I use the Valentine 1.....the official radar detector of the Soup ****

 

Well, at that speed, if it took him 2 minutes to catch up to
you, you should of kept going 80/90 mph and pulled off
somewhere. heh...nah, that'd be illegal.

 

After 24,000 miles of fast speed on all kinds of highways (and only 1 ticket the week BEFORE mine was installed) I am a believer that it is the BEST on the market.

The multiple numbers to know how many are around and the directional arrows to help, it is the greatest.

It's expensive but not as expensive as the tickets and/or the increases in your insurance rates!!

 

After doing some research online, I found a number of people recomending the Escort 8500 (uses the same detection hardware as the Bell 980). Supposedly, it has a better detection range than the V1.

I've had very good luck with it, but you need to realize that most cops use instant-on radar, so if you're the only car on the road, you won't see anything on your detector until the cop hits you with the radar. So, even if there is other traffic on the road, the cop may just decide to radar you and not the rest of traffic (making your radar detector pretty much worthless). Try and use a "rabbit" to flush out cops (a car going the speed you want to travel that you let drive 1/4 mile in front of you).

After turning off the X band detection, the Escort has a good S/N ratio and I can use it around town in the bay area (my old radio shack detector was useless except on the freeway away from cities).

 

I have a Valentine 1, and it's made me a true believer. Not only has EVERY reputable auto magazine comparison I've ever seen rated the Valetine 1 the best (I subscribe to Sports Car International, Road & Track, Car & Driver, Autoweek, and Sport Compact Car so I've seen a comparison or two over the years), with the widest range of coverage, but I've witnessed it in person. I always leave mine in the super logic mode, and I've been in situations traveling in a group with my Z club when my V-1 was pegged before somebody elses detector even started making a peep. In fact, one guy's detector started going off after the CHP came into sight. WAY too late to save him if my detector hadn't gone off and slowed us back down to legal speeds.

 

I trust my Valentine 1 all the way. It may or may not have the longest range, but the directional arrows give you tons of very helpful information, and that's something that none of the other detectors offer (whether or not they have a better range). Also, the V-1 is intentionally made so that whatever improvements Valentine makes over the years can be added to the ones that they made from the very beginning! So while you may need to shell out another 300 bucks for the next Escort, your $400 Valentine will always be top of the line!!! check it out: https://store.valentine1.com/upgrades/