Radar detector which one

I am thinking of put a radar detector in my 2011 Cayman. I first thought about one of those which are concealed with the defusers. Then the more I thought about the more I decided I didn't want to send two grand. So I am not wondering what might be a good choice for when I travel. I will be making a long trip in a few weeks and would like to have it by then. I know I can have some of the smaller models hot wired to the rear view mirror but again I don't know which models are the best as the reviews are all over the place as to which is best. So the question really is what models are people using and how do like it? Thanks for any help you can provide. Midnight Shadow

I did PLENTY of research in the last few weeks and went with the Redline. Seems to have the in the top group having the least false alarms. The laser protection is just a notch below the V1 but the V1 also appears the worst for false detections. The latest firmware is fully programmable for segment and RDR functionality. Stay away from the Redline "xr"; it is just a preprogrammed redline offered by radartest.com that youcan program yourself.

Thanks for the information. Now another question how does the Redline do against laser? Did you add the laser shields also? I had been looking at the 9500, sorry don't remember the letters that went after the number, so what did you like better about the Redline over the 9500? Midnight Shadow

I've had a Valentine about 15 years. It still works fine. It tends to have more false positives, but fewer false negatives. Thus, if she ain't scwawkin', I've learned I'm safe. (I don't think they're using much laser here, so I can't vouch for efficacy in that situation. He (Mike Valentine) is right about one thing--once you get used to the detector telling you WHERE the cop is, you can easily get attached to that feature. I'm not sure if it's still the only one to do this, but it's a nice feature.

In my Cayman, I went with the Escort 8500 series concealed detector with laser shifters. This setup offers most of the features of the 9500 but at half the price. In my daily driver, I have the Passport Max. This is an excellent unit that also warns you of red light cameras and gets frequently updated by the manufacturer since these things are popping up all over the place. Both have saved me a few times but I like the concealed look better. I never had the Max hard wired so it's just plugged into the cig lighter leaving it more open to theft and it's a little ugly. Look at it this way, if it saves you from getting nailed once it pays for itself no matter what route you go.

Been an Escort user since the days of the Passport 5000. Have owned the 8500, 9500, and now the Max. All are great detectors. The Redline is probably the best at sensitivity but then again who needs to know it's detected a radar signal from 7 miles away? I prefer having an onboard GPS and database of speed traps and cameras. Laser detection is pretty much useless in any unit. In order to protect yourself against LIDAR you need a shifter like a Laser Interceptor.

I run a blue LED Escort 8500 and Waze. That combo, touch wood, has kept me out of trouble. I'd get the red LED 8500 (cheaper) and use Waze if I were doing it all over again. Passport Max and Redline are probably better detectors, but who cares. I pick up Ka band at .75 miles. Plenty of time.

Yep. If it detects laser, you've already been painted. I was pleasantly surprised to find Waze alerts seamlessly played through my PCM system via bluetooth... cuts right in with the voice alert. This, paired with a detector, makes for a great combo.

I don't know what Waze is or where I get it. Would someone tell me more about it, what it does and what I need to get to use it? Also where do I get it. Thanks Midnight Shadow

Google.com search "waze radar" more hits and direct links than most people will ever need This would include www.waze.com an application that you can run independently or inconjunction with some radar detectors and a SmartPhone. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Have been using V1 for 14 years, have never had a ticket with it on, last ticket 11 years ago, forgot to turn it on after stopping at a rest area. I always drive in a "spirited" kind of way, but I also use "common" sense. Cheers

One other distinguishing feature between some of the systems, e.g. say the Passport 8500 series vs. the 9500's, is the addition of GPS and an updateable internal map data base of red light cameras. When approaching a known Red Light camera location, the Passports will issue an audible, verbal (well at least the MAXX does), "Warning, Red Light Camera Ahead" If this is annoying, I believe you can disable the feature. I kind of like the reminder. It can be particularly useful in places like England where they use a lot of speed cameras etc.

I looked into Waze and I don't think I can use it. I have very limited data, 250MB, on my smartphone since I do all my data work at places which have WiFi like when I go to Starbucks or when I am at home. So I don't think that will work for me. The Escort Max, 9500ix look really good to me along with the Redline. Also the Valintine1 has a certain appeal since it has radar both to the front and to the back which I would think would be a good thing incase you pass someone and after passing you they turn around to check on you. An thought? Midnight Shadow

Are most of you hardwiring the units in? If not is the chord coming down and going into the cig. lighter distracting since one it is in the middle of the windshield and two it seems the cig, lighter cover will remain open and the piece that is inserted will stick up. I generally have my arm over there and don't want to keep bumping it or snap off the cover when it is in the upright position. Midnight Shadow

I never plug mine in the cig.lighter.I use one of the other two power outlets.

There are people who are passionate about the arrow thing. I've had and lived with two Valentine units, and the arrows. I'm now a Passport MAXX user. It may well be something you have to use and live through to figure out what works for you. While the arrow thing was interesting for awhile, I really didn't find it practically useful. For one thing (& this is something that I gather is constantly evolving, new units have different/better "falsing" filters) I always felt the Valentines (& FWIW I sent them in 2x to be "upgraded" to the newer firmware/software) I had were alerting to a lot, if not every automatic door opener I drove past. The other feature, which I think you get with the 9500 (& I don't frankly know if Valentine now offers something similar) is GPS which allows red light etc. warnings. Depending on where you drive this may, or may not be important. Some mfg's are also coupling their systems to a sort of proprietary WAZE - you link your smartphone to the detector and it then joins a live network of real time traffic reporting - if you activate this feature, you pass a speed trap on the road, push a button on the detector power cord to mark the location, it sends out a real time update to all the other systems in the area etc. Too complicated for me, but I gather the feature is there. 2nd, after moving units around it occurs to me, if it's not in the car and running, well its useless - I've hardwired the power supply, and pretty much leave the unit in the car, always plugged in. It powers up when the car powers up. I only take it out if there's "attractive nuisance" (i.e. theft lure) reasons to remove. I'm working off the theory the day I forget to put it in, and turn it on, is obviously going to be the day I should have, and needed the reminder to slow down. Both Valentine and Passport make good units - figure out what best works with your driving style and personality.

I only know of one other socket and it is on the passenger side of the PCM about half way back. Is there another one on the 2011 that I have not found yet? I could plug it into that one on the passenger side but I was concerned it would get hit by the passengers knee or leg when they were getting in.

Another misunderstood feature of the 9500 - the GPS is used to reduce false alarms. When it alerts, it notes the location and exact frequency. After a few repeats on that exact alert, it determines it's a fixed signal and locks it out. No more falsing at automatic doors, etc. If a cop happens to be shooting radar in that area, it will still alert to his radar, because it's a different frequency. No more indecision about whether an alert is real or not. If mine goes off on a road I've driven a few times, it's real, so I slow down... immediately.

Agreed. The Max is the quietest detector I've ever owned and used - extremely low rate of falsing. When it goes off, i slow down. It doesn't matter from where the signal is coming from.

If a cop sits in the same place quite often and you pass them will it also lock it out since it is getting the warning at the exact location? Next question: I am thinking of the Max unit and not having it hardwired so I can move it from car to truck. My concern is the coiled cord. My son has a Valentine1 unit in his truck and the coiled cord caused his dash to ware where it laid. He ended up having to replace the section of the vinyl dash. He ended up having another cord made, after replacing the dash, with a cord that is not coiled. Has anyone had trouble with the coiled cord rubbing on the dash

Buy a 2nd fixed cord? Just because a cord is hard wired in to one vehicle shouldn't keep you from running a portable setup as for coiled cords, like any temporary add in, they can be great, or they can pull, get tangled and be snagged etc. in the end, for me at least, I think it's a bit like the old style seat belt issues - the more difficult or inconvenient to use, the less likely it was going to be in use when a real need pops up. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The hardwired cord isn't coiled, it is flat & when installed, is concealed within the headliner when the radar unit is unplugged, the cord can be concealed behind the mirror or tucked up in the headliner (EDITED: whoops, fixed last nights "talk to text" miss-transcription)

This is my solution: http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-...yman-boxster-electronics/80561-parrot-asteroid-smart-post843775.html#post843775

With the system you showed above do you need a large data package for all of this to work well? That has been one of my concerns as I only have a very limited data package. So I decided I couldn't use Waze because the data would need to be on all the time. Do you have an unlimited data package to be able to operate all this with your iPhone ? Midnight Shadow

I have a 15GB data share plan with 4 devices on it. But I went back and looked at just my usage on my iphone which is about 1 GB a month. In addition to the radar I also use Spotify in my car. So my car system is not using very much.

For me - The Valentine arrows are indispensable. Once you get used to how the V-1 detector works and alerts, you can pretty much tell immediately if an alert is a false or not. And just a quick glance at the arrows confirms this. To hear an alert and wonder where it is coming from is a bit unnerving at speed. I also don't understand the big deal about red light camera notification. While I do admit to sometimes going a tad over the speed limit- I NEVER run red lights. It could be in the middle of a country road or in the big city. So this feature is not very important to me. I think the V-1 is the safest one out there- even if you have to put up with a few more false alarms . I'd rather have one more false alarm than one less real one reported. Of course , using WAZE with any of them enhances the information you have to work with .

My son has a Valentine in his Corvette and he like it also. Actually it is one I am considering. I am also, regardless of which unit I get thinking of having my two vehicles hardwired so that all I have to do it plug the unit into either one of the vehicles. I hadn't considered hardwiring for both vehicles and if I did this I wouldn't have a coiled cord to deal with . Midnight Shadow

Just bought the redline with the smart cord. So far I like it . I put on about 200 miles so far. What I like is when a false alarm goes off in the same spot (alarm) I can delete it so it doesn"t beep me.

To get the cord out of your way, look into what blendmount.com has to offer. I have their older mount that is pictured on their web site on my rear view mirror after having my 9500 hardwired from the fusebox under the sun visor. Used the kit available from Escort, and have the Control unit on the steering column.

I too am a long time user and lover of V1 because it gives me all the information I need. I want to know where the threat is, not just that it's somewhere around me. I could care less about red light cameras. Like ROYGTS, I stop at red lights ... always. I've found WAZE absolutely useless outside well traveled urban areas. On recent trips to Mid-Ohio and Road America, the only alerts out in rural areas were those I posted.

On my recent labor day trip in MI-OH-PA-WV, it showed me pretty much EVERY speed trap on the freeway. OH turnpike was terrible as usual, about 20 speed traps, every 5 minutes or sooner. So it was really unwise to go much faster than speed limit / traffic flow. In deep rural area with no Waze users around - yes it would be useless. It's basically a social network. No users - no info.