Bel 995, have one and wouldnt drive without it

 

Not so... I use a V1 and it has saved me many times (just 1 or 2 saves and your detector is paid for!). If you are willing to spend $300, I would just spend a little more and get the BEST. If you live in WV (where RD is illegal), you would need a Bel Sti Driver (because it's stealthy). For the occasional times you exceed the limit (now admit it, we all have) by 10-20mph, a detector can be very useful, you just have to know how to use it. NOTE: A detector is not carte blanche to speed without consequence or drive recklessly. If you are a habitual speeder, you WILL EVENTUALLY get a ticket.
Rule#1 NEVER speed without anyone out in front of you (a rabbit). As noted in above posts, most LEO's do not use CO (Constant ON) radar, but rather use IO (Instant On), which is why you need someone in front of you to take the hit. Just earlier tonight, I picked up a blip of Ka from ahead (gotta love those V1 Arrows) as the car in front of me (maybe a quarter mile) disappeared over the hill. The LEO zapped that car, which if I was speeding at the time (I wasn

 

I had the 8500 x50 for about 3 years, and now have the valentine (for past 8 months or so. I speed frequently and havent gotten a ticket in 5.5 years. I love mine!!!

 

Radars work for the most part. You need to research them and understand the different bands and how they work. I've had a escort 8500 OG since it's inception date 6-7 years ago. it works great never gotten a ticket. As technology changes radars must change. K band is the old standard of radars cops use(always on to work). Now they have laser which is very hard to detect. and now they have released "pop" which is a k band setup that works like a laser also hard to detect. Overall just you common sense and pay attention use your eyes they are the best radar detector ever. but i got my trust back up 8500 as well. I'd get the new escort 9500i or valentine. either way can go wrong. if your cheap $300ish just get an x50 escort 8500.

 

Valentine 1

Remember that it's a radar detector, not a cop detector.

 

i had one for a few years. i sold it and i get less tickets. go figure.

mine was an 8500 x50--it's a good radar detector. the 9500 is nice for commutes though because it's basically the 8500 x50 plus GPS filtering to eliminate false alarms if you drive by the same place over and over. (it filters by band so cops can't fool it by hiding in a radar zone)

in my experience, they don't help on tickets much because most people (including myself), after they've had it a few months, start to feel safe, drive a bit faster, and rely on the detector. eventually the reliance goes a bit too far and you get pulled over. the other minus is that if you do get pulled over and have a detector, it's almost impossible to talk your way out of a ticket.

the other thing is that in some areas they help more than others--it depends how the cops do speeding tickets/speed traps and such. locally they almost never to speed traps and almost never use radar-unless they see you speed by first. so here locally, a detector made me feel safe enough to do something stupid and then get caught. if they had routine speed traps here, it would be a different story.

 

Even if the HP leave the radar on all the time, if they are behind a hill or around a curve with granite between you and him the detector won't warn you in time. DAMHIK.

 

keep in mind that radar signals "bounce" around. i can detect radar signals pointed in the opposite direction from a very far distance away. radar also has limited range.

the sherriff dept in my area likes to cruise around with their radar ON and half the time you see the city police they are cruising around with their radar ON as well.

v1 ftw

 

Valentine in the s2k and now in the NSX

 

very true i never speed on I-355 or 290 in the chicago suburbs. they are patrolled by state and they have laser. where as the country is local cops and county and they dont have anything to fancy just regular k band.