Hard 8

Cool. Can you give a picture? I want to move mine up to the headliner area or one of the sunvisors, but I haven't decided yet the best place to mount it. Did you jam the sunvisor clip under the edge of the headliner?

BigWorm

Hey guys,

I'm considering doing this however I was just curious of what impact window tinting could have if any on the radar any experiences with this?

Hard 8

The valentine 1 web site (www.valentine1.com), has an FAQ on such issues (location, window tinting, etc.). Check out http://www.valentine1.com/lab/MikesLabRpt2.asp for a discussion of the effect of tinting upon laser detection--I don't see a discussion of radar detection:

"The windshield changes a laser detector's vision exactly as sunglasses change yours. The view is so bright on a sunny day that sunglasses don't hurt. But your detector doesn't want sunglasses any time you wouldn't wear them. That means that darker windshields hurt laser-detector performance on gray days and at night. ."

BigWorm

Good Stuff Hard8.!...This is a bummer as i was seriousley looking into tinting my car all around even the front windshield with a very light tint....do any of you have tints on your 8's?..and if so have you experienced any less performance from the Valentine 1 because of it?....

Hard 8

If all it affects is the laser detection, I wouldn't worry about it: By the time the laser detector goes off you're toast anyway. BTW, I just found this:

http://www.teamrocs.com/audiofaq/index.htm#tint

"Can window tint affect my radar detector?
"This depends greatly on what type of tint you have. Normally, tint is a plastic film with a dye painted on to it. This will have no effect on the ability of the unit to detect X, K, and Ka, or Safety Radar. This will affect the rearward laser detection, since laser is still light.
"Other types of tint include metallic film tint. This type of tint is a very fine layer of aluminum, gold, titanium, or other metal. This will affect your rearward and side radar and laser detection. Gold tinting is used on the windows of the F-117 Stealth Fighter to keep the pilots helmet from returning a radar signal, so I'm sure it'll deflect the radar guns signals."

BigWorm

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!...ok i feel better about getting my tints now.

Thanks Hard8!..Youdaman!

Hard 8

The power of Google. :D

BigWorm

i hear that!

I talked to my girlfriend about attempting to hardwire the v1 up near my rear-view mirror and she almost had a heart attack...lol

i'm doing it anyway though :D

I just hope my tints don't screw me too bad...i think i'll be ok though...this thread certainly cleared up any doubts i had about doing this....

robertdot

A hardwire is safe. It's not fool proof, but it is safe. All you do is tap a wire with a provided wire tap. If you are tapping anywhere easy to get to and you cut a wire instead of tapping it, you probably shouldn't be driving.

Of course, I say that and I'll screw up the next time I install anything.

Blue87Sport

I tried mounting my old Whistler detector above the mirror but the suction cups wouldn't stick to the dotted area.

So I took the suction cups off and slid the bracket up under the edge of the head liner. To hold in in place, put a piece of 3M double sided sticky foam between the bracket and windshield. I had to bend the bracket a bit to get the correct angle but it's held fine for the past couple of weeks.

Now I need to wire it to the overhead panel. Right now I have the power adapter cord hanging down to the lighter outlet. I tried to undo the upper panel but the screws are really in there tight. I got the drivers side out with moderate force/cursing, but the passenger side is a real b*tch. I am on the verge of stripping the scres head with the amount of force I'm using. Any suggestions???

BigWorm

Wow, be careful not to strip the screw then you'll really be pissed, i don't know guys what should he do?..I am definitely going to give it a shot especially with the excellent documentation provided from the earlier posts on this thread...i don't think it would be too hard....I guess only time will tell, I should have the fender strakes tomorrow, the tints friday and already have the radar so let's hope i don't screw up!

crumpmd

All right here are the pics of my install. Finished. I did not show the wiring, it is the same as the thread starter.

crumpmd

Another

BigWorm

Looks sweet!...Nice job!

thew

what about mounintg them under the sunglass door?

Ajax

great guide. Pulling the map lights out was pretty hard but not too bad. I put the accessory box up inside as well since I don't have the remote display.
Here's a few pics of the final install:

Ajax

From the front:

liqiud

hey jon...you are doing mine when i get it in...but on the otherside of the mirror.

Ajax

I have enough slack to put that thing anywhere i want really.

surfsecret

has anybody tried to install hard-wired the concealed display kit?

http://www.valentine1.com/moreinfo/Display.asp

i want to have this right in front of my dash next to my spedometer... i can attach it by velcro.. but the extra wiring may be a pain in the butt to get hidden down the side of the dash

any ideas?

markris77

I'm about to move to VA where, unfortunately, RD's are illegal. Anybody put any thought, or have any ideas for a stealth install using the remote screen to see any indications. I know you lose sensitivity when you don't have perfect line of sight to the outside, but I'm willing to lose a bit of range for a concealed unit. Any Ideas?!?!

robertdot

You could wire and mount the sensor behind the front grille and the remote display to the ash tray. That'd at least be "out of sight". It might be better to look at a unti designed to be hidden before looking at a V1 w/ remote display.

Hard 8

Escort makes a mega-buck concealed radar detector kit. Car and Driver tested it on an M3 and were impressed. The main unit gets installed in the glovebox (or wherever it makes sense), with sensors down low, front and back. It's over $1,000. The sensitivity is not quite as good as the V1 (since the sensors are so low), and you have to hope it doesn't emit any stray radiation for the police to pick up, but otherwise it sounds pretty killer.

mysql101

hey guys... I bought a radar detector. It isn't a v1, but it's a decent model. Can I just hard wire mine into the power source like you are doing with the v1? Or do I need to look at the power requirements on the detector?

Ajax

It really depends on the detector. The V1 comes with a hard wiring kit. If your detector came with one, I would think you could. Otherwise, you need to find out what the voltage the detector runs off of is exactly and find a line in the car that gives you that voltage. The lighter adapter should be 12 volts so you should be able to create a modified plug to wire it in just like we did.
I can't say for 100% sure though w/o knowing precisely what your detector takes.