Are there any that are any good?

It makes no sense to me to have a power cord crossing over the shifter where it plugs into the lighter...

Appreciate any commentary

 

I'd recommend against them. Escort Solo is the only reputable one that I know of but you're missing out on so much range.

Back in 2013-2014, I was testing quite a few every year. Escort/Beltronics is good. I still run a Beltronics STIR Plus in my Audi S4, which is basically the Escort 9500CI without laser jammers, it's a custom installed unit, so not a windshield mount unit. GT3 I run the new Valentine 1 Gen 2. Works well. I use it paired with V1 Driver for iPhone. I have it hardwired down into the fuse box, so no wire hanging down into the shifter area. Any shop could do the hardwire, or I did it myself in an hour and that was with a bit of extra disassembly for a clean install.

New Escort Redline 360C is good too, I don't have personal experience with it, but everything I've read shows it's a pretty good unit.

Radenso Theia should hopefully be out next year too, although will be expensive and should be the best out there if it does what they have been saying it will do.

Remember that especially in Ohio, if you're driving on the highways, they're probably using laser. Backroads, radar is most likely what they'll be using.

 

hardwire it, no wires going down and around the shifter

 

Plug into lighter socket in passenger wheel well

fyi - have escort max, escort 9800ix, and just bought uniden R3 and the range on the R3 much better than either escort.

just did 800 miles road trip..... R3 supplement w waze, real good coverage.

 

I have the Escort 9500ci with laser shifters but unfortunately, as far as know, can't upgrade to newer ones

 

I read that the wireless RD's actually shut down to conserve power and wake up when it detects a threat which can cause delays in the RD alerts. You can also mount near the rear view mirror and hardwire at the domelight/sunroof.

 

damn, didn't even know there was a lighter socket in the passenger footwell....what a bone head!

 

I was also going to mention the same thing about the pass footwell 12v socket.

I hate seeing a cord dangling anywhere in the view out the windshield (or that can be seen by anyone outside my car),... so I actually run my power cable across/looped-around the visor, and then down the A pilar (passenger side), and then loop the excess into the footwell liner (near where your right foot would be), and then over to the 12v socket in the pass footwell.

That route hides the cord very well, and if I have a passenger in the car, it doesn't get wrapped around their feet, nor is it in their view out the windshield.

Hope that helps.

I also move my ValentineOne between my 3 Porsche vehicles. So I prefer not to make anything a permanent installation.

 

yeah, I totally want to avoid hard wiring the unit. good data points, thank you!

had no idea the power cord gave you that much wire to work with

 

You may need the longer 8ft cord that comes with your V1 to do so. If you don't have one, here's the link.

https://store.valentine1.com/store/item.asp?i=20311

The 12v socket remains on all of the time I believe, so just make sure you don't leave it plugged in when parked.

 

My V1 came (new purchase about 3 yrs ago) with a cord length long enough to route per my description above. I know my wife, (who bought it for us as a Christmas gift), did not buy a long cord add-on.

Why should I not leave it plugged in while the car sits? I'm asking because I just took a drive yesterday, and was surprised to see I left the V1 in the car & plugged in (for the last 3 weeks since my last drive). Of course I had shut the unit off during that time,..

... I'm thinking maybe you meant that we should not leave the radar detector unit actually "on".

Thanks for clarifying for me. Just want to be sure I'm not hurting the car battery by leaving it plugged in, but off.

 

Correct, I mean't just don't leave it on with the car off. I would probably forget to turn it off before I let the car sit. I have mine hardwired into the fuse box on a switched fuse so that when I turn the car off, so does the V1.

 

I leave mind plugged in all the time. Turns off/on w car.

 

Good to know. Which 12V do you use? Footwell or center console one? I don’t have access to my car at the moment (storage) so I can’t check. For some reason I thought mine always stayed on. I have a 997.1 GT3. Or maybe it turns off when you lock the car.

 

Footwell. I’ll double check but right now it’s at dealer getting cat/manifold replaced; and FAL fixed.