Escort 9500ci install on 2009 Mercedes GL550

[<<JAZZY>>]

I am sure that the 2 heads of the ZR4 laser jammer should be enough for the huge chrome front end of this Mercedes. The installer said that the radar antenna is mounted behind the bumper too so that should be great for radar detection. How much do you think this rich idiot paid to have a crappy laser jammer installed with a radar antenna mounted in the wrong spot to insure weak performance?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDdV6rgkVzU"]YouTube - 2009 GL550 Passport 9500CI BUC on demand[/ame]

[AirMoore]

I will say: Overall I give the install a B+


The interior install of the 9500ci is amazing. I think it's one of the best remote installs I have ever seen in that aspect (at least top 10... including forums members).



The ZR4's seem optimally placed... its not really the installers fault they are worthless on that front-end.


The only (large) deduction I give is the placement of the radar-antenna (which as you say seems to be behind the grill somewhere), but to that extent: Many members of the forum did not know this information until they tested it, so the odds of even a professional installer knowing more then many forum members here is slim (at best). If the installer could 'dremmel' out a spot just under the Mercedes symbol... I would bump the install up to an 'A' (not A+), but certainly one of the better ones.



Overall, I bet it cost an arm and a leg, but if he would go get the antenna repositioned, I think it may have just been worth it in this case.

[Zapple]

I don't like those type of mirror installs. It's good that the laser shifters are facing outward though and are not curved. The only thing that needs to be fixed is the radar antenna.

[swarga]

I will say: Overall I give the install a B+


The interior install of the 9500ci is amazing. I think it's one of the best remote installs I have ever seen in that aspect (at least top 10... including forums members).

I'm not quite so impressed.

First of all, having the display in the mirror looks neat, but kinda defeats the purpose of having a stealthy remote display; it's right up there in plain view where everybody can see it from outside the car. REBInc's install of the display inside the tachometer beats the mirror install hands down.

Worse, the placement of the control panel sucks. Imagine you're driving along and your laser jammer goes off. To hit the mute button and turn the jammers off you have to lean forward in your seat, take your eyes off the road, push in the lid of your little secret compartment, wait several seconds while the highly-damped mechanism S-L-O-O-O-W-L-Y opens out, and finally you can hit the Mute button. By this time, of course, you've already JTG, and probably crashed into the LEO's vehicle because you had to take your eyes off the road to futz with the damn compartment door.

For what that Mercedes owner undoubtedly paid for that installation, he should have gotten a lot better IMHO.

[AirMoore]

I'm not quite so impressed.

First of all, having the display in the mirror looks neat, but kinda defeats the purpose of having a stealthy remote display; it's right up there in plain view where everybody can see it from outside the car. REBInc's install of the display inside the tachometer beats the mirror install hands down.

Worse, the placement of the control panel sucks. Imagine you're driving along and your laser jammer goes off. To hit the mute button and turn the jammers off you have to lean forward in your seat, take your eyes off the road, push in the lid of your little secret compartment, wait several seconds while the highly-damped mechanism S-L-O-O-O-W-L-Y opens out, and finally you can hit the Mute button. By this time, of course, you've already JTG, and probably crashed into the LEO's vehicle because you had to take your eyes off the road to futz with the damn compartment door.

For what that Mercedes owner undoubtedly paid for that installation, he should have gotten a lot better IMHO.

No one will know what that is inside his mirror first off... many mirrors have a compass which say 'North, South, East, West' on them, so 99&#37; of the public is going to assume thats it...


I don't know if your a midget, but I can reach with my arms (and I am only 6ft1) that button (where a drink would be) without moving my body.

Lastly, I would (as would any logical person) leave it out all the time when he is driving, the whole point is to hide it when you ARE NOT driving (aka: when it can be stolen).

I would like to see some of your integrated installs compared to that...

Lastly: I said top-ten not number-1 as I also like REBinc's install more.

[geekmedic]

I actually like the mirror install. How does one go about doing that?

Does anyone know if you can change the LED lights from blue to orange (to match BMW's orange glow interior)?

[dpatel01]

Does anyone know if you can change the LED lights from blue to orange (to match BMW's orange glow interior)?

Solder the red (close enough?) LED board from a STi-R display into a 9500ci display.
Here is REBinc's thread on how he got his red 9500ci:
http://www.radardetector.net/forums/...r-display.html

[geekmedic]

Still holding out for orange, not red. I'd be willing to pay a decent price for it.

[The Breeze]

For me, mirror installs doesn’t fit well. I do not like looking up to see what the RD is telling me. My eyes are completely off the road at that point, and I ware Bifocal glasses and can’t read the thing anyway without looking way up through the bottom of my lenses. It is a neat idea regardless, but not for me, and I would think this would present similar problems for those that don’t wear glasses. When the RD alerts, one spends more time reading it, as opposed to a quick glance to view rearward traffic, so your eyes are not watching ahead at all. As far as the control, I would install it in a more convenient location. Nobody is ever going to see it from the outside, or know what it is if they do, so theft would be a minimal concern if any. In a nut shell, this install isn’t for me, but it’s not my ride either.

[M6D]

Still holding out for orange, not red. I'd be willing to pay a decent price for it.

*useless comment edited out, with apologies to geekmedic* I'll glue some yellow cellophane to the back side of a red display. Sound good?

I think you might like the V1 and a red 9500 display up hear the RVM - it'll be far enough from the orange vehicle displays that you might like it.