Radar Detectors

[PricklyPete]

Anyone running a radar detector these days? What is the best one. Valentine V1 still the go-to?

 

[Bartman39]

I would say it depends on if you live in or around smaller towns...? Here in TX most all town cops still use reg radar so a std radar detector will do... From what I know about laser if they hit you they got you so state boys can have you in a second...? As for the best one...? Someone else can hype in on that one...? (hehe still using a 25 year old one but hey it works like charm...)

 

[deadlyapp]

Most all the departments here in Cali are still running radar rather than Lidar/laser and I still see a lot of people using radar detectors, but you really have to spend money on good ones now, because most modern cars are running radar for their auto-adjusting cruise control, lane avoidance, etc and will set off radar alarms if they aren't finely tuned.

I haven't paid much attention to the detectors out these days, but there are definitely new versions of the 8500 and the X1 etc that are better. I'd certainly try to stick to Passport, Valentine, etc. Most of the new detectors will also have feeds that pull reported speed traps, speed cameras, etc which personally I could care less about.

 

[Charlie22911]

In some areas they are illegal, like Virginia. There is also a such a thing as radar detector detectors, and radar detector detector detectors. It's pretty meta.

 

[PricklyPete]

Cool. With the advancements in phones...I’m surprised there hasn’t been a lot of advancement in this tech. I will have to see what the enforcement is using around these parts.

 

[KIAman]

I'm still not convinced how effective radar detectors are. I have a few people I know who have them and they still get speeding tickets.

 

[bruceb]

They will work, but if the cop is using Instant On Radar or Laser, you are probably going to get caught. Unless there are other cars ahead of you and you happen to pick up the signal while he is checking their speed. Laser has to be used in stationary mode and can not be used through a car window.

 

[WilliamM2]

Rarely see cops using instant on around here, and never laser, so I still found mine to be very useful until about a year ago.That's when I started getting constant false alarms from new cars with blind spot and crash avoidance systems.

I'm waiting to see if the manufactures truly address this before buying another.

 

[Elfear]

I bought a car a couple years ago with an Escort 9500ci and it's been a great RD. Seems very accurate based on warnings and cop sightings. Also has GPS-based logging for automatic door sensors and the like.

 

[Charlie22911]

I imagine that Waze combined with a detector would give you considerable advantage.
I’ve also seen laser jammers, which are actually legal in quite a few jurisdictions.

 

[TridenT]

Using the Uniden R3. It was considered the best as of not too long ago.

Valentine V1 is nice for those directional arrows. Wish mine had that but whatever. I just know that when I detect a steady signal, slow the f down.

Only problem I have had with mine is what seems like false laser alerts. It could be people running laser jammers but who knows. I've rarely (if ever?) been hit with laser and it was obvious that I was getting hit with it. But it happens less and less frequently these days.

Most annoying part is the random KA alerts I get just driving around. They're very consistent at least. (Looking a certain way in a parking garage, up a certain hill, getting to a specific point on a certain street, etc.) GPS mute for that is nice, I guess.

They're also continually updating the radar detector. Which is good.

A big problem with the R3 though is that you *will* get alerts for insanely far away cops. I'm talking multiple miles away, you'll get a reading. That sounds nice but it is kinda obnoxious sometimes. It's a bit *too* sensitive. BUT, they did add an option to turn down the sensitivity and whether you get alerted up to X%. (So, you won't get alerts for really weak signals)

 

[Charlie22911]

Using the Uniden R3. It was considered the best as of not too long ago.

Valentine V1 is nice for those directional arrows. Wish mine had that but whatever. I just know that when I detect a steady signal, slow the f down.

Only problem I have had with mine is what seems like false laser alerts. It could be people running laser jammers but who knows. I've rarely (if ever?) been hit with laser and it was obvious that I was getting hit with it. But it happens less and less frequently these days.

Most annoying part is the random KA alerts I get just driving around. They're very consistent at least. (Looking a certain way in a parking garage, up a certain hill, getting to a specific point on a certain street, etc.) GPS mute for that is nice, I guess.

They're also continually updating the radar detector. Which is good.

A big problem with the R3 though is that you *will* get alerts for insanely far away cops. I'm talking multiple miles away, you'll get a reading. That sounds nice but it is kinda obnoxious sometimes. It's a bit *too* sensitive. BUT, they did add an option to turn down the sensitivity and whether you get alerted up to X%. (So, you won't get alerts for really weak signals)

In populated areas door sensors in shopping centers and stores can set them off too, that’s probably a good chunk of your false positives I’d imagine.

 

[TridenT]

In populated areas door sensors in shopping centers and stores can set them off too, that’s probably a good chunk of your false positives I’d imagine.

It's KA band. So, it's far less likely. But, who knows. I have K band turned off. CA doesn't use it.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I still like my Valentine 1 (~8 years old now)
Feels weird driving without the arrows (eg. rentals).

 

[PricklyPete]

Thanks for all the replies. Will need to do a bit more research.

 

[Beer4Me]

Bel, Escort, Valentine are still your best bets here. Stay away from Cobra, Whistler, and Uniden, as those are all garbage. Be aware that if you buy Bel/Escort/Valentine from a reseller on eBay or Amazon, they will NOT cover you for warranty purposes.

I've personally have had great luck with Bel and Escort, even with their lower end models for Radar protection. Radar scatters A LOT, light does not. You probably already know this, but RE: laser, doesn't matter what you get, you cannot beat the speed of light. If you're detectors go off for laser, it's too late.

Most guys that I know with V1s swear by em and nothing else. They have strong brand loyalty.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I would probably prefer an Escort if they integrated the arrow feature from V1 (now that the patent has expired).

 

[mike8675309]

You can't discount the benefit of the arrows on the Valentine 1 units. When I used to drive through multiple states for drag race events I always had my V1 and about 50% of the time the radar was coming from behind me which means I didn't really need to worry. I sold my V1 a few years back because I just do local driving and haven't been drag racing. Waze works good enough for driving around the city.

 

[TridenT]

Bel, Escort, Valentine are still your best bets here. Stay away from Cobra, Whistler, and Uniden, as those are all garbage. Be aware that if you buy Bel/Escort/Valentine from a reseller on eBay or Amazon, they will NOT cover you for warranty purposes.

I've personally have had great luck with Bel and Escort, even with their lower end models for Radar protection. Radar scatters A LOT, light does not. You probably already know this, but RE: laser, doesn't matter what you get, you cannot beat the speed of light. If you're detectors go off for laser, it's too late.

Most guys that I know with V1s swear by em and nothing else. They have strong brand loyalty.

I don't know when the last time you checked in but the Uniden R3 is the reigning champ right now.

OP, if you want more informed opinions and testing, go to rdforum.

 

[PricklyPete]

I don't know when the last time you checked in but the Uniden R3 is the reigning champ right now.

OP, if you want more informed opinions and testing, go to rdforum.

Thanks for the tip on the rdforum

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i run the Uniden R3. Best on the market...

 

[bruceb]

Escort just came out with the Escort Max 360 ... have not seen test reviews yet and it will cost you $699.95
https://www.escortradar.com/max360c/ .. has a lot of features including Arrows, Speed Limit, Over Speed Limit Warning . it runs from the car 12V circuit .. Note: It is not invisible to radar detector detectors like they use in Virginia, where you are not allowed use of a radar detector. Of course the COPS can do whatever they want as far as hiding to get you in a speed trap. That state has some very low speed limits, even on highways.

Maximum speed limit for passenger vehicles and motorcycles (unless posted otherwise)
Interstate highways in designated rural areas 65 MPH
Interstate highways in areas not designated as rural 55 MPH
Limited access and non-limited access highways 55 MPH
Secondary routes which include all public roads and streets not designated as part of the interstate or primary system 55 MPH
School, business and residential zones
(You are required to travel 25 MPH in a school zone only when indicated by a sign or signal. Otherwise, maintain the posted speed.) 25 MPH

 

[TridenT]

Escort MAX 360 has been out for a couple years.

New model is Escort max 360c (which is just the 360 with wifi). https://www.vortexradar.com/2017/11/escort-max-360c-review/

Uniden R3 is still preferred by that reviewer.

 

[mizzou]

if a cop uses a moving radar, its on all the time. Thats probably best case scenario for a radar detector because you will probably get a warning before they see you.

Worst case is the cop sitting concealed and hits the ON button once they see u and already have a good estimate for your speed.

IMO they are useless and merely have a placebo effect.

 

[Elganja]

checkout vortexradar.com, they have a good comprehensive list of radar detectors and they also list what states use what bands

for a long time I used the escort redline, and I loved it. has fantastic range, however i seemed to get lots of false positives due to blind spot mirrors and so forth. you cannot tune it in any real way, meaning you cannot narrow the K band which is the man culprit

i just bought a uniden r3, which has a lot more configuration options such as narrowing bands. it is also GPS enabled so you can do lockouts.

Both the the Escort Redline and Uniden R3 are not detectable which is good for states that don't allow it. With that said, if you have it plugged in and it's on your windshield or an officer sees it, you will still get a ticket for it.