hey all, i know this has been majorly covered...but...hehe. im going on a big trip in 2 weeks from vancouver wa (my house) to los angeles (grandmas house) in 2 weeks...bout 1200 miles each way. i want a radar detector before i leave! what brand would yall recommend as of right now? the ones i heard are best is bell 8500 i think and valentine 1? i rully dont know. if yall can let me know which ones are the best to look for id appreciate it. thanks!!

casey

 

I hear valentines are the best. But quality also comes at a great expense, about $400 for one of those bad boys. I have a Bel, don't know what hte model number is, but it works pretty good. It was about $70. But it hasn't failed me yet. So its up to you.

 

its the Passport 8500 and the Bel 980. I have the Bel980, had it since CHristmas and havnt come close to getting a ticket yet. The Valentine 1 is said to be the best by most owners, but not by a ton. The bel/passport are also $200 cheaper. Checkout radartest.com

 

i did goto that website and also to valentines site, and he totally discredits the radartest.com findings, so thats why im asking for personal opinions...passport 8500 came out on top on radartest i think, but i really have no info about radar detectors...just know i want a good one for the 2200 mile round trip im about to take

thanks for all answers!

casey

 

My friend has a Valentine 1 in his F-150 and it is great. He bought it on e-bay for around $400. They are expensive but they work. It tells which direction the radar is and how many. Its funny when you go by the local supermarket and it picks up 6 cops. We were driving down the road and it started going off like crazy saying there was a cop behind us but all there was was a Ford Explorer with tinted windows... Looked normal but it had a cop sticker in the bottom right of the winshield. They are good if you have the money. Otherwise people like the Passport 8500.

 

I have a Valentine 1 hardwired into my Maxima. It works great and saved me plenty of times already. The highway patrol here uses the Ka-band and K-band more than anything else here. It picks up these signals more than 2 miles ahead, which gives me plenty of time to slow down. For the lasar warning, it once gave me a 3 miles warning on the highway. The V1 worked great during my trip to Las Vegas. The Nevada patrol was on the other side of the hill while I was still going uphill on turns and it actually picked up the K-band used. Luck for me because this one particular Nevada patrol was using what looked like a heavily modded Camero Supersport with massive wheels, exhuast system, hoodscoop, and maybe a supercharger also. What a beast. So I am satisfied with the V1.

 

I have a Valentine 1 hardwired into my Maxima. It works great and saved me plenty of times already. The highway patrol here uses the Ka-band and K-band more than anything else here. It picks up these signals more than 2 miles ahead, which gives me plenty of time to slow down. For the lasar warning, it once gave me a 3 miles warning on the highway. The V1 worked great during my trip to Las Vegas. The Nevada patrol was on the other side of the hill while I was still going uphill on turns and it actually picked up the K-band used. Luck for me because this one particular Nevada patrol was using what looked like a heavily modded Camero Supersport with massive wheels, exhuast system, hoodscoop, and maybe a supercharger also. What a beast. So I am satisfied with the V1.

 

that is like the 2nd or 3rd time ive heard about cops using those camaro SS all hookedup. if i rolled past one one the highway i would stop and pull over and start checkin out his car, lol!!

casey

 

Yea, not only do you have to watch out for Crown Vics....but now Camaro's and Mustangs.....DAMMIT....I really despise the Police.

BriGuyMax