They are both excellent detectors. Remember Bel and Escort are birds of a feather (they are actually the same company) they vary slightly in features but if you open the box its essentailly the same goods. If you can afford it go for the SR1 or the RX75. They offer the same or better range detection than the detachable detectors and are completely integrated and invisible. Do not try to instal them yourself since it takes A LOT of work, removing bumper, interior trim etc. The reason the integrateds offer better detection is simple, the antennas are HUGE (about twice as large as the windshield mounted ones) their increased sensitivity more than makes up for the fact that they are mounted much lower in the vehicle body (in the bumper). An easy way to increase any detector's range is to put it at the top of the windshied rather than at the bottom. Higher placement improves the "line of sight" distance when cresting a hill. One of the most common traps is the cop sitting at the bottom of a dip so as to avoid detection of the radar.

 

The nice thing about a Bel STi Driver is it is not detectable. It is EMI shielded to prevent detection. If you do a lot of driving where that is a issue, it is great. Hardwired to driver side visor it's not visible from outside the car. Just use the remote control down low on dash and turn off the display on the unit itself and you're all set. Install is perfect and all wires are hidden.

 

I recently bought an Escort Solo S2 for a road trip. (Supposedly, battery-powered detectors have slightly less sensitivity than the wired variety as they cycle through a low-power mode.) Worked like a charm except for one instant-on hit in Arizona that would have resulted in a ticket had I been speeding at the time. It uses AA batteries and does chew through them fairly fast. You can buy an add-on 12V cable to run it off of car power, in which case it becomes exactly like an 8500 in terms of specifications according to Escort. Nice thing is that you can set it for lower X-band sensitivity, or turn off X-band entirely. Cuts waaaaay down on falses. Most police radar is Ka with a few K here and there. Yes, radar detectors are omnidirectional and can detect signals from any direction. Hills are a problem because radar is line-of-sight transmission. Be careful cresting a hill at high speed!

Funny thing about CHP, in the LA area they rarely stop anyone for speeding as the looky-loo factor brings freeway traffic to a halt and they are reluctant to disrupt traffic flow. No one really thinks about speeding tickets very much. Thus, an aggressive subset of LA drivers go completely insane when they (occasionally) find themselves on a free-flowing freeway. Many will attempt to drive 85-90+ when traffic is flowing nicely at 70-75. That in itself disrupts traffic and makes me wish for a speed trap or two!

I don't use a radar detector in urban LA driving, as most of the time I am blazing along at 15-20 mph.

 

To be honest, I can't tell much difference. They both are sensitive when they need to be and reject false signals very well (the only exception being automatic door openers that use K-band, and nobody's detectors ignore those).

When it came time to replace an older unit, I just went with the X-50 because it was newer, but both units are - IMO, at least - exceptional.

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I have had a cop here in north san antonio flash his lights at me when I was going 3 over the night speed limit. The cops here honestly have nothing better to do, they gave my mom a ticket for doing 6 over in a 55 (could be a 65 with ease). This is why I am getting a Valentine 1 next week. My dad got pulled over doing 99 (it was 100 but he tapped the brake) in a 80. His V1 didn't pick up the cop because he was at the top of a hill and under a bridge.I just use common sense when I speed and I am proud to say I have never gotten pulled over.

One question: Do any of you remember how much it cost to have your detector hard wired in your RL?

 

I did it myself. Just wrapped the positive lead around one of the prongs of the accessory fuse. The other was grounded underneath the dash, and then I ran the wire along the pillar.

Not cutting, no splicing and no disassembly. Maybe took 15 minutes.

 

You're not going to believe this but I just got a ticket 30 minutes ago. Alleged 54 in a 40 and I told the damn cop I was doing about 50 but not 54. So he has that on video so going to court is useless, I am 17 and 1 day old so insurance will kill me if they find out. He came over a hill and I had no time to slow down, wow I'm really pissed.

 

i love my V1

 

I have my V1 mounted as GoHawks described with power through an accessory fuse that is on only with the ignition and the wires running along the A pillar along the top of the windshield. . . .the V1 is mounted behind the tint next to the rearview mirror so that it has a great view of the road and is not visible from the outside. I have the remote display unit mounted in the dash next to the spedometer . .completely stealth.

 

I have a $150 fine and then a $108 fine for the court to process the form I fill out. Then I pay $50 for defensive driving which takes the ticket off my record and makes it so my insurance doesn't get affected.

Here is my on what not to do when you get pulled over.

1. Never say anything convicting of yourself because all cops now have cameras in their cars and they all have microphones under their uniform (thats how you hear and see cop shows the way you do).

2. Have excuses planned for the different parts of your average daily commute that the officer can not prove you wrong on.

3. Wait until the cop is at your window to reach for your license and insurance (the act of you reaching around in your car looks suspicious to the officer when he is in your car).

4. Always be polite, this is soooo important. When it is all said and done shake the officers hand (you never know, he might pull you over again one day).

5. Identify with the officer (small talk).

6. When you are pleading your case why you should not get a ticket make sure to make the officer feel like he is in the position of power. Make him feel bigger than he is and then ask him for a reduction in your ticket. Just make him feel like he is doing you, the poor little motorist a massive favor.

The best way to get out of a ticket is not to speed. It is up to you, if you can afford a ticket and you have no problem with your insurance going up, then go ahead, but I guarantee you, you will get caught one day.

 

I purchased a BEL RX 65 detector. Have had for about a month and ablsolutely love it. Yesterday it went off on K band while making turns on curvy roads. I even thought it was giving a false because no cops appeared for 1/2 mile. Sure enough there he was on the side of the road waiting for the next poor sucker. Point is he was not in sight when the Bel started to scream and I checked my speed.

 

I love my Valentine 1. And customer service is the best with them. Mike Valentine lives in Blue Ash, Oh. It's about ten minutes from Cinci. I went to college at UC. My friend who also lives in Blue Ash was able to call up Mike Valentine himself and was able to get his V1 repaired in no time at all.

 

What do units like the K40 actually cost? I can see the laser component is $329, just for that...

 

I had a k40 in my RX7 and I believe I paid over $1k for it, if I remember correctly.

YMMV,

 

Is this a true statement: K band could be a door opener or cop, but Ka band is always a cop?

 

In my experience, yes. In my area, K-band is ALWAYS a door opener and Ka is ALWAYS the police. They also use laser here.

However, in some rural jurisdictions in my travels, I have found the occasional police officer using K-band.

 

That is correct. Some door openers (i.e. grocery stores) now use K band, but they're typically at the lower end of the K band spectrum. I have an Escort 9500i that allows you to select a display that shows you the frequency of the band. It also allows you to lockout known false sources (by GPS coordinates) so that your detector doesn't alert you when it encounters those signals.

Ka is ALWAYS police radar, although I've noticed that Ka is now used in some of those speed display signs (trailors) used by some police departments in the suburbs here in SE Michigan.

 

Every time a discussion on radar detectors comes up the same old things are posted just with a different user handle.

The V1 people come out and so do the Passport people.

Fact is I had a 8500 blue and a V1 side by side. The 8500 is a great detector with many bells and whistles such as the ability to turn off certain bands which the V1 does not allow (annoying how arrogant Valentine can be-always has been). Both have xlnt and identical KA band detection. The V1 ruled in K band which means nothing as no one in Southern California uses it.

The arrows on the V1 convinced me to keep the V1. That and the fact that the 8500 broke on me and then the replacement broke on me. First was the volume dial just seized and very poor detection on the 2nd. Again, perhaps flukes as I know many that have owned a Escort for years including myself.

Now I also own a $50.00 Bell detector that is years old and you know what? It picks up KA just as good as the V1 and 8500 do/did. The V1 seems to have an advantage around corners though but not in a straight line????????

My V1 is hardwired in my RL to the rear view mirror circuit. The load is not that great so no concern there. Works great.

Again, those arrows DO work, one time a while back I knew where smokey was coming from and got off the freeway quick and stopped for a minute. When I got back on he had the Altima that was pacing me pulled over. Whether he would have pulled the other guy over or me is uncertain but due to the arrows I made the CHP decision easier. I never saw the CHP coming from behind but took the arrows word for it. I used to think that the arrows served no purpose but am a believer these days. The V1 has saved me twice in the last 2 weeks. Both in the mountains where a motor sits with his KA band.

Other are correct on the instant on laser. Once they have you with those your done. Trial by declaration time. Won one of those early this year as well.

 

I have been using V-1 since they came out, too many years, love them. I kept buying new ones to make sure I had the latest.

I just tried the 9500 and sold both V-1's and now have 2 9500's. The false alarms were killing me in the city, the performance is about the same but now I do not have false in the city, peace and quiet.
Hardly miss the arrows, a little at first, but now my hand stays on the steering wheel instead of camping on the V-1.
Hard to believe but I am a 9500 owner now, one blue and one red.

 

I could never give up the arrows-drive too many miles a day-but agree that the V1 makes too much #$%^&* noise. If I could turn off the K band it would be near perfect.

 

Agree that this is always the equivalent of a religous debate. While you reference the 8500, you should really now compare the 9500i. That is the real game changer as you can now lock out known false sources.

If you go to the radar detector forums most will agree that if you're looking solely at distance in detection, the V1 will come out slightly ahead, but from practical need, they're pretty much the same.

In other words in real world driving, does it really matter that you get 1.75 mile warning with the V1 as opposed to 1.5 with the Passport? I'm using those numbers as an example, I don't remember what the real numbers are, but they vary by band.

The V1 is more sensitive, but that comes at a cost, more falses, which could cause people to begin ignoring it.

Now the arrows are what all V1 owners swear by, and not having ever owned one, I don't have a frame of reference.

All I can say is that my 9500i is EXTREMELY quiet, and when it does go off, I take it seriously as I'm pretty confident that it's a real source.

Actually saved my bacon this morning as I got a warning just as I was coming around a curve.

Bottom line is that they're both great detectors. The V1 will give you the most extreme performance (with arrows), with the trade-off being that it's a little chatty.

The Passport may compromise a little it extreme distance detection, but in return you get a quiet detector, but also no arrows.

 

One other 9500i advantage I forgot to point out. You can now download firmware updates and apply them through the USB port.

You no longer have to send the detector in for a "tune-up".

Just updated mine last week.

 

Good info, I never picked up the 9500 due to all of the issues I was reading about when they were released. Sounds like they ironed those out. Now if they released a 9500 with arrows, that would be golden.

 

The V-1 is super noisy in the city, depends on the city of course.

 

Then bel gx65 is tight out the end of september!

 

I just did the software update on line for my 2 9500's, really cool, I like that.

Love the V-1's for over 10 years, will not go back until they take care of the falsing, my hand was constantly on the mute in the city. Highway was fine.

 

I have a RX-65 and it's saved me hundreds of times....although I got busted once when a cop turned it on at the last second after he saw I was flying...but 3 years, 1 ticket...I cant complain to much...plus it was really cheap



I am looking to get the 9500 though with my new RL (new to me)

 

Im told that the CHP almost always has their radar turned on. I have found this to be true about 80% of the time since I've had the Bel RX65. Problem is City and Sheriff officers don't seem to leave radar on but then again Im not usually over speed limit in city driving. So most vulnerable in rural driving. The Bel seems to have up to a 1.5 mi or more detection distance.

 

Isn't it though?

The update is supposed to improve K warnings by making ramp up more linear. There were also a couple of other minor improvements along with an improvment to Laser detection.

I caught a Ka source close to two miles today!! It was actually one time here the arrows would have come in handy. THe warning was going on for so long at a steady pace, I thought the cop was behind me. I couldn't find him, then finally I spotted him coming towards me. The arrows would have given me a heads up where he was.

 

See? That's why I can't give up my V1. I need the arrows for "situational awareness".

 

Is hard wiring your Radar Detector a DIY job? It seems like its hard to pull off the molding to run the cord...at least harder then it was on my 03 TL

 

I didn't have to pull off any molding. I did have to remove the cover off of the console around the shifter to install the remote light/mute control above the coin holder.

 

I removed that piece as well to tap the accessory wire, and I ran my mute button so that it is on the left inside wall right above the "not an ashtray" space. It is second nature to reach up and mute my V-1 with my index finger.

 

I wired mine directly into the rear view mirror. The release clip is on top. Push/pull down and the connector will come out. There was a small plastic cover over the wire that must be removed first. It is a little tight.

 

Just installed an Escort 9500xi Radar Detector in my 05 RL. It's the model with the Blue LED, so it looks good with the RL. So far, it feels like I'm making money avoiding fines. The 9500xi has GPS built in so it learns where you drive and after 3 times, it doesn't go off for the automatic doors at stores and other places. It also has the location of red light cameras and speed zone cameras built in and will give you a warning as you approach. I purchased the hard wire kit with mute box to clean up the dash. I chose to mount the mute button box next to the side mirror adjust buttons in the empty compartment to the right. I think it looks pretty clean and doesn't stick out as an add on and it's out of the way. I tried to add a pic but not sure how...if you'd like a pic, let me know.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/picture...ictureid=18314
Here is a picture of the installed detector and mute button located to the right of the side mirror adjust.

 

valentine for life....

 

I have owned many radar detectors including both the 9500 and V1. All I will say is that any kind of radar is better than no radar, just ensure it is decent enough not to provide you with false confidence.

I have also read a report a while back that stated built in car detectors do not operate as well as the portable units. Do not remember the details and am not siding one way or another.

 

I had the V1 for a few years and it failed on me once. That was because I failed to slow down after it gave me a laser warning. The cop tagged me 3 more times as I went faster and faster. I thought it was a Infinity FX coming towards me...

 

Just got back from Chautauqua NY, V1 hasn't failed me for 3 years now. Put it head to head with my Dads new 9500 last year and it wasn't even a contest V1 picked up bogeys much earlier, had them both on the dash. Bogey counter and arrows put it on a whole different level.