Need Some Help Selecting a RD

Hi I'm Patrick from the big town of Wausau Wisconsin. I am looking for a radar detector for a 18 year-old to help me with my lead foot. Right after I got my license, I purchased a Cobra RD from Walmart and surprisingly it save me a lot in my city driving. I then was starting to commute to our cottage a lot so I wanted a RD that would be more reliable to me unlike the cobra that gave me a 150' warning. I purchased a Escort 8500 that was refurbished online from the Escort store on ebay for $150. After using it for 4 months, I had to sell it due to parents that were non-supporters of me speeding. Now a year after, I am going off to college in a different city that is quite a bit larger than Wausau and I will be frequently driving back home and around an unfamiliar city. Seeing that I don't know any of the places cops hide and radar, I'm back in the market for a RD and the parents really caring now that I am an adult. I have been reading online and there is alot about the Escort, Beltronics and Valentine but everywhere gives a different #1 RD. Looking at the Escort store again on ebay, they have the 8500 x50 for like $199. I also looked at a few V1's but they are extremely expensive. What would you recommend for a good reliable RD for a kid?

It really all depends on what you are looking for. The best of the best detectors are the Escort 9500ci and the Beltronics STI-R. They are stealth detectors where the antenna is mounted in the grill of your car but they are also quite a bit more than the average detector. The 9500ci being 1600 and the STI-R since it has been discontinued can be found although not from authorized dealers for around 500. The best windshield mount detectors are the Escort Redline and the Valentine One. The Redline has a bit of an edge on detection in most cases but not anything drastic and lacks the arrows that the V1 has. The V1 is also quite a bit better for instant on. It is the most responsive detector on the market as well as has some of the best range. It does false quite a bit though and you would have to learn the locations of the falses. I would recommend the Valentine One because of the Arrows and how responsive the detector is. I have an STI-R and a Valentine One. I prefer my STI-R but I bought mine from an authorized dealer and I don't believe it is worth it to buy the detector if it is uninsured. The best entry level is still the 8500 x50 so if you want to go with that it is always a good option. Another popular choice is an escort 9500ix. They do not have the range of a Valentine One or the best response time to instant on but they have GPS filtering which will automatically lock out false alerts. It is about the same price as a V1. I recommend the V1 if you can afford it.

The best RD for you really depends on your environment and how well you deal with false alerts. If you hate falses get a 9500ix. If you don't falses and want the best possible performance get a V1 or Redline.

If laser is used in your area no RD will save you look into a decent laser jammer. The Laser Interceptor and new Blinder's are good jammers.

Which city? V1 8500 9500 Redline Bel V995 will all get the job done in Eastern WI for you. As will the remote RDs but you do seem to have a budget. That list may shorten depend upon where you're headed. The majority of the deciding factors will be features, but the 995 and 8500s come off the list if you enter heavy out of state travel.

Also that's RADAR coverage, for LIDAR aka laser; you'll need to look into some jammers, with your budget, you'll probably be looking at the M27.

Remember these devices aren't an excuse to speed, but reminders not to.;)

I will be using it mostly in Northern Wisconsin and Western Wisconsin. I mostly drive in the city but I will also be doing highway driving as I go to college. I am not sure if laser is being used in these areas yet. When I had my 8500 I never picked up laser. I would be looking for a windshield mounted RD. The other kinds are way out of my price range. My friend has a Valentine and told me to get one but is it really worth dropping the $500 for someone who does 10 over?

welcome

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Originally Posted by rossiskiracer91

I will be using it mostly in Northern Wisconsin and Western Wisconsin. I mostly drive in the city but I will also be doing highway driving as I go to college. I am not sure if laser is being used in these areas yet. When I had my 8500 I never picked up laser. I would be looking for a windshield mounted RD. The other kinds are way out of my price range. My friend has a Valentine and told me to get one but is it really worth dropping the $500 for someone who does 10 over?

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V1 is definitely worth it (and the V1 is 400 its the Redline and 9500 that are $500), and laser with without a doubt prevalent with WSP and has been in the area since 2007. US41 and I43 it's LTi 20-20 Ultralytes and Laser Atlantas and PLIIIs on I94, I39 is still mostly radar, but don't expect that to last long as they make more purchases. WSP is using Stalker Radar guns, and they use instant on so you'll need a higher end detector in order to get that short burst of Ka miles in advance, so that you're not a fast enough target for them to hit you with the I/O.

Is the Escort 8500 x50 good for that?