cliffdunedin 8 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 Holy hell on a cracker, things have been hitting the fan the last few days! Lets chill now boys and talk some car sh!t. Soooo i've been away for the past week on holiday and was thankfull for the trusty Cobra as it saved me a few $$ in speeding tickets (not ridiculous speeds but enough to annoy the Popo) and was thinking how much better are the valentine V1's or top shelf Beltronics...i have only ever had cheap or mid range radars so wondering what your guys say on which are the best! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M5V8 337 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) I have a V1 and swear by it. Only tickets I have had in the last two years have been driving the missus's car which doesn't have one. My mate runs the top of the line bell v65 and it's very compatible from what I have seen. Pretty much anything else i have seen or used pails in comparison. Previous radars I have owned were undien & cobra units. It wouldn't be far off to state the V1's detect twice the distance than cheaper units, this makes all the difference, in 5 years of ownership it's given a false positive twice. Basically if it makes a noise u hit the anchors. We usually play spot the cop when the radar chirps it amazing sometimes how far we drive until we actually sight him. I also find it helpful with the V1's directional arrows and multiple target tracking. And ability to lock out frequencies. My unit has paid for itself multiple times over. I wouldn't drive on the open road without it. Edited January 4, 2011 by M5V8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ezrabmw 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 i just run a uniden i had it hard wired in my 05 sti legacy wagon,loved it so much now its in my e30,like above it has payed for itself time and time again,i dont speed(much)but when you sneak over that 55mark with out realising its handy,it only cost me around $300 so not top of the line but still worked a treat Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt45 1 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 i run a v1, works great .... never get false radar alerts (all but Ka are off), occasionally ill get a false laser alert but other than that it works well. Only real advantage the v1 has over other similarly priced units is the directional arrows. can get them reasonably cheap 2nd hand now just make sure they arn't really old (there is a software version checker on the official v1 site). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cliffdunedin 8 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 Yeah from the reviews i have read V1's or similar spec'd Beltronics seem to be the ticket (no pun intended) The Cobra still does a good job on the open road, but around town can get confusing! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt45 1 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 Ive also had the Escort passport 8500 X50/X50E in the past which worked very well too ... but be sure not to get the older models which are labeled Escort passport 8500 (without the X50 on the end) as alot of them tend to go faulty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
318Touring 40 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 I'm running a cheapo Uniden at the moment, playing around with it. Even that had helped a lot several times. Would cops know that someone is using radar detector? Once I spotted a cop car, travelling in the same direction, a fair distance away over twisty bits, and at the same time the unit chirped. But after that it stayed quiet while I slowly caught up to the cop. I suspect he turned his unit off as my detector didn't react at all. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt45 1 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 its only really jamming where they can "see it" and by see it i mean not get a reading. They arn't illegal here yet so no need to really worry. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gotheschu 1 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 Dad has had a Bell STI R in all of his cars from 08 on, and has saved his skin and mine recently on countless occasions. Uniden and all those lower range models in my experience arn't very good because when they go off the cop has all ready clocked you and has his/her lights on. Before the STI r he had the V1 on his HSV but week after having it in, someone broke into it and ran off with the thing down some railway track =/ Uniden's and cobra's hanging from your windscreen in my opinion make your car look pretty tachy, and give off false alarms, make annoying sounds when you drive past warehouses with security alarms. Often these alarms are X or K band but some of us I think have found out the cameras inside vans are mostly K Band and so we have to live with some false K band alerts. The V1 is awesome, if you can get a 2nd hand one with recent software on it you can't go wrong with you money and is really cheap insurance. However, its pretty likely if you have a M3, M5, or anything you have spent lots of your hard earned cash on you want to be able to enjoy it in confidence =D So you'll want to go off and spend 4 digits on a Bell Sti-r/Laser Jammer combo =D Even hardwire your V1 into your dash to get rid of that annoying wire handing from you windscreen. I'm after a V1 cause I can't afford the whole Bell/Jammer set up but in the m3 this combo saved us so much $$ in fines. If you have an M3, M5 or anything like you, lets not bullsht you not always going to be sticking to the speed limit and you don't want your M sport car to be ruined by a tacho plastic thing on your windscreen. I think the V1 is the best value for your money but if you want to enjoy the luxuries the Bell offers, then go spend the extra money cause over 3-4 years its paid itself back on the E55, M3 and x5 atleast 3-5 times what he paid for it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JaseNZ 53 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) So if one would be looking for a v1 where and what would the cheapest new one you could acquire be as i have seen prices from $799 to to $1200. Edited January 4, 2011 by M-Spec Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt45 1 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 So if one would be looking for a v1 where and what would the cheapest new one you could acquire be as i have seen prices from $799 to to $1200. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/C...n-344158837.htm Looks ok to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ezrabmw 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 I'm running a cheapo Uniden at the moment, playing around with it. Even that had helped a lot several times. Would cops know that someone is using radar detector? Once I spotted a cop car, travelling in the same direction, a fair distance away over twisty bits, and at the same time the unit chirped. But after that it stayed quiet while I slowly caught up to the cop. I suspect he turned his unit off as my detector didn't react at all. i think some cars only have front 180degree detectors but alot of the highway police cars have front and rear mounted radars Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrad01 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 I've got the Beltronics STi-R hardwired into my M3 with Blinder jammers and its been amazing. V1 is a great bit of kit too, but for me it needed to be unseen. You can look and look around my car and it'll take you quite a while to notice the kit - it's been well installed. I've had a couple of tickets in the last 4 years, but they have been quite minor compared to what they *would* have been had I not had the kit in. It might cost a couple of grand to get kitted out properly, but it has easily saved me that already - and my license. Big tick for the STi-R for detection and hidden hardwire. Go V1 if you want one you can move between cars - but they are thief magnets. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrad01 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 i think some cars only have front 180degree detectors but alot of the highway police cars have front and rear mounted radars They are turning them off these days and only turning them on when they suspect you are speeding. Tricky, but they are missing a bit now, which is good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1527 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 Ive had Escort X50, Bel RX65 and V1 which are all top detectors and currently running the V1 at the moment. The V1 has alot of useful features that others dont have, some of which some have been mentioned, V1 also can have its firmware upgraded but are paying another couple of hundy. As for detection i found Bel and Escort did the job just as well as the V1 while being cheaper. IMO it comes down to if you want to spend a bit more or not. The new police radar vans use a low freq K band which i find get you only a couple of seconds warning with a good detector, also you will get all the false alerts from automatic doors. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrad01 0 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 The new police radar vans use a low freq K band which i find get you only a couple of seconds warning with a good detector, also you will get all the false alerts from automatic doors. Its true, I have K band off and probably will get stung by some $$ tickets. But, I don't care, its the demerit points I care about!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt45 1 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 Its the demerit points I care about!! +1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M5V8 337 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) Yes I'm the same. V1 X band and K band turned off. I just keep an eye out for the new camera vans. At least I know when my V1 makes a noise it means business. Trust in thine device is important which is why I'm sticking with my tried and true V1. If I had a new car which I intended to keep, and cash to burn, I'd go a stealth install of the bell x65 sti with laser jammers front and rear. However cost and the ability to move my radar between cars keeps me happy with the V1. Keep in mind people, whilst radar detectors (passive) are still legal in this country jammers (active) are not and likely to cost u a pretty penny if u get caught using one. Anyone have any updated info on the proposed law changes around the legality of radar detectors? Edited January 4, 2011 by M5V8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
318Touring 40 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 They are turning them off these days and only turning them on when they suspect you are speeding. Tricky, but they are missing a bit now, which is good. That's what I thought. A few times in just one drive I'd get ONE chirp which caused me plant my foot on the brake, then nothing. Half a minute later, a cop car drove past. This was in middle of nothingness of SH1 from Taupo to Wellington. So no electric doors! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 1957 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 Fathers Merc has Jammers hidden away. Got tagged towing the car down to Hampton last Sunday. Was quite a laugh seeing the cop try over and over. Didn't matter as I was cruising along on cruise control. How can the cop prove you are jamming him? Unless you have one sitting up on your dash in plain sight. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M5V8 337 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) Fathers Merc has Jammers hidden away. Got tagged towing the car down to Hampton last Sunday. Was quite a laugh seeing the cop try over and over. Didn't matter as I was cruising along on cruise control. How can the cop prove you are jamming him? Unless you have one sitting up on your dash in plain sight.If they use the lazer on you and it doesn't work they then have reasonable doubt you r using one. Smart cops would look for the broadcast units in the bumper somewhere then try to get u to admit it. The trick here would be to tell them that's a hidden radar detector system and stick to your story.This is why most jammers warn and turn off after 5 sec to give u time to brake but also not get the cop too suspicious. I believe the fine for broadcasting on police frequencies around $1500!! Edited January 4, 2011 by M5V8 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gotheschu 1 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 I'm pretty sure Jammer's arn't illegal YET! Rob at Rapid Radio assured us they are not and hes been selling them for years on end. Our Jammer jams for 10 secs =P Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 The new police radar vans use a low freq K band which i find get you only a couple of seconds warning with a good detector, also you will get all the false alerts from automatic doors. I remember reading somewhere here before that the new vans's radar signals are polarised or something like that, so if you turn the detector 90 degree, you'll get the detection. Or am I gibberish rubbish here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kiwi535 538 Report post Posted January 4, 2011 i have heard if the radar is set to auto lock you dont have time to respond. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M5V8 337 Report post Posted January 5, 2011 I'm pretty sure Jammer's arn't illegal YET! Rob at Rapid Radio assured us they are not and hes been selling them for years on end. Our Jammer jams for 10 secs =P They aren't illegal to sell, they are illegal to use as they distrupt police equipment by broadcasting. Passive equipment only are legal. Just like it's illegal to broadcast on police radio frequencies or utilise the Ka band. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
