hey guys i know it's a little late to ask this (it's winter here) but whats the best radar detector out there?....thinking about getting one now for next spring? cash isn't a problem when it comes to this. also i've seen people with radar detectors neatly put away (no wires here and there...looks very clean) how does one do this or get it done at?

just looking for some input
pictures would be nice too of your car (S2000 or other) with radar detector if you guys don't mind.

 

IMHO...and this is from experience....with the exception of the 8500 X50 (Ive never used it, but other members whos opinion I respect praise it), all other radars are complete garbage except the V1. I have been saved countless times, last night 4 times as a matter of fact, and it works flawlessly. If you can afford it, I would get the V1 over the 8500 only for the arrows. (Assuming that the two radars are equal in performance)

So, dont even bother looking at anything except the V1 and the 8500.

(Ive had most Cobras, K40, BEL, and other escorts, and they were only good for paperweights.)

 

ok thanks alot!....i'll look into the V1...sounds like a winner.

 

Careful...I just noticed you are from Canada. Radars are VERY VERY illegal in canada.

 

Get one, or else you'll end up with this.



I personally have an 8500 and one of the other guys i was with has a V1. It wasn't that the radars didn't go off when this happened, but we were paced for 3 miles before they decided to pop us.

Never had an issue with the 8500

 

wow

 

lidatek get my vote

 

Take this with however many grains of salt you wish, since it's coming from someone who has never received a speeding ticket in 35 years of driving. When I got my S, I also got a radar detector (an Escort Passport 8500 X50), because, although I really don't speed much on the public roads, I also recognize that a bright yellow roadster will attract negative attention from some cops. I've had the detector for three months, long enough to have a pretty good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of detectors.

Fundamentally, I think, only a fool thinks that a detector makes one invulnerable from being nailed for speeding. A good detector will give you good warning that you are approaching a speed trap where the radar is always on, or frequently on, such as a major highway speed trap, or one of those unmanned radars. It will warn you that a cop is driving with his radar on, well before he reaches you. It will not warn you that you are being followed by an unmarked car with radar, where the radar is not on until he already has clocked you for a while, and decides to zap you. It will not warn you when you round a bend and there's a cop, who has not used the radar in a couple of minutes.

If you want to drive way over the limit all the time, a detector may well cut down on your speeding tickets, but it will not prevent you from getting speeding tickets.

Also, hard wiring is easy in the S. There is a nicely illustrated piece in the archives which you can find with a search.

Detectors are not legal in Canada, as I understand it.

 

^ yes they are illegal and that is why those who INSIST on having one should get a "radar jamming device" like a Lidatek instead of "detection device"

 

Earlier this year Motor Trend did a radar detector shootout. The 8500 and V1 came out neck and neck (94.9 points vs 94.8 points respectively). Since then Escort updated the 8500 to the 8500 X50.

The Beltronics 985 was also a good performer (94.3 points). The Beltronics uses the same internals as the 8500 from what I understand.

As for the claims that radar detectors are illegal in Canada, they are misguided.

For our American friends (yeah, I'm in Oregon, but I'm Canadian), Canada is divided into provinces (they're kinda like states). Traffic laws vary from one province to another. The original poster is from Edmonton, which is in Alberta. Radar detectors are legal in Alberta. If memory serves, they are also legal in B.C. and Saskatchewan (the provinces on either side of Alberta). I believe from Manitoba all the way to the Atlantic ocean they are illegal. If you're traveling in any of those provinces take the detector down and hide it in your spare tire. I have heard stories of them being confiscated if they are in sight, even if they are not being used.