats of your Boxster? Thanks.