octee

Klepper, is this the cordless one? Thanks for your response.

C's Bimmer

For 2 years, I had the Passport Solo S2 (Cordless) by Escort. I loved it, for the fact that it was cordless. HOWEVER, I switched to the V1 about 14 months ago and couldn't be happier. The arrows are HUGE! If you are basing your decision on cleanliness, then the S2 is a great choice. But if you want reliablility, then the V1 without question. As they say, "once you live with the arrows, you can't live without them". It couldn't be more true.

Also, the V1 is encased in Magnesium, not plastic like every other radar detector in the marketplace. This prevents a ton of false alarms. And probably the most important feature...notice how the V1 never changes it's body style? This is done for a reason. Valentine offers software upgrades for any year, since inception. Any time Mike and his team come out with something new, you can get it for your V1, regardless of how old it is. All you have to do is send it back and they'll update it to the latest and greatest. By keeping the body style identical every year, it makes it easy for all owners of the V1 (and easy for Valentine as well).

Oh, and I was at a hotel last year when the Gumball 3000 happened to make a stop over and spend the night. Every car that was in the event (every model Ferrari, every model Lambro, Dinan M5's, CL65 AMG's, Porsche GT 2's/3's and even a Carerra GT, Enzo Ferrari and a Saleen S7). ALL of them used the V1. I checked every car's dash and not one of them went without the V1. Once I saw that, I was sold.

octee

You make a great point cmansbimmer... Now I understand why everyone has demos and instructions on how to install it permanently!

I'm very much into the clean look (haven't tinted the windows or anything) so I wondered about the arrows.. but you have a very valid point..

Thanks!

C's Bimmer

As you can see from my sig, I have 35% Llumar tint all the way around. I even had the V1 in my E39 with the same tint and never a problem. In fact, the rear receptor is as good as the front. I'm amazed every time it goes off for the rear arrow and how on the money it is. Now, I don't have it hardwired at the top like the other owners do. I have it manually mounted dead center using the suction cups. I can't speak for the hardwire at the top of the mirror, but having it dead center is certain that nothing will get missed. There are no obstructions this way.

subterFUSE

DO NOT GET A CORDLESS DETECTOR.


Cordless means it needs batteries. Needing batteries means unreliable performance. That's the Bottom Line.


Mike Valentine has said since day 1, that he will NEVER sell a cordless detector.... and that's because he stakes his reputation on the reliability of his detectors.


Once you have a Valentine, you'll never be able to use anything else again. The arrows are essential.

octee

Interesting point subterfuse, it's common sense that the batteries will eventually run out and thus fail...

cmansbimmer, because of the cord, I'd probably go the hardwired route.. those cords would probably drive me crazy.

playinJ30

despite popular belief... the V1 is no longer the premier radar detector on the market... though it's close.


I have a Beltronics RX65 and it works better than a V1. They both detect equally but the RX65 has far less false alarms.

The only advantage to a V1 is that it tells you the direction from which the signal is coming. To me... this is totally useless because if i hear a beep and I'm speeding... i slow down, i don't care where the signal is coming from.

i've read alot of reviews and the consensus is lately that the RX65 is the best performer but not by a whole lot. The top 3 ar the RX65, the 8500 from Escort, and the V1


You can't go wrong w/ any of these 3 detectors as they will all do an equally good job, for the most part.


Obviously hardwire is the way to go.

jsal

From a detection standpoint, you can't go wrong with the Valentine, Escort or new Belltronics (Escort and Belltronics are the same company, although with competing engineering departments). I agree with the battery operated comment, but I know people who have used them for years.

However, if you want the ultimate in clean, get the Belltronics or Escort integrated units. It will cost - a lot , but nobody, even a cop will know you have the system. As noted with the Valentine, you can still look in a car and see that it has it.

Out here, if you do get pulled over and have a radar detector, you will get a ticket.

My radar receiver is in the grill (and yes it will still pick up rear radar as the waves bounce around so much). I have laser detectors in the lower grill area and on the rear license plate. You don't need to use the display/control unit (I have mine in the glove box with a simple led right under my speedo, a speaker under the dash and a mute button on the side of the console. The led and sound frequency will tell you how strong the signal is. I have the same unit with the control visable in my Yukon and don't miss the display in my BMW.

It is fully programmable if there are ever any changes. Laser detection is better in the front and rear of the car since they are aiming a fine point at the license plate and it is a jamming unit.

The in-car detectors will be lucky to pick up front laser and forget about rear. Most laser gun engineers will tell you that if you detect the laser on a dash unit, that most likely your speed will already be recorded by the time you detect them. Personally, I am a little worried about how effective you can be against laser.

It is the cleanest and the best detection, but it will cost. And, if you try to install it by yourself, plan a weekend.

octee

thanks playinj30 and jsal. I'm one of those consumers that researches everything so I'll be checking out all the reviews on all 3. I don't think I'll go with the integrated version, I don't want to spend that much and I'm fairly confident that I'll be getting a new car after my lease is up.

C's Bimmer

Hahaha! We should quit our day jobs and go work for Valentine.