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Best radar/laser detector to buy

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comptalk

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Stilling doing God's work
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Discussion Starter · #1 · (Edited)
I did a search for radar/laster detectors, but nothing really recent. Any updates on what is the best to use on an Elise? I have the Passport 9500xi for my daily commuter car. Should I get the same one for the Elise? Are there any that make the car invisible to radar and laser detectors? There were a few by Uniden back about 10 years ago or so. Some how, they do not work as well as they used to. After 13 + years with no tickets, I got one a few months ago. That's why I purchased the Passport 9500xi.
 
chotto

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#3 ·
95% of the people here are going to recommend the Valentine V1. There are tons of discussions here on it if you search. I have one and love it.
 
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Green Hornet

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#4 ·
I have used Valentine and own two of them. However I stopped using them a few years ago because I got soooooooooooo tired of all the false alarms. The damn things go off so often that it is impossible to miss any signal. :wallbang:

Question - have they gotten any better in the past 5 or 6 years?
 
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comptalk

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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
I've checked the Internet and the results are pretty similar between the Passport 9500xi vs V1. The only real difference was that the 9500xi had less false alarms than the V1. Just wanted to see if anything changed in the last year or so. I do not believe they use laser in NY, NJ or NYC. So, not sure if a laser jammer is needed right now.
 
S

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#8 ·
I think 99% of people here are going to say V1. I have one myself. However I've also had a passport and am probably flying solo- but I believe it was a better unit. This is merely based on my owning both units. No offense to me if you disagree and hopefully no offense to whoever disagrees with me.
Sure arrows are nice. I think they are a little over rated though. I think the V1 has many times more false alarms, and I really like the voltage display on the passport, as well as the quick auto mute function and night time dim display. It seems to have more nice features and not near the amount of false alarms- but people love the arrows.
 
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macdady2424

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#9 ·
comptalk said:
I've checked the Internet and the results are pretty similar between the Passport 9500xi vs V1. The only real difference was that the 9500xi had less false alarms than the V1. Just wanted to see if anything changed in the last year or so. I do not believe they use laser in NY, NJ or NYC. So, not sure if a laser jammer is needed right now.
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I have the 9500xi and love it. With the GPS, you really get no false alerts on roads you normally drive along after you mark the false alarms. That's what scares be about the V1, after a while, I would ignore it b/c it would keep going off all the time.

And also, they use Laser in NJ. My town and also State Troopers have started using them in the past year. And they still use X-band in NJ too.
 
rob13572468

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#10 ·
right now the escort 9500ci (installed) is the gold standard for radar detectors. It outperforms the V1 and offers laser jamming which the V1 does not.It also has the GPS and database capabilities which allow you to mark and remember the locations of speed cameras, redlight camera, speed traps, etc. as well as a number of other advanced capabilities. Plus you can do cool stuff like this as well if you have the newer elise cluster:

YouTube - Escort 9500ci Cluster Display on W204 Mercedes C Class

The V1 works well and is less expensive than the 9500ci but again does not have any of those new features and also does not have the laser jamming which is now considered critically important (you dont really stand much of a chance against LIDAR with just a laser detector).

If you can afford it (and you really should if you have spent the $$$ for an elise/exige) then definately get the 9500ci). otherwise stick with the V1
 
Implosion

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#18 ·
Found this map of laser shifter laws. Caveat emptor. Thought about a CI, but I'm not a habitual speeder so didn't make a lot of sense for the extra outlay (2 saves in 3 months). I have an IX currently and like it for my DD. Marking/storing is handy. I get very few falses since regular signals are locked out.

My routine is to wipe the d-base and restore every 6 weeks or so, however, just to be safe. Complacence + aggressive driving seems to be the critical formula for disaster no matter what detector you have.

Edit: it is also fun when you are rolling top down and a ricer goes to pass you. Just look over, tap the RD on your windshield, and watch the ricer drop the anchor. :)
 
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