Which Detector - K40 Calibre or Escort 9500ci

[Deanski]

I have the full K40 system in the Porsche. It's a toss-up between Porsche owners between K40 and V1.



I like my K40 since it's all bluetooth, remote and hidden. All I have is two LEDS up on the insterment binnicle, and a small remote. I get alarms by geiger count and by voice as to which band of radar.



Most police laser guns will shoot for something very shinny, mostly a heatlight since it's highly reflective as opposed to a license plate. Some however, still aim at the plate, which is where I have all detectors/jammers (laser only as radar RF transmission is illegal) by the front bumper area. Same for the rear.



So far, It's saved me. However, as most will tell you, if you're first inline for instant on laser, you're toast! But, most detectors will get enough reflective laser bounce-off if you're behind the first, which you will get the alarm, but must act fast.



I do not like detectors out in the open. There are too many issues with them up out in the open.



My advise is to keep looking at what your requirements are, talk to your regional car club as well.



Regards,



Deanski

 

[DaGonz]

Thanks for the welcome and yes on the LEO part. Obviously there is a distinct difference between speeding and irresponsible driving. That being said, speed is one of the top PCF (primary collision factors) in the majority of collisions. As far as laser being undefeatable, well anything can be defeated. I just like laser due to it being vehicle specific and I've never gotten a jam signal. But, if i did I would make the stop and take the appropriate enforcement action. I'm not qute sure how the jammers work and what their coverage area is but I would find it hard to beleive that someone could react fast enough to slow down enough. Perception and reaction time is basically 1.5 seconds and there is still the age old methond of plain visual estimation



Good topic for debate.....Again thanks and hope to gain some knowledge here on autopia.......

Thanks to our brother on the thin blue line for adding his perspective.



I have a Escort Solo 2 in my Mustang. I do drive responsibly, sometimes I do get a little leadfooted in the car, but the main reason I have it is a couple of the small towns I drive through use radar not for traffic safety but for "revenue enhancement".

 

[mrc1utch]

The Valentine 1 is probably one of the better radars out there on the market. It has had great rating for the past few years now. So i highly recommend not dishing out 2000 on the K40 and spend it on the valentine 1 instead.

 

[soccerjunky]

9500 here, mirror mount ,hardwired to mirror , transfers to my other cars, has gps locator to aleviate false alarms and speed trap notification..highly recommend

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[thump_rrr]

I'm running a concealed BEL STI Driver since detectors are not legal where I live.

If I were living in an area where undetectability was not an issue I would choose the Valentine 1 for the indicator arrows.



I frequently drive the I-87 corridor late at night with nearly nobody on the road and there are at least 5-6 speed enforcement units operating between the Canadian border and Albany nearly every time.



Here are a few pics of my setup.

As far as laser jammers go check out the guys of lidar website and decide for yourself.

Radar Detector Tests and Reviews by Guys of LIDAR

 

[soccerjunky]

that setup is thumping...nice

 

[sus195]

that STI is very nicely placed indeed!

 

[Deanski]

I'll still take my K40 install anyday over windshield mount detectors.



The K40 is fully Bluetooth, no hard wiring on some parts.



Only thing inside the cockpit are two blue LED's placed below the tach and speedo.



To control it, a small wireless remote is used to run the system.



Both front and rear protection.



As for laser jammers, there are a few good ones, but you want those that will jam to gun for the best effect. Problem is, finding which laser guns are used in your area.



So far, no tickets and can drive the way Porsche wants you to drive the car... hard.



Deanski

 

[tquill]

I would definitely go with the 9500ci over the K40. I will say the laser jamming capabilities are greatly lacking with both systems. If the 9500ci is ever offered with just the radar detector and without the laser jammer (it comes with the Escort Shifter ZR4)... I will be buying it.



There are a few effective laser jammers out there but the best the laser interceptor. It runs about 700 dollars for a two head unit. If you want protection in the back, you'll need an additional two heads which almost doubles the cost.



Here is a video on the K40 failing miserably to jam laser:



YouTube - K40 Laser Defuser doesn't work!



Here is some some more information on other laser jamming systems:



Radar Detector Tests and Reviews by Guys of LIDAR

 

[Kaze_RSX]

K40, big time. There is a local distributor where I live and seeing these things is quite interesting. Very unobtrusive, and highly effective.

 

[imported_User Name]

Some things to think about (some have been mentioned, some haven't). I've used a bunch of detectors over the last 15 years, including the K40 and the 9500ci, (also test the V1 for 4 months and used an 8500 X-50 for a while).



Although the longest detector I owned as a regular 8500, I think with regards to the question of pure detecting ability, V1 is the champ. The 9500 is close, although frankly I think the Bel STI Driver is a better choice, but that is really not germaine to this discussion.



Problem one is laser. NO DETECTOR is going to save you from a laser gun and laser jammers are only partly successful, so if you drive REALLY fast and you run up on a cop who has a laser gun, your toast. Your detector will be there to give you advance notice about the ticket you just got. That's it. The color of your car will also have an impact on the "detectibility" for a laser gun. A small black car and a laser jammer is more effective than a white Escalade and a laser jammer.



I did a side by side by side comparison (years ago) between a V1, 8500 X-50 and a K40. The K40 was consistently outclassed by the other two. V1 was dominant for X band radar (which is only used in a handfull of States - like NJ where I lived) so be cognizant of what is being used in your area. V1 was slightly better on K band and on KA band it was a virtual tie with the 8500 X-50, with maybe a slight (insignificant) edge to the X-50. The K40 was last in all bands and last by a significant margin in each.



The big problem with the V1 is falsing. Great detector but if you live in an urban area, the V1 is a real PITA. The 9500ci eliminates this problem which is a great feature, but certainly doesn't solve the laser problem.



So here are some things to think about...



1. Don't get caught up in the K40 "we'll pay your ticket" nonsense because the big problem with tickets is the effect on your insurance premiums and not necessarily the tickets themselves.



2. Know the law in your State. I was a practicing attorney in NY State and the law in NY is pretty clear with regards to speedig tickets. Do you know a cop doesn't need to "clock" you on a gun or even pace you in his car? By law, he can "estimate" your speed and write you a ticket based upon his estimation. So, let me give you the scenario. Guy driving North on I-87, doing 95 on a 65. He's got a 9500 + the Escort laser shifter. Cop with a laser gun is hiding in some cover and suddenly his shifter goes off, cop gets jammed but visually estimates the car to be going 90mph (yes I know he's just guessing). That is enough for the ticket to stand. So, guess what, he just made your detector and jammer 100% useless.



Arbitrary? Yes. Capricious? Probably, but legal nevertheless.



3. A detector can be a good tool and save you from tickets IF you use it smartly and don't drive too fast. In my 15 years using a detector I've been stopped twice and each time I talked my way out of a speeding ticket (once he gave me "no seatbelt). I find detectors are actually the best for non-interstate travel. More often than not, piggies on tertiary roads usually don't have laser guns and are much easier to detect. I've NEVER been even been stopped by a cop on a side road and I've done some fast driving.



So, my advice would be 9500ci over the K40, but understand that unless you use your detector smartly, it won't work the way you think it will.

 

[tquill]

Old thread I know but the k40 isn't anything special. THe CI has AMAZING radar detection capability but the laser jammers suck. I would recommend the Bel STi-R b/c it's essentially the CI without the jammers or GPS feature... making it far less expensive.



For laser jamming, there are GREAT options if anyone is interested. A good set of laser jammers is ~500 dollars or more... depending on the vehicle you're trying to protect.

 

[Gig103]

I have a ValentineOne, and absolutely love it. The arrows are so awesome in finding the radar source (is it a door? a cop? a 'your speed is' sign?).



But it is "noisy" compared to other detectors, since Mike Valentine's logic is to give you all the information, and let you filter it out. If that bugs you, get the 9500ci for the GPS lockout. But remember that if a cop is in the CVS parking lot, you might not get an alert, where the V1 would give you the "2" count so you know one is the door, the other is a cop.



Best thing is if you call Valentine1 directly, they give you 30 days to try it. See if you find it too noisy in your town and then if you don't like it, return it and go for the Escort.

 

[MarcHarris]

i have a 9500ix and love it. of course against laser there's almost nothing that can be done. the 9500ci with the laser shifter kit is supposed to be amazing from what i've heard on radardetectorforums.net



I don't care if they pay for the ticket. will they pay for your insurance going up too?



oh - and the 9500ci blows the doors off the V1, 9500i/ix, bel, etc. you can't compare a dash mount against a true hardwired model. it's not even close.



and the V1 isn't the only one to tell you if there are multiple signals. While my 9500ix blocks out known alerts, it only blocks out the false at it's GPS location, and only that individual signal - not ALL signals. ONLY the known false. I'm sure the 9500ic works the same way

 

[tquill]

While my 9500ix blocks out known alerts, it only blocks out the false at it's GPS location, and only that individual signal - not ALL signals. ONLY the known false. I'm sure the 9500ic works the same way

It does but it's not that simple. It can't block out a specific frequency (doesn't have the capability to accurately measure a frequency perfectly) so it blocks out a block of frequencies. It's possible that a radar gun can fall in the same frequency as the signal the detector blocked out. There are videos of this on youtube.

 

[AeroCleanse]

Valentine has been the way to go for a long time...

Yup the V1 is the best out there!

 

[gofastman]

have you looked at the Beltronics GX65 ? just an FYI Beltronics owns Escort, im guessing they have similar technology.

 

[aaron86]

I've used a V1, a 9500ix and a Bel STi driver. Returned the V1 after a month because of all the false alerts it gives. I loved the ability to lock out false alerts that the 9500ix gave me and I liked the long range of the STI, so I returned the 9500ix and got a 9500ci installed in my M3.



I sold the STi to a friend, but if i needed a backup detector again I'd go for a 9500ix or a STi driver. The V1 is just old technology and can't compete with the STi or the 9500ix.



Beltronics and Escort are still separate companies and are owned by one parent company. And for my vote the 9500ci is a far better system. The K40 can't detect anywhere near at far or as quickly as the 9500ci nor does it jam any of the newest laser guns being used whereas the 9500ci jams them all.



For the money, there really isn't anything else out there that can come close to a 9500ci as a total package. It's serving me very well here in Ohio and jamming every laser guns I've run against and detected the local police at well past a mile on the freeway.

 

[MichaelSpoots]

For the money, there really isn't anything else out there that can come close to a 9500ci as a total package. It's serving me very well here in Ohio and jamming every laser guns I've run against and detected the local police at well past a mile on the freeway.

Thanks for your input. Is the 9500ci basically one of those deals where the laser jammer is always jamming, then when it alerts you, you quickly drop down to the speed limit, hit the hidden "off" switch (which allows the cop to get a read on you with his laser gun--so he doesn't become too suspicious)...then once you're way past him, you just turn the unit back on *and resume your increased rate of travel?

 

[Accumulator]

... here in Ohio ..[my unit is].. jamming every laser guns I've run against ...

I'm surprised the LEOs aren't pulling you over anyhow. *EVERY* LEO I've discussed this with says they'd still cite you on a "visual" and let it go to court, in fact, some are looking forward to getting an indication that somebody is jamming their laser for just this reason.



Glad you like the 9500ci though, gotta find what works for *you*.