radar detector...or not

I'm usually decisive but I'm torn between going with a radar detector and not going with one.....I haven't been pulled over in the 996 as I pick and choose where to really give it a go but I'm afraid it's a matter of time before I choose poorly. I'm also convinced the authorities have "radar detector detectors" and will snag you to prove the point detectors are useless. I haven't used a detector since the Escort Passport days.....whoa...I think I just answered another thread "how old are 996 owners"....and got nicked for speeding despite having one. I've only received two tickets over the past ten years without using and both times I was extremely unlucky but who knows, a detector may have saved me. So...get a detector? Or don't bother?

I own one and I find that I use it less and less. On a long road trip it might make sense. Driving in town, it's much more relaxing to drive close to the speed limit and not worry so much. It's also nice to be able to park the car to run into a store and leave the windows down and the car unlocked. I'd skip it.

Depends a lot on where you live, I love mine. It saves me all the time. Not much you can do about Laser unless your willing to spend $3K. But most everywhere Cops use Ka, and I pick it up 1-2 miles before getting there. Great on roadtrips, since you don't know the hiding spots.

I have 3 cars and have a detector in each. Mrs. Schnell drives like a bat out of hell, and since I'm either in a Corvette or a 911, a little help is always welcome.

If you get one, make sure you can disable the bands that aren't used. X and K are useless unless you're trying to detect grocery stores, and laser is going nuts with all of the lidar leakage from lane departure warning and collision avoidance systems they're sticking on luxury cars these days. Thankfully the SoCal LEOs stick to KA...

V1 in every car. Not any sort of magic bullet, but a very useful tool. In fact it just today it helped me spot earlier a sneaky state patrol speed trap on a twisty mountain road.

I would not drive without one. AZ cops all use Ka and K. My i995 i995 saved me more times than I could count.

Valentine One....saved me lots of money over the years...not that I speed.

I have one which comes on with the ignition. Any alert, I let off the gas. Even at the grocery store . It goes crazy at times. It alerted me on two occasions that there was a Train Approaching on Costco Car Park and there isn't a railway line within 5 miles of Costco's. I like that it warns of 'speed trap areas'. It has 2 settings. They are 'City and Highway' . All the K....KA..Pop alert.. and the devil knows what else. I am always over the speed limit by about 10mph, apart from School Areas which I honor to the 'T'. Touch Wood I have never been done for speeding (with or without radar) in 55years of driving. Now after saying that,,,, just watch. haha.

V1 in my cars always, paid for itself 100 times over.

V1 for me as well. I agree they aren't really helpful in towns or cities, but on highway trips they always pay off. Generally I stick with the majority of traffic to avoid big speed differentials, but occasionally things empty out and that's when you find the speed traps. It alerted me to several speed traps on my last trip up Watkins Glen.

Depends on where you live, how you drive, color of car. My v1 has been tucked away in my side pocket for about 3 yrs now. I only bring it out if I'm going on a road trip or into some red neck small town where cops will bust you for doing 5 over. To me I find it more of an annoyance with it going off often and I find 75% of the time I'm not speeding but yet have to put up with the noise.

V1 now on my 3rd car but honest it is a combination of V1 and common sense that is the key.

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....well I lack common sense so I better get a detector! Thank you all for your responses.

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How sure are you about that, Schnelly? I've been having the same quandary as the OP. I was under the impression that most of the coppers that are hiding on the freeway are using instant-on laser. I'm driving the 5, 805, and 15 freeways all the time, and they have radar cops hiding behind bridge abutments, etc. Are those guys using KA band?

I've got one in all the cars. (V1 in the 996 and Audi, 8500 in the Odyssey). I find that depending where you drive and the police it helps. Local sheriff (usually) and the state police (sometimes) drive around with radar on. Just don't want to get pulled over for doing something like 38 in a 30. It's a bit trickier on the highway. It's saved me dozen of times locally.

I have a Passport SRX that came with the car. Used it initially when I got the car (never had any detector before), and it seems that it now does not even function anymore. I just try to go with the traffic flow and am careful where I know its risky to drive above the limit.

Why wouldn't you use a detector (provided it's legal in your state)?

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Because it's just one more PITA thing in life. Keeping it charged (if not hard wired), remembering to bring it in and out of the house, sticking it up on the windshield, hiding it when going into a store, $500 cost that I could use for some good sushi, etc. That's why the quandary... is it worth the PITA factor? The most likely place I would get a ticket is the freeways. So, the big question is, what radar band is CHP using for the cops that are hiding, doing speed control patrol? Detectors are legal in CA, but they can write you a ticket if it is stuck on the windshield. I'm not sure if that's a moving violation or what.

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Get out of free jail card. I know a couple sheriffs including my father in law and have their cards just in case.

Escort in the 996, wireless, all the time.

If you are comfortable driving sans a detector then keep doing so. I bought one even before I had the Porsche as I moved to an area -- MO/KS -- where ticket fines are an income stream. The V1 saved my bacon more than once. Also, it makes me a better driver as I'm more situation aware. Now in CA I just keep the V1 in the Turbo. The Boxster I drive naked, sans any detector. But I use the car for around town and commuting and not for road trips. I see no reason to speed around town or on the freeway. The Turbo gets used similarly but also for road trips and on road trips, outside of the bay area and outside of CA, a detector is imho a necessity. There are too many bears out there and for bears the Porsche is like a red flag to a bull. The V1 gives me an early warning of a bear trap and helps keep me more aware of my driving at all times which makes me a better/safer driver.

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Let's not try to kid ourselves. The first and foremost reason why we all buy or think of buying a radar detector is that fact that we speed. My rational is you wanna play, you gotta be ready and willing to pay. Same for my window tints and lack of front plate. I know damn well that it's illegal but I won't raise an eyebrow if I get pulled over. To me it's worth the $75 to have a car look the way I want and not how gubment thinks my car should look no matter how they rationalize it on their end.

^^ when the KA warning fires off and I'm moving slowly enough, the windows come down along with the speed. I'm amazed I haven't been tagged for my tint yet. *knock* *knock* *knock*

+1 v1 But doesn't work well for lidar if your local le uses that. Saved me enough to pay for itself many times over. I don't speed in town but on empty freeway in ca it will pick up most cops way before you see them. . Still need to be careful though ..

OK, I'm sold on the radar detector idea and will order one. V1 or Escort Passport 9500ix. I've read about 10,000 posts on this, and there's no clear winner at all. I guess I'll go with the V1. Is there any reason why not to get a used one, such as this one listed on Ebay? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Valentine-On...item1c37500294

Used may = no warranty. I had to send my passport back to have the antenna module replaced - if it hadn't been under warranty, it would have required buying a new one.

I use a Passport every time I drive my Porsche. The cops around here often leave their radar on all the time, so whether I'm speeding or not at least I know they're around. I also use my mirrors , eyes, and traffic as indicators as well.

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Valentine has made the V1 for quite some time, and there have been many running improvements. If you have the serial number of the used V1, you can check the version here . The particular ebay listing you referenced doesn't look too promising. No pictures of the actual unit. No description of the condition. No serial number. No returns... I'd pass. Valentine 1 sells there own 'refurbished' units at a discount. Always the latest version, always 100% QA checked, full warranty, they look like new. Typically they are units that were returned within the 30 day return window that can no longer be sold as new, but they are fully tested, reboxed with accessories, etc.. You won't find them on the web site, but if you call they should be able to help you.

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Ah thanks mucho for that PFBZ! I will definitely take your advice and buy the refurbished one from Valentine. I know they do periodic software/firmware updates, so that was my main worry about a used one. That sounds perfect, the refurbished straight from the manufacturer.

I was told by a CHP that here in Ca. all radar detectors are worthless against the infrared speed detectors now in use here.

Infrared speed detector? Every CHP car I've seen since I got a detector is using KA. LIDAR uses a near-infrared laser, but laser is definitely detectable. I have not had ANY legit laser alerts that I know of.

Tickets and the havoc they wreak on insurance here in Jersey are far to costly for me to be with out one. My escort has paid for itself many times over!

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Ah, in Norcal, I've been hit about 4 times with laser. These are times where I saw the CHP (always ahead of me) with a device in his hand. I am starting to get more and more false positives from the new automated cruise control devices that are on newer luxury cars. I really wish there were a way for the detector manufacturers to filter that stuff out.

Yup - the LIDAR for the lane departure and crash prevention systems really is going to make me consider a laser jammer, though I might not be able to get that shipped directly to my home in CA.

I have a V1 and can't imagine driving with out one. Schnell - I live in So Cal - and both LA Sheriff and CHP have LIDAR and the numbers are increasing. It is usually the motorcycle units that carry the but I have also seen cruisers with them. My last ticket was on the 101 - from a CHP using LIDAR. It is true the V1 detects them but if it's aimed at you when the warning goes off - it is usually to late. I have been looking at Jammers but am concerned with an officer finding the emitters.

Good to know. I don't ignore the alerts, but I haven't had a legit one yet.

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Our local small-town police still use X band. Be aware of local usage before turning off that X-band. (or get the GPS enabled units to avoid nuisance alarms from grocery stores) I wouldn't have any heartburn about turning off laser, though. The detector doesn't help with that.

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V1 does a great job of filtering false Xband and highlighting the ones you need to know about. Why would you turn of laser? This has saved me numerous times - as it goes off when a laser hits any vehicle in front of you - letting you know there is a speed trap ahead?

I purchased and installed a Blinder HP -905 laser jammer. Two small sensors/heads mounted up front in the grill and a third above the license plate in the rear. Works awesome for Laser guns. It sends a signal back to the laser gun and jamms it up. I installed it in May and so far it went off 3 times since. Once, as I passed the cop, he had the laser gun sideways looking at it. It send an error message back to him. I just waived and kept driving. However, it will not work for radar. Easy install too. I actually removed the front bumper and ran the wires through the firewall. Porsche is very easy. There is actually a rubber grommet just to the left or just to the right of the steering collumn under the frunk to run the wires. All in all, about two hours. $750 for the unit and three sensors/heads. Radar Roy has posts on here....good reviews.

K-40 built in car. I usually see the state troopers before the alarm sounds! I do not trust it to save me from a ticket. I'm leaning to getting a V-1....or a possibility a passport 8500. I'm in PA and I believe they only use Ka and only the state police. I'm very interested in what you prefer but again I'm leaning toward the V-1.

I use the Escort Solo for long road trips and it has alerted me many times in the past year to speed traps.

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Not sure how the V1 filtering works. We have lots of k-band door openers around here. Until I got them "saved" on my GPS-enabled detector, they beeped incessantly. I can't imagine having to hit "mute" EVERY time I pass one of these. I'd throw the damn thing out the window.

I use a passport 8500 with the GPS to block out regular false positives. Very effective

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Well, there is speeding and there is speeding. If one buys a radar detector with the idea he can drive 100mph or faster down the highway with impunity he's in for a big surprise with a big traffic ticket fine to match. Or that he can blast down city streets at 10mph or higher over the limit he's just dumb. But on long road trips out on the open highway 5mph or even 10mph over is common. The trouble is based on my experience a big old pick up hauling a horse trailer, a mini-van full of mom, pop, kids, and the family pets can go 10mph over with no problem, practically any vehicle but me in my Turbo (or even Boxster) can't. (My lowly 02 VW Golf TDi was a stealth GT. In that thing, I could drive 10mph over on any highway with no problem.) But driving my Porsches, I've spotted an oncoming patrol car suddenly braking and then cutting across the median like some crazy denizen from the worst of the Outback in a Mad Max movie in order to get behind my Turbo (or once in the case of the Boxster *two* patrol cars) and pull me over like you wouldn't believe. My Turbo in the middle of a pack of other vehicles and all moving at the same (over the limit) speed.

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I do consider myself a serious speeder. I love the porsche as it eats up the highway like nobody's business. However, it is like a red flag to a bull, and it causes the other drivers to chase and pass me. I eventually overtake them because I stick to my speed, whilst they tend to lose nerve and fall back. My coworker wasn't saved by his V1, he got nabbed on I-10 by a laser. I have stuck with Passport for the past 20 years and never been caught. My latest one is the SmartRadar that connects to the Iphone. No bulky display to clutter up the dash...and plenty of compliments from the girls at the clean setup. Although things change with time, depending on the leniency of LEOs...currently you can get away with 79mph on any LA freeway. 80 and over, they tend to come after you. Remember, that generally the speedo is 4mph off, so if the digital display shows 84...you are going about 79. Also...I watch more people get pulled over for carpool violations than aggressive driving. The left lane is the slowest on the 10, and just the other night, as I was weaving in and out of the slow lanes; A CHP swooped in from nowhere and pulled over a carpool violator...never batted an eye at me haha. I have been doing a LOT of traveling across the western states, and I have been getting away with 90mph on the open areas with no problems. Of course the instant I get a hit on the radar...I do a nose dive. Maybe it's my years of speeding instincts. I can sniff out the bacon even before my detector does.

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+1

I haven't had a detector in 30 years. Coincidentally, I haven't had a speeding ticket in 30 years.

I may or may not have had a speeding problem (5 tickets in one year - most of which were under 5-7 "over" the speed limit). At any rate, that was 5 tickets too many before I purchased my Valentine 1 - it is a total butt-saver even for those who drive close to the speed limit - plenty of advanced warning in most cases.