9500xi is my choice. Great for everyday driving with almost 0 false rates in the city. The traffic camera thing is also useful a few times. This is what it boils down to:

1. If you want the longest detection: Escort Redline (If you drive a lot of clear highway)
2. If you want directional data and/or frequency: V1
3. If you want peace of mind: 9500xi

If you are really in the market for something better and want to avoid getting lasered, get the ZR4 shifters with the 9500xi.

I got my 9500xi 2 years ago for 380ish new (10% ebay coupon + some other promos). I guess wait for a good deal - sometimes you can find some real cheap ones.

PS: Anyone here has the latest camera update files for the Passport?

 

sorry, let me rephrase: Lidar, when used instantaneously would be detected too late by the V1..unlike radar which needs to be left on and which will get picked up by your device in time for you to slow down, lidar does not need to be left on...so you'd have a higher chance of getting caught....just as TheRacerBoss eluded to....

 

no radar will save ur butt when it comes to laser or lidar.. by the time ur radar goes off they got ur speed!.. unless u got a jammer

 

Yes,
The 9500ci is equiped with the ZR4 Jammers in the front and Jammer\Detector on the rear. Also, for states where Radar Detectors are illegal, the 9500ci uses a unique technology that conceals it from Radar Detector Detectors. THATS WHAT SOLD ME

You basicly have an immunity bubble around you. Unless the leo gets you for something else and starts digging into things.

I dont drive rash but sometimes I just step on the paddle harder than my fellow drivers. It used to be that I would drive fast and scan for cops all over, now I drive usual and hunt for where a leo is hidding after I get the alert.
Its kind of a fun game that me and wife enjoy playing and its really crazy where the leo's hide man, I tell you, I enjoy driving even more now

 

I used to speed too, until I realized that all I was doing was burning thru my tank of gas, risking a hefty fine and the time saving was not even worth it. Use this to calculate;

http://www.easywebcalculators.com/speeding.htm

Speeding will only save you significant time if you're going a long distance (300 miles or more) and doing about 15+ over the limit. For short distances, you're saving only minutes! But for that time savings, you get to spend more on gas. So unless you really have a deadline to reach or some emergency, it's not worth it. Put on the CC, put your favorite tunes on and smile at the cops when you pass by and shake your head at all the people you see pulled over during your trip.

A radar detector only gives a false sense of security and at times makes you drive faster because you think all is clear. What happens when an unmarked car just flat out paces behind you? BUSTED

I do think however that the speed limit in some areas are ridiculously low in some areas, but that's another debate. I was once on a three lane highway where the speed limit was 40 and I slowed down to 40 just to see how it feels and I felt like my car was disabled as EVERYONE passed me doing about 60-65. Any one of us could have been pulled for speeding even at a relatively slow 50mph with no excuse to give.

 

Radar doesn't need to be left on either. It's just as effective if used like a Lidar gun. The difference between the two is pinpoint accuracy. Let's say two cars are speeding, but one is going slightly faster than the other. Radar will display a speed, but if the cars are close enough together the police officer will not be able to distinguish which car is giving the reading. Lidar can point to an individual car within a group and provide an accurate speed reading.

 

that's if they are using their radar like a Lidar. The pin point accuracy is a good point tho, which should be mentioned and taken note of. The law enforcement officers I know and speak with all seem to say the same thing, Lidar only on when pointed/pointing at a car, radar on all the time, resting it on the window edge/door.


so after all of this, what's your advice to the OP?



from what I've been told and heard, it's Lidar more than radar that gets drivers stopped, even with V1's...for whatever reason, just going by what I've observed and heard....

seems the consensus is jammers when discussion Lidar...but then again, the obvious answer is: Don't Speed

 

My 9500ci is so reliable at finding cops shooting laser/radar that my girlfriend and I play the 'find the cop' whenever we pick up a signal. She asked me the other day why the detector DID NOT go off when we drove past a cop.. I had to explain to her that the 9500ci wasn't a 'cop detector' but that it was a laser/radar detector, and that it only goes off when they're trying to measure your speed. I freaking LOVE the 9500ci! I'd save up and get the 9500ci if that's an option.

 

Getting back to a question from the OP, yes, many NY State Troopers still use radar, however, certain PDs on Long Island do use LIDAR, which is picked up by the V1, but at that point its too late. Mine has saved my butt a few times, and for those other times, have a good lawyer

 

Buy the $70 Cobra if it gets good reviews for radar detection. The only real defense against Lidar is that chump flying past you in his G35 who thinks his car is better than yours