I'm looking into buying a radar detector and was wondering if anyone had any experience with them.
The top of of my list is the Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar and Laser Detector that normally sells for $299.00 but 6th Ave. has it through Amazon at $227.00.
Any advice would be appreciated.

I have had an 8500 X50 for several years. It's good and I've found it worthwhile. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about it.

It and the Valentine 1 are the best detectors you can buy. You can't go wrong with either.

Radar detectors are illegal in the great state of IL.

And also, sadly, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Otherwise, I'd have one, probably a Valentine 1. Years of reading Car and Driver have drilled it into my head that the editors like that one the best.

PeterC, please tell me that you only use yours for out of state road trips!

I prefer Beltronics or Cobra over Valentine or Escort. I would not say Valentine or Escort are the best you can buy, just my 2 cents worth, and I've owned them all since back in the 80's.

I never bothered to get another one once lasers came out, found it much simpler and cheaper to stay within a reasonable range of the limits.

It seems IL. does allow radar detectors as long as they are not used in commercial vehicles. Radar jammers are illegal though.

In Iowa as long as your within 9 mph of the speed limit you won't get ticketed.

Is that de jure or de facto?

In Calif. it used to be you could get away with 7 mph over the speed limit, I've heard from some law enforcement friends they plan on tightening that up.
I'm sure they will have their hands full with the new cell phone laws and smoke free car laws, that won't allow you to smoke with kids under 14 years old in the vehicle.

Well Peter, if it was de jure, then the legal speed limit wouldn't be the legal speed limit, now would it.

I heard that the latest thing under development to replace mere passive radar detectors was an active defense which would launch a radar-homing missile upon detection.

Which is why I want a Bumblebee Camaro so I can transform instantly and return fire.

transformer nerd.

They are indeed illegal in commercial vehicles (semis and commercial trucks). They are, however, perfectly legal in passenger cars.

Wish that were so here. We get the whole ban.

You people need to move to NH.

Radar detectors, fireworks and guns for all!!!

Live Free or Die.

Seriously, Freakin' Die if you won't Live Free.

Don't mess with us... we have guns, remember?

I think we in Va have so many guns and fireworks that we exceeded our quota and thus aren't allowed the radar detectors. At least, that's what it sounded like a few weeks ago.

I have been told by an acquaintance who happens to be a state cop that most of the time you have about an 8 mph cushion before they'd go to the trouble of pulling you over. So long as you are driving safely. Unless you're somewhere that's doing some sort of zero-tolerance campaign on speeding, which does happen on certain weekends.

What will get you pulled over in a hurry is any sort of wreckless or dangerous driving. Swerving, tailgating, etc, those will be ticketed. And I agree 100% with that.

The primary reason I drive on long trips with my detector is for the entertainment value. Seriously. Anything to break up the monotony of the 800+ mile drive that I have to take to visit my in-laws every month or so. I'm not even speeding, but I like the fact that I'm given some warning as to where the speed traps are. At least I know when to be alert for an officer standing on the side of the road writing a ticket, and can be ready to move away from his lane ahead of time.

There are also many places where the flow of traffic is considerably faster than the speed limit. For me, the major highways around the Chicago/Milwaukee area are a prime example. Very often the speed limit will be 45, 55mph. Very often the flow of traffic is 70mph in the slow lane, and 80mph+ in the fast lane. Driving 45mph when the traffic around you is doing 70+ is a recipe for disaster. On some weekend where the Bears beat the Packers, and I'm driving through Milwaukee with my Illinois license plates, how do I know that some Wisconsin state cop isn't going to take that out on me?

But even though I own and enjoy using my detector, I will go so far to say that its usefulness for the hard-core speeder is greatly diminished these days. At least from my experience in Illinois and Wisconsin, many speed traps now use laser instead of radar. Not all, but a lot of them. The X50 will alert you to lidar, but at best it's really only going to alert when you are within a second or two of being hit. Usually the alert just means that you can look down at your speedometer and know what the officer is seeing on the lidar unit. Since the laser beam is small and contained, detectors can't 'sniff out' a laser signal like they can a radar signal.

Of course, there are still many traps done with radar, and the detector works great for that. Any moving patrol will be via radar because they can't shoot laser while moving.

I've decided to go with the Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar, the reviews and great price sold me in the end, Peter I'll be sure to ask if I have any questions when it gets here.
I'm not a big speeder, but once in a while I like to let the Acura run.

No worries here. Last week somebody stole my sway bar quick-disconnects while I was in Moncton. If I speed, I will likely roll the Jeep on a sharp corner.

The most frustrating part is that even though I only go there maybe 6 times a year for a few days at a a time, I have had three minor thefts from my vehicle in that city in the last couple of years while at home here, I have never had even so much as dash board change stolen in my 39 years of life in PEI.

OK it's not that perfect. I have experienced one theft actually. About 5 years ago, my battery was stolen while parked at the harness racing track but even then, the thieves were polite. Get this. After lifting my battery, they actually took the time to bolt the battery bracket back on to the battery pad.


Sorry for the rant. End Of Transmission.

Yeah, when my chrome valve stem tips were stolen (!), they replaced them with the plastic ones. (No, I didn't pay for chrome valve stems, the tire dealer threw them in for free)

Wow, those Oakland thieves can be desperate.

I witnessed the power of a Honda Accord's crumple zone as it plowed into the rear of a Jeep Cherokee at about 35mph on my way home from camping this weekend. I had pulled off the highway to pick up some farm-fresh produce and saw it from the side of the road. The car was not a pretty sight, but its occupants were all ok, at least according to their own assessments. The Jeep was amazingly unscathed...

Sometimes I like to watch crash test videos for fun.

A good crumple zone can save your life. Good, of course = not in the passenger compartment.

A bad one, well, check out this Chinese truck. Complete with Pop-Up Video style enhancements ...

After the video, clicking on the yellow car titled "the worst car ever..." yields another (not) impressive crash. Direct link here.

Crash test footage like that is one reason that I drive (and love) my Saab.

And that was my 500th post. Woo hoo!

I'll send you the foam that my 10k speakers were packed in.

Will you send the boxes that came with your 10K speakers when he hits 1000 posts?
Mel N.

That's ok. I have plenty of extra packing materials in my basement.

Thanks though!

HomeDad: I have used both the Escort and the Valentine. I really prefer the Valentine and have one in both cars. It is a little pricey, but it gives you so much more information. I especially like the function where the Valentine tells you which direction the beam is coming from: front, rear, or sides!!!

I received a sales brochure from Escort last week, but, since I wasn't in the market for a new one, I threw it in the trash.

I'm not sure if their new Escort model compares with the Valentine or not.