I know this one has been posted numerous times on this list but I thought I would bring it back from a different perspective. I've realized a radar detector is a MUST for a MINI owner. Not because I like to speed but because I often don't notice it! I am looking for not only a great detector (I hear Valentine One is the best) but also something that is not obtrusive in my MINI. Maybe something that is battery operated? I am looking for the wisdom of this list to find a way to get a great detector that is barely noticeable which means no visible power cords and such. I am also not made of money! I look forward to your suggestions.

 

I personally like the passport by Cincinatti Microwave. Look in any car catalog. If you turn in an old or competitors Radar (even if broken) they usually give you $50 off. My original passport saved me at least 30 times! This new one saved me about 12 times on a trip to florida and Indiana. Its battery powered and the smallest one out there I think. Good Luck

 

Sorry... I have to

Don't want to speed but if I do, I want to look good. Nice priorities.

 

I've mounted my Valentine one to the left of the mirror and ran a cord along the edge of the windshield to the the fuse block by my left foot. I think it is relatively unobtrusive. Cords aren't in the way, it is close to my line of sight, but not in my line of sight, I can reach the controls and IMHO it's the best detector out there.

I also have two mounts so I can move it between the MCS and my Audi. Just unplug the cord from the side of the detector and unslide it from the mount. In my Audi I have the remote display so it is a little more stealth than in the MCS.

Mark

 

Valentine One. Don't leave home without it.

 

I just purchases an Escort 8500. My purchase decision was based on informaion I reviewed on http://www.radar-detectors.com. I was going to get a Valantine One until I saw Escort is back with what appears to be the "best" detector. Escort was many years ago the best yet fell on hard times. I looks as if they are back. Good luck.

 

>>Valentine One. Don't leave home without it.

I concur. There's also a thread on here somewhere that describes how to hardwire the V-1 into the clock. I have mine wedged in above the left side of my rear view mirror. The directional indicators and number of bogey souces alone make this worth the extra $$.

 

Valentine 1 is the best I have used, and I have had a dozen or more the last 20 years. Once you have the ahead and beside and behind indicators you will wonder how you ever survived with just the beep and lights. What I am saying that a better detector without those indicators is not a better detector. Nothing will save you from instant on laser, and if that is used in your area regularly, I would just drive the speed limit. Remember V1 is upgradeable if they come up with better technology.

jc

 

V-1

nuff said

 

V-1
hard wire it and get the remote display. The remote display alone makes the V-1 worth it.

 

Valentine One. I have two of them, one for each car. I agree with the way that ColoradoMark installed his. I've done both of my current cars this way and will wire the MINI the same way when I get it. The combination of radar location (front. rear, or side) and information on how many radar sources are being recieved makes the Valentine unbeatable.

DesignIt

 

Valentine One is obviously the RD of choice. The remote display sound great. From what I have gathered, it sounds like I can hide the RD directly behind the rear view mirror and hardwire it to the clock. Then the question becomes, where to put the remote display and how does the remote connect to the main? More wires? Or does it send out a signal?

~Steve~

 

another wire. both the main unit and the remote use a standard flat telephone cord. I found it easier to run along the windshield from the fuse box to the main unit. and from the fuse box to the remote. I didn't want to have to run the wire from the clock area to the remote.

 

>>another wire. both the main unit and the remote use a standard flat telephone cord. I found it easier to run along the windshield from the fuse box to the main unit. and from the fuse box to the remote. I didn't want to have to run the wire from the clock area to the remote.

I tested out the V1 last month on my 4551 mile roadtrip picking up my MC. I mounted it to the left of my rear view mirror, as close to the roof as possible for the best LASER positioning. It was a good test, but since I live in California, I found the detector not that useful. In many states across the US (I travelled through 12 of them in 11 days) I found the V1 very useful especially in situations where Troopers routinely patrol in unmarked vehicles and leave their radar on all the time. The V1 was great for telling me the direction of the source, but there were some practical things I didn't like about radar detectors in general.

1.) Out of fear of getting stolen, I had to remove it from my windshield and hide it everytime I stopped. I had the remote display which was cool, but was an extra thing to unplug.

2.) False alarms were way too common, making it hard to distringuish real alerts from false alarms. Often on roads in the middle of nowhere, I would get alerts, only to find out it was another radar dectector. It didn't matter what Filter setting I had the V1 in. Everytime I entered a new town with a car dealership nearby, it would always go off.

3.) In states where you go from City to wide open country to City, radar detectors are great because you can rule our spurious signals. In Los Angeles, you can't drive anywhere without passing by a mall, or car dealership, causing the alarm to constantly go off.

4.) The V1 was great in Nevada and Las Vegas/CA border, and for helping me point out speed traps. I do plan to get another detector one day, but it will probably be stealth mounted so I don't need to remove it. I had to return it because I got a cracked windshield on my way home from the trip and the of the windshield was the same as my V1!

 

I use a Whistler with remote antenna (in my Alfa, not in the MINI). The antenna mounts in the front grille, and the detector readout unit can then be put anywhere. I took an ashtray out of the Alfa and mounted the readout on a plate inserted there. Completely invisible if I close the cover of the ashtray. Whistlers aren't the best detectors, but I think they have the most concealed mounting solution. Is there anyplace in the MINI to mount a detector readout like this, where it would be visible but not too obvious, and could maybe be covered up when not being used?

 

>>I use a Whistler with remote antenna (in my Alfa, not in the MINI). The antenna mounts in the front grille, and the detector readout unit can then be put anywhere. I took an ashtray out of the Alfa and mounted the readout on a plate inserted there. Completely invisible if I close the cover of the ashtray. Whistlers aren't the best detectors, but I think they have the most concealed mounting solution. Is there anyplace in the MINI to mount a detector readout like this, where it would be visible but not too obvious, and could maybe be covered up when not being used?

The V1 has a remote display option and I place it in the ashtray without the cover. I didn't want it permanent at the time so I didn't drill the tray for the cable, but I think it's possible. It was a little distracting having to look down to see the alert status though.

 

>> I just purchases an Escort 8500. My purchase decision was based on informaion I reviewed on http://www.radar-detectors.com. I was going to get a Valantine One until I saw Escort is back with what appears to be the "best" detector. Escort was many years ago the best yet fell on hard times. I looks as if they are back. Good luck.


You have GOT to be kiding me! This guy is a JOKE. He recommends the Escort because that's what he sells. He doesn't sell the Valentine, so he doesn't say it is the best. HE DOESN'T EVEN REVIEW THE VALENTINE ONE.

Just my .02

Frog

 

Octane guy has made some excellent points. Still for travelling in the wide open spaces they are very helpful. You may still get a ticket someday, (laser is tough to beat, more about luck than skill) but this last weekend I was driving between Springfield and St Louis, Doing about 85 the entire way. I was warned by the 5 real radar traps and of course, I slowed down a few times because of false alarms. The more you travel a certain section of road the more you can tell where the false causing alarms are and you can also tell by the signal type and strength that help you distinguish. The V1 because of the information it gives you helps you make this decision with more surety than any other device. Could I have gotten a ticket this weekend, sure. Was I better prepared by having the V1, yes! Is the V1 worth the money, yes. Is it expensive, yes. Is it perfect, no.

jc

 

>>Octane guy has made some excellent points. Still for travelling in the wide open spaces they are very helpful. You may still get a ticket someday, (laser is tough to beat, more about luck than skill) but this last weekend I was driving between Springfield and St Louis, Doing about 85 the entire way. I was warned by the 5 real radar traps and of course, I slowed down a few times because of false alarms. The more you travel a certain section of road the more you can tell where the false causing alarms are and you can also tell by the signal type and strength that help you distinguish. The V1 because of the information it gives you helps you make this decision with more surety than any other device. Could I have gotten a ticket this weekend, sure. Was I better prepared by having the V1, yes! Is the V1 worth the money, yes. Is it expensive, yes. Is it perfect, no.
>>
>>jc

JC I agree. There were atleast 2 occasions where having radar, and even better the V1 helped out. One was where I was cresting a hill doing about 95, and down below were 2 troopers who pulled over a motorist. Had I not gotten the warning, I would have blown right by them. The few seconds of warning were invaluable. A second time was just after I got fed up with the "false alarms" after having entered a new city and the V1 kept going off. I learned to ignore this activity but it continued for several miles. And even as I was leaving the city, I was like, WTF, I'm turning this off. I soon discovered why. About 4 cars ahead of me was an unmarked trooper in a white SUV. I only caught him when I realized the cars in front of me were slowing down or moving out of the way! He had been in front of me the whole time, causing my V1 to act crazy!

So you definitely need to drive over an area to familiarize yourself with false alarms and act accordingly.

 

I have the V1 and I won't take a road trip without it, on the first trip I used it, it paid for itself as it saved me from 3 sure ticket situations. As for the false alarms all it really takes to distinguish a false alarm is to take a peek at the detector and realize that if its not Ka then its probably a false alarm. I have the volume almost off so that it doesn't bother me with the false alarms and the unit it mounted to the left of the mirror just like most have stated. I don't know about other areas, but at least here in Florida I've discovered that officers are mostly only using Ka or Laser so its easy for me to tell which is a false signal.

 

>>I have the V1 and I won't take a road trip without it, on the first trip I used it, it paid for itself as it saved me from 3 sure ticket situations. As for the false alarms all it really takes to distinguish a false alarm is to take a peek at the detector and realize that if its not Ka then its probably a false alarm. I have the volume almost off so that it doesn't bother me with the false alarms and the unit it mounted to the left of the mirror just like most have stated. I don't know about other areas, but at least here in Florida I've discovered that officers are mostly only using Ka or Laser so its easy for me to tell which is a false signal.

I second the comments above. I too have the V1 and use it all the time here in So. Cal. I drive from Palmdale to Chatsworth over the Angeles Forrest and Crest highways. The one (singular) time I did not have the V1 with me (I move it from car to car), was the day I got my last ticket. No kidding.

I also do a lot of driving between Palmdale and Mammoth in the winter (They open this weekend! anyone else going?) and it has proved to be invaluable over that span of road.

As for falsing, pay attention to the LED's and sounds. I can tell just by the sound what is a serious threat and what is not. If you travel a certain route for a period of time, you will recognize and tune out the known falses.

I mount mine lower on the windshield as I have not hard wired in any of my cars. Plus 2 of my 3 cars have a tint band in the top of the windshield which has been proven to hinder a detectors performance (Car and Driver, a few years back). I also leave mine in my car 24/7. I have never had an issue with someone breaking into my cars, ever.

Octane guy, thanks for the sample tube of your stuff at the LB Rally! That stuff is great!

Garth

_________________
Recently modded: Alta intake, pulley, sway bar; H Sport springs and camber links; UUC ehaust; Powerchip ECU

Just having fun running the crest for my commute...

 

the best has to be the V1, but looks like a small RED LED computer. If you want one that "still looks great" the Passport 8500 is the only next choice, and it will save you $100. You obviously loose the big red number and directional arrows but it performs VERY WELL. So well it was stolen from my MINI. But I must upgrade now to the V1.

http://www.valentine1.com compares them both very well.

 

V-1 is the only way to go. Did you know you can send it back to them at any time to have it updated to the newest spec? Sure it cost a few bucks, but I never gets outdated. Detectors are like lawyers ... cheap ones are very, very expensive. I got the first one for my wife after a TN trooper clocked at over 140MPH on I 75 north of knoxville. That was five years ago. she have not slowed down, but she has not been stopped again. V-1 is a life saver.

Motor on.

 

>>I second the comments above. I too have the V1 and use it all the time here in So. Cal. I drive from Palmdale to Chatsworth over the Angeles Forrest and Crest highways. The one (singular) time I did not have the V1 with me (I move it from car to car), was the day I got my last ticket. No kidding.

<SNIP>>>Octane guy, thanks for the sample tube of your stuff at the LB Rally! That stuff is great!
>>
>>Garth

Hey Garth-

Good point. I don't regularly drive those areas but I would agree that radar would be invaluable there. I got nabbed by Laser on PCH, and that's another good place to have a V1--I wasn't in my MINI at the time. Did you find the suction cups wearing prematurely? I found that after putting it on and taking it off, every time I stopped, or leaving it on in the sun, I had to moisten the cups to get them to stick properly. That worried me too!

One day I'll get a V1 again. I've actually been dreaming of a fibreglass roof scoop just ahead of my sunroof with the V1 installed inside.

re: Octane
You're welcome!! Thanks for letting me know! In case you didn't know, that stuff sells for between $8.95 - $12.95 in the US. We got it good, cause in the UK, it costs about US$22!

 

Valentine 1 or Passport 8500, no other will do.