uidesigner

What is the best radar detector for my 1995 SC300 ? Where is the best place to buy one mail order ?

Red93sc400

The best is not the least expensive. I have the Valentine One which picks up all the radar bands X K Ka etc as well as laser. The valentine lets you know which direction the transmitter is coming from, ie: front or rear or side. It has a remote display head. I have mine mounted with suction cups on the right side of the rear view mirror and the remote display just at the bottom of the left front windshield pillar. This is a permanent install. Valentine One is pretty much direct order although a few speed shops do carry them. You can find them at www.valentineone.com

There is no better detector made IMHO.

Black94RX-7TT

I'd have to agree. I borrowed my ex's Valentine One, and it was superb. The feature I like most about it is the counter indicating how many radar sources its picking up. This is good if you commute to work every morning and know that the shopping mall puts out 3 signals, but one morning you have 4....problem!

RealMarty

Passport 8500!!!

Fewer false alarms.

Programmable features and radar-type coverage.

MadMaxSC400

I've heard that the Bel 980 is the best... several tests have it tops in K and KA... the California Highway Patrol (my mortal enemies) uses KA exclusively. Mine is on order but they're so popular it's backorded by 2 months.

The Ikon

V1 is better...

Bean

iTrader: (1)

nah, the Passport 8500 isn't supposed to have as much range as the Valentine One... and it can't tell what direction the signal is coming from, and how many signals it is tracking...

although the 8500 can still track multiple signals at the same time in this special expert mode...


Valentine One is the best without regarding cost... its $400... quite expensive...

the 8500 is $300 in most places... I bought my 8500 at Bestbuy, and its a HELLUVA lot better than the Beltronics 980...

I've got friends with 980s and they are crap compared to the 8500 and Valentine One...

When you open either detector box, you can see that the manufacturer is serious about the fit and finish and abilities of the detector...

go to mysimon.com and find you a 8500... its the best for the $$$ IMO... but the V1 is the best PERIOD

980s are available at circuit city... in fact thats the detector that i recommended until I rode in a car with a V1... the 8500 has the fewest false alarms because of its setup... the V1 has a few more, but still has the longest range K and Ka...
and thats tested in about 8 or 9 reviews. not that famous 1 article where the reviewer had a personal grudge against the designer of the V1...

go check out Valentine's website if you are interested

c_irie

has anyone had any experience with those speeding cameras ? you know the type that clocks you and sends the picture and ticket in the mail ...they have just installed them in Hawaii and I was just curious on how much of a menace they were and if the radar detectors pick them up.

808state

i just picked up some anti-photo license plate covers (search the web under "anti-photo license plate"). i guess i'll have to see if it really works though i know from an angle (i've seen one in person) you can't see the license plate number). maybe some of the other states can tell us what their experience is.

from what i've seen so far (still new), they tag you oncoming using a laser photo. just watch out for toyota white sienna vans with tinted windows and their back open. that's where the operator is with his laser/photo device mounted. logical solution, take off your front license plate. i've had my front license plate off for a couple of years so far without incident (knock on wood...) but yes, it's illegal. i put it back on for my safety check. i don't think cops will care because for one, their losing their jobs and hurts them from making their quota plus, if they catch you for speeding, they'll get your infor regardless of whether you have your license plate on or not. also, out of your ticket that you pay, $30 goes to the company doing this crap (conflict of interest), 27 goes to the judical for admin fees (another conflict of interest), and the rest goes to the a**holes at the dot. cops don't get a cut!!! i could go on and on...we'll just have to see how it goes.

as for the intersection cameras, lets just hope this company (yeah right), doesn't pull the stunt they did in cali where they rigged the cams to catch legal people. there's a pending lawsuit i hear against the company and i think it's the same one down in hawaii... yes, the state, city, dot is run by a bunch of morons...

MadMaxSC400

Dude, those cams are the reason people make airguns with scopes! I think the Valentine 1 is too much of a jack. I'm getting the 980 wholesale, and I don't really feel like backing out of the order because the 8500 might detect 50 feet farther.

anthracitetarga

iTrader: (1)

I have a Passport 8500 in my 92 SC3, and eventhough I have not tried any others, but IMO the Passport 8500 is the best. It has saved em from numerous tickets and Escort is a great company (i requested extra clips and suction cups for my other cars so i could movie the radar detector from each to each and they sent me some w/o any hassle....FOR FREE ) One of the nicest features about the 8500 is that it is reprogrammable so it can be updated and therefore wont out date. I would recommend the Passport 8500

DIrEctQL

Check your sources. In the police radar detector world there is a lot of have for Valentine. Where did you get the information? Also, give a little doubt to the kinds of tests for the radar detectors, some of them are useless.

K40, Valentine One are the best ones. I much prefer Valentine One, the hidden radar is useless. Why would you hide it? It's legal in IL.

Bean

iTrader: (1)

actually the 8500s detection range is more like 1000ft further...

and its got 2x the features, etc...

980 is a detector you buy in walmart...

the 8500 and V1 come in a super nice case, they have their own special customer support that is always there... they are both programmable and upgradeable, etc,etc

don't knock a detector unless you've tried it, or seen it used for an extensive period of time...

Comparing the fit and finish and seriousness of the company is like comparing GM to Lexus

DIrEctQL

Actually, do not buy from Escort, the company is very suspicious. This one company was doing tests which one is the best, and Escort submitted a complitelly different radar in casing of their popular brand radar. That's cheating. Valentine One is also reprogramable.

DIrEctQL

I have tried a lot of radars and settled for Valentine One simply because I like it's pros and cons. Like someone mentioned, when I drive the same streets all the time, I know where traffic controllers and warning signals are (yes, they're not fake, they're real, but not made by Police). Knowing that I easly know when to slow down and when to speed up. Like Valentine One manual says, just because you have a radar you're not invincible.