Help!!! I’m torn between the Valentine One and Escort 8500. Cosmetics aside how does the V 1 rack up against the 8500 in terms of *pure performance*? The V1 has been around for what seems like ages, any word on whether there’s going to be a new series out soon?

 

I don't have any experience with the passport 8500 but I can tell you about my experience with the Valentine 1. I drove from Orlando, FL to Houston, TX in my brother-in-law's 2001 M3, in about 10 hours with the Valentine 1 and not a single ticket. Now, not that I condone speeding but I truely believe in the Valentine 1, so much so, I promptly went out and bought 2. One for me and my TL-S and the other for my wife.

 

Go to radartest.com and see their very objective and thorough evaluations and make your decision based on this. Both are obviously very good.

 

The V1 is always rated one of the best. I don't know if I plan to get one right now but that is one of my choices for when i do decide.

Do the detectors work just as well when mounted up near the rear-view mirror as when it is mounted towards the lower part of the windshield??

 

When I was driving the BMW across states, we had it mounted in the lower part of the windshield. I have my mounted close to the rear mirror (hardwired by Shawn S' instructions, who was kind enought to place them on the CL forum. So far it already save me at least 1 ticket.

 

V1. You won't regret. Expensive but worth it.

Dan

 

I read the review at http://www.radartest.com and thought it was biased. I owned escorts and passports before, abliet not the 8500,and thought that having a rear detection is much better than just having the front one. I actually was caught several times by cops coming up from behind and my old radars didn't catch it. So my vote still goes to the Valentine One

 

Yeah I heard the same thing as well... that the comparison test was biased. But thats debatable I guess.

But I will say one thing .... EVERY Valentine 1 owner that I have talked to has loved their unit. That says a lot.

 

I've used a Valentine 1 for 2 years now and haven't gotten a single ticket yet. The side and rear detection is entertaining as well as being very effective. I fully trust it to give me sufficient warning to slow down when necessary.

 

Has anyone had any experience with the Escort Solo radar detector? I know it's not as advanced as the V1 or Escort 8500, but I like the fact that it's cordless. It's also quite less expensive than the other two.

 

The review on that site is biased. The guy was not hired by V1 to test their system and he really dislikes Valentine.




------------------

 

Tag66, I had an escourt solo cordless radar detector. The only thing it could detect were a grocery stores and other radar detectors. A complete waste of money.

 

Did my research and ordered a Valentine today. All of your comments were helpful as was the Valentine web site.

 

To Tag66:

I used a Escort Solo for a few years and found that it was not nearly sensitive enough. It would give me a warning, but at the last minute where you had to brake very hard to avoid getting ticketed. More than a little danger of getting rear ended in traffic sometimes. In spite of it's portability, I think it's money wasted in my opinion. The Valentine One is the way to go!

 

Just a word on early detection. Cops usually don't clock you from behind by radar, but instead match your pace and estimate your speed, even from hundreds of feet behind. If you get locked onto from behind, it's probably by the trooper at the top of the entrance ramp with the laser gun. No detector will give you sufficient warning for that kind of ambush.

 

I own the Escort 8500 and one of my friends, the Valentine. The reason for my purchase was the size, undetectability and easy to put in your pocket if you get stopped. (they are illegal here. $500 fine and bye bye detector)another reason was the ability to turn off the x band which in my area is not used by police, most likely because the air is so polluted with x band frequencys that it would almost be impossible for them to operate one. Needless to say, false alarms on the x band are rediculous. We tested our units on two different radars one k band and the other ka.I was shocked, (as I did expect the highly praised V1 to easily out perform the escort)the 8500 smoked the V1 on our test. I simply love the unit and have not had a false alarm since I purchased it in December. Keep in mind that my x band is turned off.

 

Here's the scoop on the Solo, the 8500, and the V1; I've owned them all.

First the Solo is ok for portability but because it runs on batteries, it is less sensitive. A little known fact is that if you hookup the solo to the optional 12v cord, it will become more sensitive. Without the 12v power, it is way less sensitive.

I had the 8500 and returned it. Too many false alarms (i.e. not much improvement over previous Passport models). Anyone who says their radar detector has no false alarms is driving on the moon.

V1, my current detector, is awesome. I'm a V1 believer and its range is certainly better than any other detector I've ever owned. From time to time, I even pickup laser that is not aimed at me but at cars ahead of me.

My 2 cents.

------------------
* 2001 Acura CL Type S * Blk/Blk * Navigator * Spoiler * Moonroof Visor *
* Since 3/31/2000 *
Road Warrior

 

http://www.acura-cl.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001395.html

It absolutely can. One post above, I can't find the other [better] post earlier this year where I was driving on a long wide-open straight away with two other cars.

I was in the #2 lane, the car ahead of me was in the #1 lane, another [speeding] car was quite a ways behind me.

As we approached, laser hit lead car. I detected it. Laser off. The laser hit me. I detected it. Laser off. I didn't know a car was fast approaching from behind until laser went off again. Why? That's when I looked in rear view mirror and saw the bogey. Police was standing in the street for him when we arrived.

Each time I got full alert (V1 doesn't ramp up on laser). I couldn't have been targeted three times. So I deduce that from 1/2 to 1/4 mile we were away, I must have detected reflections from nearby cars being targeted. At that range, the beam can spread out a bit. I agree that right up on the speed trap, there's no way you can detect a laser not aimed at you.

This is evident by the fact that when I'm in the #2 lane and pass by one of those neon road sign on the breakdown lane, I sometimes get a laser alert when I'm right up on the sign. Returning to the same site and using the #1 lane, no alert.


------------------
* 2001 Acura CL Type S * Blk/Blk * Navigator * Spoiler * Moonroof Visor *
* Since 3/31/2000 *
Road Warrior

 

Well, that's news to me...and good news, too!
My V-1 is scheduled to arrive in the next day or two. Any thoughts on mounting places? Oh, I got the remote unit, too.

 

http://www.acura-cl.com/ubb/Archives...-1-000119.html

I have my remote mounted in the tray beneath the CD player just above the gear shifter. I rarely if never use it though. I wish it would work with the main unit simultaneously (but it's either one or the other).

------------------
* 2001 Acura CL Type S * Blk/Blk * Navigator * Spoiler * Moonroof Visor *
* Since 3/31/2000 *
Road Warrior

 

I didn't think it was possible to pick up laser that isn't aimed at you. There is no deflection, yes?

 

Here's a real road test. I was on the highway to Houston and last weekend and there was another car going parallel with me. We were both doing about 100 at the time. My Valentine One went off and I slowed down. The other guy went on for at least another 3-5 seconds then he also slammed on his brakes. As we went by the cop, I noticed that he also had a radar detector mounted on his windshield. It did not look like a Valentine One to me. To make the story short, I had a clear 3-5 seconds on the other guy using my Valentine One.

I'm definitely a beliver

 

Thanks, kensteele, that was very helpful. I wonder if mounting it to the right of the rearview mirror would be OK too? Oh, I should mention that a right-side mount would be in combination with the remote display mounted on top of the steering column.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by tlsdave on May 16, 2001 @ ]</font>

 

V1 all the waaaaay!!

They offer any new parts/ upgrades at reasonable price too. So don't worry about any new models coming out.

------------------
Y2K SiLVeR TL, non-navi
Factory style full body kit + spoiler
Volk Racing Versus Campionato SS7 18x7.5 52 offset w/ Toyo Proxes FZ4 225/40/18
TL-S Tail light conversion w/ harness
Comptech Springs
PIAA 1700x w/ Inspire Foglight switch
Polarg M-12 Front turn signals
38% window tint all around
Valentine 1 w/ concealed display

 

radartest does seem somewhat biased. I'm not saying the escort's detection is as good as they claim .. it probably is .. but i think the V1 direction arrows are alone worth the price.. i dont care what any review says.. they are freaking useful and should be on every detector. its a lot better when you see that the signal is ahead, then on the side, then in the back (meaning u just passed it) .. then if u keep getting beeps and dont know if its behind u or still ahead or waht

(i'm biased too cause i have the V1 but i think that particular feature should be worth and extra 20 points on that site )

------------------
-Fiddler
ControlGenie Automation Systems
1998 Accord EX V6 Coupe (HomePage)

 

I remember a few people saying they mounted on the right side and it was okay.


------------------
* 2001 Acura CL Type S * Blk/Blk * Navigator * Spoiler * Moonroof Visor *
* Since 3/31/2000 *
Road Warrior

 

I remember hearing this a long time ago and don't know the validity of the statement: Mount radar detectors as level and as high as you possibly can.

Does anyone know how accurate that is??

------------------
John

2002 WDP TL-S (non-nav)

 

Check this out, VERY COOL!!!!
http://www.bmwplanet.com/messageview...&threadid=1588

 

WOW!! If thats not one of the coolest applications ive seen utilizing the V1!!! What about the TLS???????

 

The V1 is too large and too expensive for the extra (questionable) protection it provides. I don't really care what direction the radar hit is coming from--I slow down until the signal is gone and stay on the alert for the next hit. I've owned Passports or Bels since the mid-80's, routinely drive 15-20+ mph above the speed limit, and have never received a speeding ticket because my radar detector didn't warn me in sufficient time.

Since I live in an area where radar detectors are illegal, I have to be able to hide it from view and the V1 is too large to hide. Even if I didn't have to hide from the cops, I still wouldn't want it mounted in full view where I would have to hide it each time I parked the car so it wouldn't get ripped off. If they ever get around to downsizing the V1, I may try it; but until then, I'll stick with one of the better (less expensive) Bels or Passports that I'm able to conceal and still enjoy my speeding.

 

In case you are interested, i saw the Escort 8500 at a price of $245, which is about $50 cheaper than anywhere else. Check out www.sbhcorp.com

 

I have owned an 8500 for about 3 months and 10000 miles worth of driving. So far, it hasn't let me down (knock on wood). I have had more than just a few falses on the hwy, but there have been other times I would swear I'm getting a false and then appears Johnny Law. I'm sure the V1 and 8500 are both more than adequate under most circumstances, but the 8500 fit my needs better.

 

Let me get this straight. For states or provinces where the radar dector are illegal, does this mean it can be detected by patrol units that you have one on and pull you over, fine and confiscate it.

If so, how does this "help" in having a radar dectetor in the first place?

 

If you're stating that the V1 is less detectable than all other detectors and I don't agree based on test results over the years. My other consideration in choosing a detector, which I didn't mention, is its detectability, or lack of. I've followed, been followed, and pulled alongside many county and state cops where radar detector detectors are in use and have never had a problem. Of course I understand that doesn't mean those cars were equipped with them. I've also used my detectors in NB Canada where they're known for using the detectors and never had a problem. (yet...<G>)

My point is, the V1 is great but not the only radar detector that will provide the same amount of protection for less money. In my case, concealment is a necessary requirement, along with the other factors.