mmjames

I am kind of new to the sports car world. Trying to find a great Radar system and I do not much about them. I have been kind of lending to the Cordless type, just seems like a lot less work. I saw an ad about a SOLO S2.

Any body has any good suggestions and reasons why?

spasso

You're opening up an age old debate on this one again. I have personally used detectors from the cheap whistlers to my current V1. Don't cheat yourself on the hardwired kind, it takes about an hour to install and you're up and running. I would suggest, try out both the Escort brands and the V1, they both have 30 day money back offers so you can try both and keep the one you like the best.

mmjames

Sorry I had not realized this thread had been talked about quite a bit before. But in any case, are these Escort and V1 a good value in relation to cash cost are are they just better in pick up the signals??

eccles

It's generally accepted that the Valentine 1 and Escort Passport 8500 are the best detectors available, though some folks also speak highly of the better BEL detectors. Which is best depends on which test you read, and there is evidence to suggest that not all reviewers are as unbiased as one might hope. The 8500 costs about $100 less than the V1, and is available at your local Best Buy or store of choice, while the V1 is only available directly from Valentine Research.

The V1 has the benefit of directional arrows to tell you whether the threat is ahead, behind, or alongside. Folks who have driven with the V1 tend to agree that once you've "driven with the arrows" you'll never go back.

Neither is cheap, but they both provide excellent protection. Personally, I have never had the opportunity to try a V1, and I find my 8500 to be quite excellent in helping me avoid making contributions to government coffers.

Doctorr

With a little research, and a little internet digging, you will find various un-biased reports of comparison tests.....

The new Bels (the 9000series) are equal to anything put out by anybody, and seem to have a strength in finding radar around curves, out of line of sight.

Good prices put them way ahead of most of the competition.
.
.
.
doc

mmjames

Thanks this is a lot of good info.

spasso

Something to think about on the cordless...

http://www.valentine1.com/cordless/

This IS info from V1 so take it for what it's worth... but certainly warrants some research.

I would again HIGHLY suggest that you go with a hardwired detector before I even do any research on cordless. I would never be able to trust a cordless detector unless the batteries were only a week old. With hardwired, it's got full power all the time. I actually have installed a hardwire in all my cars and just move the detector to whichever car I am driving that day. Once it's wired, you never have to think about power again.

zerohour

Id say get the V1

spasso

Funny zero, I'm trading in my RSX-S as soon as my 8 is delivered too.

zerohour

Nice your gonna miss the 6k kick in the pants for a little while (unless you had hondata) But this car to me feels definately quicker.

You will definately be very happy with your decision. Pretty big engine bay too which is very nice. I havent regretted it since day 1.

spasso

Yeah, plus my auto climate controls... do you miss yours? Damn, I set the temperature on that thing when I bought it 2 years ago and have not touched it since except to turn on the A/C in the summer, off in the winter. I know I am gonna hate fumbling with manual temperatures cause every day is different. RSX is a great car but looks like a box on wheels compared to the 8 so I gotta trade up!!!

RX8-TX

Alright, my turn to bring this thread up again: are Cobra detectors crappy, total crap, or I shouldn't even mention them?

spasso

I would not waste my money on them. Try the escort 8500 and the Valentine 1 and keep your favorite. They both have 30 day money back offers so you can try both and experience for yourself. The extra $$$ is well worth the knowledge that you are protected by the best.

wleonard

As usual there are a few good ones and many bad (I can attest to many bad ones). With Detectors - you get what you pay for.

I researched detectors for weeks before deciding. Ultimately, if you want quality and best attributes for early warning without falses you are down to 3 brands IMHO.

Valentine
Escort
Bell

They are all three excellent detectors and each will save you from the standard traps. None will save you from instant on Ka when you are the intented target (yes, me=target).

I went with the best Bell had to offer and have not been disappointed one bit. If you choose one of the three I wouldnt imagine you would be either.

graphicguy

Living in Cincinnati, where both Valentine and Escort are located, I thought I'd shed a little light on both companies.

Valentine was started by a former Escort employee. Escort (Cincinnati Microwave) started to get into areas other than radar and ended up having to "refocus" the company. That's when they merged with Bel. Both companies are viewed as the very best in the way of radar detection technology. Everyone else can be considered "also rans"

Lots has been made of whether there are payoffs going on with Valentine paying off Car and Driver and Escort paying off radartest.com. There's probably some truth in both scenarios. The one thing I get to do is to go to each location and hear the sales pitches from both companies. I've also owned both. I returned my V1 because it didn't offer me enough to justify its higher price. Arrows are nice, but didn't do much to help me sniff out radar/laser.

So, I'll tell you up front that I'm an Escort fan.

The V1, while one of the best detectors out there, has been out in its current form for a lot of years, with some upgrades thrown in at sporadic intervals. The V1's claim to fame is the "arrows". Only you can decide if it's worth the extra money (about $100) to have the arrows over the Escort. Any company that slams its competition as vehemently as Valentine does makes me a little suspect in their motivation. I think that there's probably some bad blood between Valentine and Escort since Mike Valentine was either fired from Escort or left to start his own company, depending on which story you want to believe. There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding Mike's departure around here. One thing I do know is that the V1 does indeed "false" a lot morethan the Escort, which can get quite annoying.

The Escort 8500 and the Solo2 are newer designs and win on the features and ergonomics front. Having used the V1 and Escort, as well as my current Solo2, I can say I've not noticed any of them having a discenible difference as far as ability to "sniff out" radar/lasar. All of them are very good.

I don't buy the Mike Valentine claim that a "cordless" detector isn't very good or impossible to make. My Solo2 has all the sensitivity of the V1 and the Escort 8500. It does shut off when the car doesn't move for about 30-45 minutes (like when I park) to conserve batteries. But, all I do is turn it back on (becomes 2nd nature) when I re-enter the car. Batteries last about 4 months and no cords or mounting problems to mess with.

So, the claims that C&D is unbiased (supposedly, Mike Valentine threatened to pull all of his advertising from C&D if the V1 didn't win the shootout), or that radartest.com is unbiased (allegedly some of the funding for radartest.com comes from Escort) is a moot point.

You can't go wrong with products from either company.

Kap

If you are planning to get your windows tinted with metallic type tints (most tints are), you might want to peruse over this little known manufacture's website http://www.k40.com/ . They aren't cheap, but they do take radar detection out of the ordinary realm.

TNRED8

I just purchased the Solo2 and have excellent results with this detector paying for itself within a month. I don't need arrows all I need is warning. Thanks for the info.