ExtaZ

Radar detectors appear to be sort of a religious topic.

On the remote side. I installed the escort SRX into my 350 a couple of weeks ago. It has worked great for me and I love the stealth display (I have it in the Nav. space). No need to remove it, just close the cover and all is hidden. I'm still waiting to run into a laser so I can see how the shifters work. Radar detection is the same as the 8500. The antenna location is just different.

JTF

ExtaZ

Do a search for:

Remote Radar Detector Installation

And you will find a thread with some pictures of my SRX installation.

JTF

SunsetZ

Car and Driver did a very complete test recently. Winner by a large margin was the Valentine One.

They do not have a remote unit since the lower you put the detector the worse the range, so they do not recommend or sell a remote unit.

Samurai

That's not true. The radar reception is worse on a remote but the laser detection is better. Laser has a narrow beam and the cops usually point at the license plate or headlights where a remote unit is installed.

I borrowed a Valentine One for a few days last week. It's a great detector but I have always owned a remote and I can't get used to a big box suctioned cupped to my windshield that I have to take down and can be seen.

As for remote detectors, here is my opinion:

- Bel 975R: I have always owned Bel remotes and they have been good. The current remote has a front and rear laser detector that has to go inside the widows. I saw no good place for these and they don't get as good laser detection since they are mounted high.

- K40: No good. I can't find much good about this unit.

- Escort Passport SRX: Great detector. See ExtaZ's excellent post and pictures. This unit also has laser jamming. I was going to install this but I have a front license plate which makes it hard to find places for the 3 things you have to mount up front. I also am not sure that I want to get into jamming. You can find the SRX for about $750 uninstalled.

- Escort Passport SR1: Great detector. Same as SRX but without laser jamming. I bought the SR1 for $599 and am going to install it myself this weekend. There is only one unit that has to be installed up front and will fit much better in a car with a license plate.

After spending 2 weeks looking into radar detectors my recommendations are:

I really like remote detectors, so:

1) Escort Passport SR1- cheaper that the SRX, easier install, less crap to see up front.

2) Escort Passport SRX - if you want jamming and don't have a front license plate or don't mind the extra work to install all the equipment.


If you don't want a remote:

1) Valentine One

ksj

I have to throw in my own combo, though the radar piece is a 8500, I'm adding the ZR-3 laser shifters, which can use the 8500 for the UI, or the shifter box.

Given the cost of the SRX I decided this was far more efficient, and if I ever have to get the front plate installed, it won't be an issue for the radar detector.

So far I've mounted the front and rear shifters, but I still need to remove the battery and bring the front ones into the cabin. I also need to mount and power the ZR3 interface box and cable the 8500 to it.

The 8500 will draw power from the interface box, and adds alarms and text on the 8500 to indicate laser detected and shifting, and whether it came from the front or rear. It also has a remote cutoff switch so you can turn off the shifters once you've slowed.

I'm installing it myself, so I'm up to ~$580 for the 8500 (Car Toys) & ZR3 (Magnolia HiFi), + $5 in #10 stainless steel screws, washers and lock washers (Home Depot), + $12 in innerduct and tie wraps (Radio Shack).

So I have everything I need for ~$600, which isn't bad considering the features. I should get this completed Sunday since it's supposed to rain.