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  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-

Radar Detector

  • Thread starter Thread starter wgpaintballer
  • Start date Start date Feb 3, 2007
W

wgpaintballer

New Member
Oct 7, 2005
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Feb 3, 2007
#1
  • Feb 3, 2007
  • #1
Hey whats up guys i tried to search for this but nothing came up.. I was wondering what detectors you guys were using also do they really work i heard from a couple cops in New Jersey that they dont but who knows they could be bull****ting me lol.
 
D

Danman765432

Member
Mar 3, 2006
471
0
16
Nutley, NJ
Feb 3, 2007
#2
  • Feb 3, 2007
  • #2
I have the top of the line cobra one from 2 years ago and havent ever had a speeding ticket in my mustang but in my jeep when i didnt have my radar i got one...I would say they work...i know for a fact mine has saved me a few times...If i were to get another one, which I actually need i would get either a passport or a valentine. My friend has a valentine on his STI and it is amazing.
 

90mustangGT

I felt sorry for girls because
Founding Member
Jan 15, 2002
2,773
17
89
Dallas, GA
Feb 3, 2007
#3
  • Feb 3, 2007
  • #3
Radar detectors are great for knowing the exact moment the cop caught you speeding. Cops rarley just sit there scanning constantly like they once did. They sit and wait until they see a car speeding, then just use the radar/lazer to get the actuall MPH you were speeding. A radar detector might be usefull if the officer zapps the car ahead of you, but I doubt they really help. I had one once.
 

stang8urimport

Autozone Junkie
Founding Member
Jun 21, 2002
1,499
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59
Daytona Beach, FL
Feb 3, 2007
#4
  • Feb 3, 2007
  • #4
I have both an Escort 8500 and a Valentine One. The V1 blows the Escort out of the water... They both use POP, which is how cops usually do radar in bigger cities now. A lot are going to laser, and there is no real way of detecting laser until it's on you.

A radar detector is best used in a group of cars. A good detector will detect radar off of cars infront of you. But if you're by yourself, then it's only going to detect it off of your car.
 

90blacknight

Member
Apr 11, 2006
136
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18
Feb 4, 2007
#5
  • Feb 4, 2007
  • #5
Personally I don't like them. I find that when you have one, you tend to speed more often. Sure they might save you a couple of times but speeding more often = more tickets. Couple that with that fact that in the city the damn things are always going off for the smallest of reasons. They just make me paranoid. Besides, in my neck of the woods laser is king, so radar detectors are pretty useless.
 

DmnStr8

Member
Apr 16, 2005
0
0
16
NH
Feb 4, 2007
#6
  • Feb 4, 2007
  • #6
90mustangGT said:
Radar detectors are great for knowing the exact moment the cop caught you speeding.
Click to expand...

Sometimes. But honestly you would be surprised how often cops do sit with their units on. Nothing is going to protect you against instant on unless they hit someone in front of you and you get warning off the reflected signal. I guess it depends where you live and what you drive for roads.

For me its mostly rural, curvy, and wooded. Radar detectors are great up here. I get plenty of warning as they are comming or if they are sitting. Cops in NH tend to leave the units on all the time. Even when not in the car. Only cops who consistantly use instant on are the staties and for some reason they wait to bast you until you pass them. Which gives you plenty of visual warning. I never get caught by instant on because I actually look around when I'm driving. Unless the cop is squating a blind spot you should see them about the same time they see you.

Oh and wouldn't trust anything but an escort or valentine. I perfer the escort. Its hands above any other unit I have used. Its a radar detector I have actually learned to trust.
 
T

TheUser

Active Member
Jul 25, 2003
1,859
1
36
Springfield, MO
Feb 4, 2007
#7
  • Feb 4, 2007
  • #7
I've had a Rocky Mountain Radar and have had it for about 4-5 years. I like it and, like someone else said, cops do sometimes just sit w/ their units turned on. I did get a ticket about 4 months ago, but I think it's because my audible alert doesn't work for some reason and I didn't see the detector going off. Then, I got a ticket last week; I didn't have the detector in the window because the glass and the suction cups were both too cold to hold it (it was about 15* outside).

Ultimately, I'd like to have a Valentine One.

I think I'm just gonna drive the speed limit to work now since it only saves about 2 minutes if I do 80 compared to 60. I'm usually running late which is part of the reason why I speed, but F-it. My last ticket was 70 in a 50 construction zone (no workers out and I knew it), which is going to cost me $243. A lawyer wants $250 to represent me and says I only have a 50/50 chance of keeping it off of my driving and insurance records.
 

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell
Mod Dude
Feb 18, 2001
43,269
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Massachusetts
Feb 4, 2007
#8
  • Feb 4, 2007
  • #8
I don't use radar detectors. I use common sense.


10 years of driving a Mustang...never pulled over for speeding
 

hsean

10 Year Member
Jul 24, 2006
656
69
69
dearborn,michigan
Feb 4, 2007
#9
  • Feb 4, 2007
  • #9
i use a valentine one and it works pretty good although i usually don't go more than 5 over.like some of the threads above me have written there is no defense for instant on .but if a reflection of radar from someone in front of you should give you enough time to slow down. the valentine one was 400 bucks when i bought it 6 years ago.
 

stykthyn

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.
15 Year Member
Jul 6, 2006
5,232
2,652
223
gainesville
Feb 5, 2007
#10
  • Feb 5, 2007
  • #10
dont waste your money. I have sat in a patrol car and I have seen just how useless they are.your gonna be really pissed when you buy that detector and get a ticket anyway.
 

DmnStr8

Member
Apr 16, 2005
0
0
16
NH
Feb 5, 2007
#11
  • Feb 5, 2007
  • #11
stykthyn said:
I have sat in a patrol car and I have seen just how useless they are.QUOTE]

Did you sit in the patrol car when they weren't showing off for you? Lol. Cops are human, which means they are lazy by nature. Unless they are actively on speed patrol they usually leave the box on auto in my experience.

Seriously I see more cops with their boxes on blasting away than I do using instant on. Must be a regional thing. Like I said only Staties here use instant on. Everyone else is still using K band stuff.

Anytime I've been pulled over, the cop has felt like he had to point out how he beat my detector. Though both times it was for equipment failures. I told the last cop that I had him, thats why I was 5 under the limit when I rounded the corner. The other time the unit wasn't on.
Click to expand...
 
8

89tang

Founding Member
Oct 20, 2000
2,508
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0
Newark ohio
Feb 5, 2007
#12
  • Feb 5, 2007
  • #12
Mustang5L5 said:
I don't use radar detectors. I use common sense.


10 years of driving a Mustang...never pulled over for speeding
Click to expand...

I usually go by this method and ALOT of luck

Although i have been caught for speeding a few times, now that i look back it's never been in the stang (knock on wood). Had i been caught in the stang speeding i probably wouldn't have a DL or a mustang any longer.

Seems like i drive crazier in the stang but i'm also alot more alert and cautious as to when and where i speed in it. Don't get me wrong though i've gotten a few tickets in the stang but nothing that a radar detector woulda saved me from. And with my newly aquired power that i have yet to test completely i'm sure there are more tickets in my future LOL.
 
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