Brant535

I have been driving a little faster now that I have a 535xi and I would like to invest in a radar / laser / detector / protector, befor I wish I had. In any case I have not been in the market for one of these in past 10 years so I would love some sugestions. I would prefer a hard wire set up any help would be great thanks -Brant

Krozi

Valentine 1 is the best DETECTOR. But it won't do sh*t to protect you from radar. They can still tag you with the Valentine 1.

tuffluck

i personally prefer the escort 9500. you can't go wrong with it or the valentine one, and you'll get mixed answers on that for the rest of your life. if you want gps, get the escort. if you like arrows to show you where the radar is coming, get the valentine.

e60oholic

I dont see why everyone loves the V1. Its a good detector and all but I had one so many false alerts. Ended up getting the Escort 8500 X50 and it beeps way less. I've picked up Ka more than a mile and a half from the cop and its always saved my ass. Im waiting to get my 550 and im getting the ZR4 laser shifter the troopers here are all using laser now. Kinda making any radar detector useless on the highway. The new passport qi45 looks pretty awesome too when you add the shifter package. Not a bad price and pretty concealed incase you do get pulled over.

houbmw

I have owned both the V1 and the escort 9500 and I would say the escort was better in the city, but the V1 was a BEAST on the highway on long distance drives.

porshah

As stated above, you can still get nailed with the "best" detector. Be smart about how and when you speed. I have the V1 hard wired in my 5, and have the 9500 in my P-car. They both have their advantages.

Krozi

And yea, detector preference really depends on where you live. I live in a decently open area so I don't get too many false alerts and I know where most of the false alerts are.

tuffluck

i live in a big city and with X band off, i never, ever get false alarms with my escort 8500 x50.

also as stated above, the 9500 has gps and recognizes false alarms and once it has recognized they are false alarms, will never be set off by them again.

actually, the 9500 beats the V1 in most long-distance tests. either way, 2.5-3mi of detection is pointless since a cop can't detect you but about a quarter of a mile away. it's more about being able to pick up through interferences (hills, turns, etc.) with a good mile of distance between you and the radar.

stel_i79

i have v1+ blinder extreme m25...

Brant535

Thanks for the input it looks like I still have some home work to do.