jimcol711

im in the market for a detector (a 6 point speeding ticket and 6 point racing ticket this month kinda hurt...) and i have a few questions about the valentine 1 that im sure some of you could answer. on ebay, there are several V1's for sale...some list the serial #...the bids are about 325-350...sellers claiming these units are brand new or only 2 months old...however, when you go to the valentine 1 website and put the serial #'s in...it shows that the "brand new" V1 needs a 189 dollar upgrade and the "2 month old" V1 needs a 250 dollar upgrade!!. what is up with this? how often does Valentine 1 change its product??? is that just a ploy to get more money out of people or what?? and if it is serious, do any of you get these upgrades?? i mean the new one is 400 bucks and aparently, right out of the box it needs a 150 dollar upgrade....or even more!! so in the long run..over a year or 2 you spend the intitial 400 bucks, then you have to spend at least another 150 plus shipping just to keep it up to date?? have any of you V1 owners checked your serial numbers to see how outdated your units are?? the V1 seems to be the product of choice but for 400 bucks plus all these upgrades....ill pass...give me a passport 8500 which is only marginally less advanced than the V1 for hundreds of dollars less...any thoughts guys???

Shawn S

I think the sellers are BS-ing you on the age of the units.
Unless they bought them just DAYS before the upgrades came out, they should be fine for several months before being “slightly” out of date.

I haven’t entered my S/N lately (purchased June 2000) but last time I did it was only minor upgrades for like 125 bucks or so.
Plus the slimmer case.

Shawn S

jimcol711

i agree shawn, its quite possible that the sellers are lying about the age of the units...anyhow have you or anyone else checked out www.radartest.com ??? there is a thourough and extensive test of the V1, Escort 8500, a BEL and the K40 where the Escort 8500 comes out significantly on top of the V1...very interesting read...i just checked the whole thing out and it gave alot of interesting points about these 2 detectors....i would love to hear your opinion on that radar test....

Shawn S

I just checked mine and this is what it said.
Not worth 189-bucks to me.

Shawn S

Upgrade Recommendation:
While this version is not quite up to today’s V1 standard for Ka, it’s almost always good enough, and always better than detectors from other makers. X and K performance is excellent. Upgrading merely to improve radar performance is not cost effective, in my opinion. Upgrading does bring other benefits, including our latest Generation 3 front-and-rear laser warning, which is a significant improvement over the Generation 2 technology used in this unit.

Our Instant Upgrade* will make the following improvements to your V1.
·Our best Ka-band performance.
·Our best X-band performance.
·Our best K-band performance.
·Adds radar coverage on Ku-band (used in Europe).
·Our best, Generation 3 laser warning, front and rear.
·Reduces V1's case height by about ¼ inch.
·Reduces V1's weight by about 1.5 oz.
·Latest windshield mount with new suction cups.
·Latest visor mount.
·New Lighter Power Adapter.
·New Direct-wire Power Adapter
·New coiled cord.
·New straight cord.
·New wiring-harness connector.
·Dual-Lock® fastener.
·New Owners Manual.
·Spare fuse.
·Spare suction cups.
·One-year limited warranty, same as new units.

Shawn S

That RADARTEST review is a farce.
It was bought and paid for by ESCORT.

OLD NEWS

Shawn S

jimcol711

I dont mean to question your credibility but how do you know that it was an escort funded test? there is no indication on the site about it being associated with escort or anything like that, there is a huge part describing the nature of the testing and the procedure...it all sounds legit....is there some inside info on that test being bogus?

Shawn S

Like I said OLD NEWS.

I don’t have proof handy, but someone did a check on the owner of the website and it was ESCORT’s parent company or something like that.

And the guy that runs that site, Craig Peterson, is basically for hire to the highest bidder.
He got caught running this scam on other products too I believe.

Do a search on this site if it goes back far enough and you will find several days worth of reading on this topic.

Shawn S

Shawn S

Here's one.

CLICK ME

Shawn S

And another......CLICK ME

SilverBullet_RENAMED

Yeah and guess what, it's all lies and false info. That guy use to work for V1 and got let go a long time ago, and now is trying to go against the V1. The V1 was rated MUCH higher than any other radar in the recent Car and Driver tests.

jimcol711

Good info Shawn, in spite of our differences in the past appreciate your input.....im still on the fence still between the V1 and Escort 8500...$250 vs. $400....."best" vs. #2....tough call...but at least there is alot of solid info to continue researching with.

edit: also just out of curiosity does anyone know if you can hardwire the 8500 out of the box?? do you need an additional kit or anything??

SilverBullet_RENAMED

Yes you can. I did it to my Maxima with a detail write up at www.5thgenmaximas.com

Sypher

Jim, once you get used to having the directional arrows of the V1, you'll wonder how you ever even considered another model. And if I were you, I'd just buy directly from the web site and make sure I had the newest version. Although, as long as you check the S/N, at least you know what you're getting from eBay...

JasonT

I'll ring in my 2 cents....

I have both an 8500, & a V1. The V1 is about a year old, & I get the same update as shawn when I enter the serial #. The 8500 is also about a year old. I have used both of these in the same car, & 2 different cars. I really don't see much of a difference in performance. At least not in South FL. Maybe in other parts of the US, it would be different. The directional arrows are very cool though. That's one feature I love. To me I could have done with out the V1. I use the 8500 more in the CLS, only because it fits better, & isn't in the way as much as the thick V1. I need to have an electronic toll pass on my window too.

MikeS 18

I looked at both about a year ago and went with the V1. Here was my logic: The V1 is better. If only a little bit or a lot, it is better. I owned my last detector for over ten years and average about 10-15 mph over the spped limit consistently. The price differential amortized across the life of the detector, taking into account the financial effects of tickets made it a no brainer - I wanted the best out there. I hated the fact that the V1 was so huge and bulky but that is something that all married men deal with...

Scrib

Here's my $0.02...

I have the V1 and it's great. The directinal arrows give you such an advantage.

Also, fom what I've read and discussed with others, the V1 is MUCH more sensitive. In my opinion, this is a good thing. Why???

Well, maybe the V1 will false more than say the 8500 but the ONE time the police officer is sitting up on an overpass or hiding somewhere down the road and he's doing some 'instant on' radar crapola, the V1 gives you the best chance to survive.

Case in point... Dom and I were going down to the US 41 dragstrip a few weeks ago, and I was ahead of him. My Ka band went off and I slowed down. I pointed up to my V1 to let Dom know. I didn't know at that time, but he had some type of Bel detector. Looked like the 980 or something... Anyway he said that he picked up the Ka band 10 (YES 10) seconds AFTER I did. 10 seconds is a big difference, if you ask me. Granted he didn't have the 8500, but the Bel wasn't too far behind the 8500 in the recent C&D tests. And didn't radartest.com rate the Bel higher than the V1???

400 dollars is a lot to spend, I agree. But, I really think it's worth the extra 100 dollars over the Escort 8500 or Bel 980.



Get the V1...

SilverBullet_RENAMED

I had a 8500 for 6 months and bought the v1. We have radar signs in town, and I saw the difference with those. The Passport didn't pick it up till about 100 yards, the V1 at least 1 mile.

Red Rider

Couldn't agree more. The arrows are awesome and i wouldn't get one without them now. Spend the extra $100 or so. You won't be sorry imho.