Best Radar Detector?

[BTC Maxi]

Plan on getting an M3 in the upcoming months and was wondering what was the best radar detector? I've heard of Valentine one and cobra but was wondering what everyone else uses.

[HerkHealer]

Originally Posted by Jackodlum

Plan on getting an M3 in the upcoming months and was wondering what was the best radar detector? I've heard of Valentine one and cobra but was wondering what everyone else uses.

you might want to post this specifically in the M3 forums. I've got a 2020 M550 and was told not to even bother because of all the cruise radar/parking sensors, etc on my car. It would just constantly set the detector off with false alarms.

[Josh-PA]

Uniden R7 seems like the most popular these days. the R3 is also well reviewed

I've been running an Escort Max 360 for a couple of years and been really happy.

There are a lot of Valentine 1 hold outs, but I don't think the new V1 matches the performance of the Uniden or Escort models.

Be sure you get a good unit with effective DSC filtering, I really like GPS filtering, etc

[BTC Maxi]

Originally Posted by HerkHealer

you might want to post this specifically in the M3 forums. I've got a 2020 M550 and was told not to even bother because of all the cruise radar/parking sensors, etc on my car. It would just constantly set the detector off with false alarms.

Thanks and will do 👍🏻

[Tommy-G]

I have a Valentine 1 and love it. There is a new version out which I have no experience with but that would be the one they sell you now. The nice thing is anytime they have an update, you can send in your detector and they upgrade it (used to be $75)
I have NEVER had it brake or malfunction in probably 15 years I have owned it. I'm sure there are other good detectors out there but I'm a V1 customer for life

[overcoil]

lots of opinion

check out vortexradar.com

I'd say Valentine 1 is the best, built beautiful ( first of the new Gen 2 had some manufacturing issue, pretty much rectified ). No MRCD MRCT so think if you really need that. Ideally adding an Application to your smart phone (Android a lil better than iPhone ) but still Valentine 1 works good alone. Blendmount ideal way to mount, but power supply cable dropping down. Suction cups with Valentine 1 always bothered me - having a magnesium unit drop onto the cabin and scratching.


Then a very good detector is the Uniden R4 or even an old R3. Lite weight, mount securely and made of plastic so if it drops not as likely to cause harm.


Radar detector is ( if I have to make up a pie chart ) is only 40 % of your surveillance. Laser Jammer, Waze, Visual and knowing where and when to speed. LUCK.

Radar detectors can be noisy / chatty going off for lots of reason so it helps if you don't mind false readings and alerts from alarms and other cars.

With some fine tuning of settings you can eliminate some falses.

I would guess on average. once a year my detector saved me from a ticket. Often in a suburban setting by a lazy officer shooting Ka.

[2000cs]

There are some websites and forums specific to radar detectors but you’ll have to search as I haven’t looked at them in years.

I had a V1 and stopped using it over 10 years ago. As mentioned already, too much interference and laser wasn’t detected by it. Instead of a radar detector, I use Waze for long distance driving, and pay attention to other vehicles (especially trucks) and when they start to slow, so do I.

I won’t admit to speeding, but I try not to impede the flow of traffic.

[BMWGUYinCO]

Here's the problem with any current gen radar detector:
Most metropolitan and surrounding areas employ LIDAR based radar guns.

1. The LIDAR gun beam is extremely narrow, making detection difficult even for radar detectors that claim to detect laser/LIDAR radar.
2. Even if your detector goes off to warn you of LIDAR beaming, - it's probably too late as you were just tagged so there is no advanced warning.
3. Police target the front bumper or license plate for the narrow beam, and this is employed by a trigger pull on the radar gun, so it's instant on. Again - too late for you unless your unit happens to detect the very narrow beam as it hits the car in front of you (again, highly unlikely).
4. They're annoying in areas with nice cars - today's vehicles have all kinds of sensors to detect collision and object avoidance that makes these detectors flash lights and go crazy.

Now, if your state allows radar/LIDAR jamming, then get one of those systems (Colorado does not)

Today's radar detectors do an awesome job at picking up the various K band radar guns and at a long distance...it's just that less and less police are using them. Shit, a friend of mine who is a police office said an insurance company donated money for them to acquire LIDAR guns for his dept for enforcement....of course you know this isn't for safety, it's to jack up rates for speeders.

I think it would be super cool to hear from Sedan_Clan on this subject, but the above factors made me save my money.

Edit: my son uses a Uniden R7 - man that thing chirps like a little bird with all kinds of whistles and tweet noises every time he starts his car....he gets a LOT of false alarms from everything to nearby automatic door openers, to the signs that show you your speed. He's able to tag those locations with GPS so it blocks out the alarms, but even then the detector informs him of a "user tagged location ahead". Here's the thing though, he rarely gets a real notification unless it's out in the boonies or very rural areas.

[e90335e36m3]

V1 always has and always will be the best.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by BMWGUYinCO

Edit: my son uses a Uniden R7 - man that thing chirps like a little bird with all kinds of whistles and tweet noises every time he starts his car....he gets a LOT of false alarms from everything to nearby automatic door openers, to the signs that show you your speed. He's able to tag those locations with GPS so it blocks out the alarms, but even then the detector informs him of a "user tagged location ahead". Here's the thing though, he rarely gets a real notification unless it's out in the boonies or very rural areas.

This has not been my experience. I run a Uniden R7 and I've noticed it automatically mutes certain areas I visit frequently that it knows aren't police radars (i.e. automatic doors from a nearby store). It's usually very quiet, and provides numerous instances of "ka" band which typically means a police car with its radar on. It's also very long range and directional.

I run that along with Waze simultaneously and it's been excellent. I haven't gotten a single ticket since running both together and they've saved me multiple times. It's not 100%, but at least I know what to look out for that something like a radar detector or waze likely wouldn't be able to alert me of (i.e. a police car coming up behind me or merging onto a highway without its radar on).

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by HerkHealer

I've got a 2020 M550 and was told not to even bother because of all the cruise radar/parking sensors, etc on my car. It would just constantly set the detector off with false alarms.

Depending on the type of detector you're running, this isn't necessarily true. Most of the higher end detectors are excellent at filtering out things like BSM/radar cruise systems.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

There are some websites and forums specific to radar detectors but you'll have to search as I haven't looked at them in years.

I had a V1 and stopped using it over 10 years ago. As mentioned already, too much interference and laser wasn't detected by it. Instead of a radar detector, I use Waze for long distance driving, and pay attention to other vehicles (especially trucks) and when they start to slow, so do I.

I won't admit to speeding, but I try not to impede the flow of traffic.

OP def check out rdforum.org. Lots of M3 owners over there. Some are actually members on both this forum and that one

[evil-G-nius]

Originally Posted by Josh-PA

Uniden R7 seems like the most popular these days. the R3 is also well reviewed

I've been running an Escort Max 360 for a couple of years and been really happy.

There are a lot of Valentine 1 hold outs, but I don't think the new V1 matches the performance of the Uniden or Escort models.

Be sure you get a good unit with effective DSC filtering, I really like GPS filtering, etc

I have a Uniden R3 and I love it. It has a built in GPS, also a learned mode that will not go off when it comes into contact with automatic doors and what not. It also can take notice of redlight cameras...its been really good and it is accurate

[ryan stewart]

I had both a V1 and Escorts back in the day and both were awesome. Did a good job of filtering out the mess.

But I never replaced them when they died because, around me, was seeing a lot more laser in the city and that is where most of my driving is. Radar was mainly useful for catching them shooting at other people and getting reflections, not so much with laser.

And on the highways down here you dont get points until 15 over and everyone else goes 20 over so I just lock in at 15 over (knowing BMW speedos are optimistic) and take it easy.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by BMWGUYinCO

Here's the problem with any current gen radar detector:
Most metropolitan and surrounding areas employ LIDAR based radar guns.

1. The LIDAR gun beam is extremely narrow, making detection difficult even for radar detectors that claim to detect laser/LIDAR radar.
2. Even if your detector goes off to warn you of LIDAR beaming, - it's probably too late as you were just tagged so there is no advanced warning.
3. Police target the front bumper or license plate for the narrow beam, and this is employed by a trigger pull on the radar gun, so it's instant on. Again - too late for you unless your unit happens to detect the very narrow beam as it hits the car in front of you (again, highly unlikely).
4. They're annoying in areas with nice cars - today's vehicles have all kinds of sensors to detect collision and object avoidance that makes these detectors flash lights and go crazy.

Now, if your state allows radar/LIDAR jamming, then get one of those systems (Colorado does not)

Today's radar detectors do an awesome job at picking up the various K band radar guns and at a long distance...it's just that less and less police are using them. Shit, a friend of mine who is a police office said an insurance company donated money for them to acquire LIDAR guns for his dept for enforcement....of course you know this isn't for safety, it's to jack up rates for speeders.

I think it would be super cool to hear from Sedan_Clan on this subject, but the above factors made me save my money.

Edit: my son uses a Uniden R7 - man that thing chirps like a little bird with all kinds of whistles and tweet noises every time he starts his car....he gets a LOT of false alarms from everything to nearby automatic door openers, to the signs that show you your speed. He's able to tag those locations with GPS so it blocks out the alarms, but even then the detector informs him of a "user tagged location ahead". Here's the thing though, he rarely gets a real notification unless it's out in the boonies or very rural areas.

Yeah, I am going to go ahead disagree with you on all of this. I had the old V1 for 10 years and it definitely got very chatty but I have the new version of the V1 and it is super quiet in all areas on all cars (even our new X3 with all of the bells and whistles). It does a great job of picking up cops VERY often, and as long as you don't speed on a road with no other cars you don't really run much risk of getting tagged. I take a lot of road trips through a lot of states and big cities and have not had any of the issues you seem to think there is.

For the app component I use V1Driver, I think it was like $10, but it adds the location component so it will auto silence stationary things like automatic doors or permanent speed signs they put up in some places.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Yeah, I am going to go ahead disagree with you on all of this. I had the old V1 for 10 years and it definitely got very chatty but I have the new version of the V1 and it is super quiet in all areas on all cars (even our new X3 with all of the bells and whistles). It does a great job of picking up cops VERY often, and as long as you don't speed on a road with no other cars you don't really run much risk of getting tagged. I take a lot of road trips through a lot of states and big cities and have not had any of the issues you seem to think there is.

LIDAR is a visual reference technology that is instant on, instant off…..unlike radar that casts a wide net (..and benefits the motorists if I'm at an angle). If I point my LIDAR gun at a vehicle, I will get a return as long as I can see that vehicle…….however far away that vehicle is. By the time you see me, I've already seen you long before. The only reason I wait until a vehicle is closer is to visually estimate speed to see if it falls in line with my LIDAR reading. I suspect you've just been lucky. Not every department runs LIDAR.

[jmack]

I used an Escort 8500 for 10+ years, for it's price point it had the best Ka-band detection at the time, which was great in NY because cops would drive around with their radars on 24x7. Now a days most cops have LIDAR or at least instant-on Ka, and traditional radar detectors don't cut it anymore. My 8500 died a couple years ago and I never bothered to replace it.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

LIDAR is a visual reference technology that is instant on, instant off…..unlike radar that casts a wide net (..and benefits the motorists if I'm at an angle). If I point my LIDAR gun at a vehicle, I will get a return as long as I can see that vehicle…….however far away that vehicle is. By the time you see me, I've already seen you long before. The only reason I wait until a vehicle is closer is to visually estimate speed to see if it falls in line with my LIDAR reading. I suspect you've just been lucky. Not every department runs LIDAR.

Having driven to Utah a few times, Colorado a few times, Florida once, Tennessee twice, Arkansas 4 times, and West Texas once in the past 2 year and having my detector pick up 3+ cops per trip and not a single time running into an instant on trap... I would say it is not as much luck as it is the availability and use of the technology. Either that or the V1 can pick up LIDAR from further away than can be seen (true with Ka but I'm not as familiar with LIDAR).

I realize my experience is just my experience, but it is too consistent to be a fluke.

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Having driven to Utah a few times, Colorado a few times, Florida once, Tennessee twice, Arkansas 4 times, and West Texas once in the past 2 year and having my detector pick up 3+ cops per trip and not a single time running into an instant on trap... I would say it is not as much luck as it is the availability and use of the technology. Either that or the V1 can pick up LIDAR from further away than can be seen (true with Ka but I'm not as familiar with LIDAR).

I realize my experience is just my experience, but it is too consistent to be a fluke.

I'm just educating you on the technology. Even if the V1 can pick up LIDAR, it's still too late. Even a roach can't scatter fast enough to defeat the instant-on of a room light, and you can't scrub speed fast enough to defeat LIDAR. LIDAR is a target specific, point and shoot laser technology…..unlike radar. The vehicle I point at is the vehicle I get, and there's no reading or frequency signature until I pull the trigger. The return speed figure [once I pull the trigger] is nearly instant.

[Maestro]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye

Yeah, I am going to go ahead disagree with you on all of this. I had the old V1 for 10 years and it definitely got very chatty but I have the new version of the V1 and it is super quiet in all areas on all cars (even our new X3 with all of the bells and whistles). It does a great job of picking up cops VERY often, and as long as you don't speed on a road with no other cars you don't really run much risk of getting tagged. I take a lot of road trips through a lot of states and big cities and have not had any of the issues you seem to think there is.

For the app component I use V1Driver, I think it was like $10, but it adds the location component so it will auto silence stationary things like automatic doors or permanent speed signs they put up in some places.

Originally Posted by BMWGUYinCO

Here's the problem with any current gen radar detector:
Most metropolitan and surrounding areas employ LIDAR based radar guns.

1. The LIDAR gun beam is extremely narrow, making detection difficult even for radar detectors that claim to detect laser/LIDAR radar.
2. Even if your detector goes off to warn you of LIDAR beaming, - it's probably too late as you were just tagged so there is no advanced warning.
3. Police target the front bumper or license plate for the narrow beam, and this is employed by a trigger pull on the radar gun, so it's instant on. Again - too late for you unless your unit happens to detect the very narrow beam as it hits the car in front of you (again, highly unlikely).
4. They're annoying in areas with nice cars - today's vehicles have all kinds of sensors to detect collision and object avoidance that makes these detectors flash lights and go crazy.

Now, if your state allows radar/LIDAR jamming, then get one of those systems (Colorado does not)

Today's radar detectors do an awesome job at picking up the various K band radar guns and at a long distance...it's just that less and less police are using them. Shit, a friend of mine who is a police office said an insurance company donated money for them to acquire LIDAR guns for his dept for enforcement....of course you know this isn't for safety, it's to jack up rates for speeders.

I think it would be super cool to hear from Sedan_Clan on this subject, but the above factors made me save my money.

Edit: my son uses a Uniden R7 - man that thing chirps like a little bird with all kinds of whistles and tweet noises every time he starts his car....he gets a LOT of false alarms from everything to nearby automatic door openers, to the signs that show you your speed. He's able to tag those locations with GPS so it blocks out the alarms, but even then the detector informs him of a "user tagged location ahead". Here's the thing though, he rarely gets a real notification unless it's out in the boonies or very rural areas.

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

LIDAR is a visual reference technology that is instant on, instant off…..unlike radar that casts a wide net (..and benefits the motorists if I'm at an angle). If I point my LIDAR gun at a vehicle, I will get a return as long as I can see that vehicle…….however far away that vehicle is. By the time you see me, I've already seen you long before. The only reason I wait until a vehicle is closer is to visually estimate speed to see if it falls in line with my LIDAR reading. I suspect you've just been lucky. Not every department runs LIDAR.

I use to be very active in the radar detector community radardector.com and I been a user of V1 for over 20 years and retired my old one to replace it their latest and greatest version which has a mobile app to interface to the detector. I got rid of the old one since every modern car was setting the damn thing off and the new one allows you to disable those random back ground noise. At one time I even wrote a how to beat speeding tickets in PA.

I will tell you after using V1 and avoiding many of a ticket and with Waze reporting locations of speed traps I found over the years just being observant of what is going on around you and trying to avoid being the person out in front will allow you to avoid most tickets. I have been using my detector less an less plus most highways I travel are 70 and going 75 does not get you tickets these days verses being 55 or 65 and going 75 always made you a target. I am luck in PA local police are not allow to use radar or LIDAR so Radar detectors do not help and so you need to keep your eye open since they use old stop watch method of an optical system on the side of the road. I mostly use mine in other states except VA since they will catch you using one.

As it has been pointed out LIDAR is the game changer and has been for the last 15+ yrs. The only defense is a jammer and all jammers are illegal to operate at a federal level does not mater what the local or state rules are. Even with a jammer the LIDAR guns got smart and know when they being jammed, if you are running a LIDAR jammer you have to be fast on the brakes, and tuning off the jammer so the gun can get a valid reading, otherwise, you are getting pulled over for at minimum illegal use of a jammer. The only time a radar detector us helpful is if the officer lites up the car in front of you and your detector picks up some of the stray laser light that my have passed through the front car's windows. Most times they got you at the same time the detector is sounding.

Lastly, they are staring to use a non-radar/LIDAR systems to measure speed, I have not done much research on it but I think it is ultrasound, and they are using this with speed cameras. I seen a few around me in construction zones, my V1 never goes off around them and I see the speedvan sitting on the side of road telling me my speed and they can send a warning letter in the mail you were speeding in a construction zone. My daughter just got one the other day.

I always have been a V1 fan, it does everything the others does and no frills. Valentine was military defense contractors who develops the radar defense systems for the government, this guy know his stuff. I also like the arrows, they are helpful with a divided highway, the police can be on the other side of the road and you can not see them, but your detector goes off since its picking up the reflected waves from the cars on the other side so you think its a signal in on your side in front of you, but once you pass the source the arrow flips to the back side and you know it is on the other side. Most people who like anything but the V1 is usually because the other boast all kinds of feature which most time are not worth anything unless you're geek and want to analysis ever aspect of the radar you just encountered.

But as I said it come down to situational awareness, if you do not have this you will still get a ticket with a radar detector.

[Sedan_Clan]

Maestro brings up a good point about jammers. My LIDAR gun will tell me if I'm being jammed, and if that's the case the motorist using the jammer is definitely getting pulled over.

P.S. I am also certified in my state to visually estimate speed, so I don't even need to use anything to write the citation. In California, we have to be able to visually estimate speed +/- 5mph to use radar/LIDAR. During certification we have to achieve something like 85-90% accuracy.

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Maestro brings up a good point about jammers. My LIDAR gun will tell me if I'm being jammed, and if that's the case the motorist using the jammer is definitely getting pulled over.

P.S. I am also certified in my state to visually estimate speed, so I don't even need to use anything to write the citation. In California, we have to be able to visually estimate speed +/- 5mph to use radar/LIDAR. During certification we have to achieve something like 85-90% accuracy.

Is it illegal to jamb Lidar/radar in California? What is the citation or fine approx?