Seems there is a lot of interest in radar detectors and installs so I thought I would share my F Type install.

I have used Valentine 1's for many years, have one in every vehicle and personally feel they offer the best detection as well as situational awareness with quadrant arrows. Set up properly and with good analyzation skills I don't think it can be beat. That does not mean you will have a quite interior. Actually it won't be. But there are some things you can do to minimize the chaff.

First off is the use of Savvy. A Valentine One product that allows you to get power for the unit through the OBD port. Through the port the V1 also gets speed data. With that information the Savvy can be set to forward aural alerts to the V1 at a speed greater than what you have set. (Visual alerts are always forwarded) So for me, I have it at set at 45MPH. I am not too concerned with radar speeding tickets below that speed and can avoid all the noise as I pass or enter shopping center parking lots. I still keep an eye on the display and look for changes to signal types as well as alert numbers that are different than I typically see.

Savvy | Valentine One | Radar Detectors

I mounted it for easy speed changing access near the OBD and use an OBD 90 degree splitter. (This keeps the Savvy from hanging down low into the foot area and frees up an OBD for my Bluetooth OBD performance reader.
Aliexpress.com : Buy High quality 16 pin OBD2 OBDII Splitter Extension Cable 90 Degree elm327 Diagnostic Cable 50cm Male to Dual Female from Reliable elm327 obd2 suppliers on Phoebe Pang's store)




Second. Although the beeps are fairly good for differentiating Ka band from K band I can't hear them very well with the top down or if I am playing music very loudly. So I had the V1 Remote signal type LEDs changed from all Red to different colors so with a simple glance out of my preferential vision I can discern Signal type, azimuth, number or threats and signal strength.

Full Color Defense

Blue: Laser- I actually have this band off because of all the alerts I receive from other cars' automated cruise controls.
Red: Ka- LEOs
Yellow: K- could be an LEO or building door openers, etc.
Green: X- I have this off also. No X-band where I am at.

I keep the V1 just to the right of the mirror. I do not want it obstructing my vision in any way so that's a great place. Since I use the V1 remote for visual alerts I don't need to worry about others behind me seeing the alerts since they are not displayed here.




I like the alerts to be where only I can see them and within my peripheral view. I also want the remote to be easily within reach so if I want to push the mute button I can. The location I have is the same for all my vehicles which helps keep things consistent.




The last shot is a wider shot look at the same angle as I drive. No gauges are covered up and the remote is front and center where I believe it should be.



This my setup and it works for me. Others have different detectors and mounting positions and it all gets down to what works for you and what you are comfortable with.

Thanks for viewing.

Walt

 

Very well done Walt! I appreciate you sharing your set up.
Thanks,
kjamo

 

Walt, with the Savvy have you noticed your hazard light triangle staying steadily lit when you shut the ignition off? I have a similar setup with the savvy and V1 and mine was staying on even when I locked the car. I disconnected it for now since I worry the savvy thru OBD port is keeping parts of the ecu on and killing battery.

 

Just checked, nothing running after shutdown that I can see.

Walt

 

Strange, why mine does that. Good to hear no problems on yours.

 

I take it you don't have a heated front window. With the metal across the entire window in the cars that have them radar and Lidar detection is severely limited.
There are two places that I have seen on the car that don't have heating that can accommodate window mount units, that would be on the far left and far right of the windshield. There is a space about a couple inches wide that spans the entire height of the windshield that is free from the small metal wires. Not an optimal placement for Lidar, but window mount units suck at Lidar anyway.

 

I do not have a heated front window so that is not an issue for me. Also, I have turned off the V1 Laser alerts because I get so many alerts caused by the wide use of adaptive cruise controls operating in the same light spectrum. Otherwise I certainly would have kept it on for defensive measures.

Walt

 

It would be useless for defensive measures. The best you could hope for as an early alert is if a car near you was zapped at an off angle and you got some splash from it. Chances of that happening are slim to none. If a Leo hit you with a Lidar while speeding all the V1 is telling you is congratulations you just got a ticket.

 

And,,,, you would be incorrect.

I happen to have first hand training and experience testing many police laser guns against many naked targets as well as those protected by laser jammers. My experience was with the LTI Ultralyte, LTI Truspeed, Kustom Prolaser III and a Stalker LZ-1.

So I can tell you first hand, getting a V1 laser alert does not always mean "congratulations, you just got a ticket." There are many times it takes a few seconds to get a speed return. There can be many reasons but the main one is lack of a light return. (904NM)
Darker cars return less than lighter ones.
Also, cars without front license plates typically force the LEO to change his primary aimpoint from a center mass license plate to another, a highly reflective headlight. The time it takes to do this could be your time to decelerate.

There are also vehicles that absorb a major portion of the light as it goes through the front grill and dissipates.
Like on my Cayenne TTS

We found that it could take 2-3 seconds to get a lock on the center at 1,000 feet and that was fishing around a little. (I did however install Laser Interceptors just to be totally sure though)




Others have had good success with Veil Guys light absorbing material that can be put on headlights.
Laser VEIL to Avoid Speeding Tickets

So yes the chances are good that the LEO has achieved a speed readout, but in many cases that is not the case at all. Bottom line, when you get an alert, react quickly with aggressive deceleration to the PSL, mindful if there is someone behind you of course, and it's quite possible you can escape that ticket.

Walt

PS- for those of you in laser jammer legal states you can not go wrong with a laser jammer. In my testing, Laser Interceptor was by far the most capable. For those that currently have jammers find someone with laser guns and set up a test. I can't tell you how many guys thought they were covered only to find out their system failed miserably.
Here is a good place to start for finding a group test.
Laser Jammers - General

RIP: Rob Davis, aka Stealth Stalker

Walt


"It would be useless for defensive measures."

 

We can agree to disagree about the "effectiveness" of Lidar alert from window mount units.
As to your assertion that LI is the most effective, you are about 5 years behind the latest in technology. blinder 905 and AL Priority have both far exceeded LI. LI also performs rather poorly against the latest Dargon Eye ( or DALA if you prefer ) Lidar guns.
I live in a state that permits LIDAR jamming and that is really the best measure against LIDAR.
One thing to keep note of is that 3 seconds is hardly enough time for anyone to react appropriately. It takes about a second for us to register the alarm and determine what is happening, another second to begin to take action, that is if you are split second fast. Leading people to believe that a Lidar alert from a window mounted unit is effective is quite a stretch.

 

Laser Veil in independent testing has shown to be NOT effective.
If I were looking for a good counter measure I would look up many of the forums out there. Avoid the ones that are directly trying to sell you units. They are biased at best. There are a few forums that have very well documented tests and don't exclude one brand or another because of fiscal relationships or deals with manufacturers. If you do the research you will find out quickly who is biased and shilling and who is not.
you will also quite quickly find out what systems are the best defense.
It is common for the shills to post positive experiences on forums and to post links to their sites to increase their sales. Just keep your eye ou everyone. Not everything you read on the web is true.

 

A good reputable place to start :
http://radarandlaserforum.com/forum.php

 

If you want to learn more about real world test and results in Lidar, go here :
RALETC

 

My experiences are about 4 years old so I can't attest to the newer guns just the ones I listed. Same with the LI.
I can also tell you that we did testing against Veil with one headlight covered and the other not and we always had a significant difference in the ability to get a speed reading from each headlight.
Our conclusions were it did help in lowering detection ranges.

I agree however there are lots of people out there trying to sell you something that does not really work as advertised. Testing is the only way to know for sure. As for 3 seconds I think that is enough time to get decceled for some people with fast reactions. My point being, just because you have a alert does not mean he has a speed.

Human Benchmark - Reaction Time Test

Walt

 

Some more on human reaction times.
Visual Expert Human Factors: Driver Reaction Time

 

I spend a lot of my time in the expected class whenever I'm driving 10+ over PSL. My best defense is lookout doctrine. By far the majority of saves I've had have been seeing the LEO before either he saw me or before he was able to shoot me. (Day only)
If I'm going around a bend or over the top of a hill I am on high alert.

I have also had saves by a massive deceleration on initial alert. (Big ceramic discs will do that for you)

The LI in my other cars has saved me a bunch also.

I think we are beating this to death though. My point is that just because you have a laser alert does not mean you should not rapidly slow to PSL. My opinion. I have seen many times before where it took seconds to get a speed reading on certain cars at certain aim points. For me, I do not give up on the sound of that alert.

BTW- From the reaction time test in my thread above I am consistently in the 230-250MS range. That's 1/2 of the absolute best perception and movement listed in the expected class. Cat like reactions I guess.

Walt


From your reference.
Reaction times are greatly affected by whether the driver is alert to the need to brake. I've found it useful to divide alertness into three classes:

Expected: the driver is alert and aware of the good possibility that braking will be necessary. This is the absolute best reaction time possible. The best estimate is 0.7 second. Of this, 0.5 is perception and 0.2 is movement, the time required to release the accelerator and to depress the brake pedal.

 

Hi Walt,

Agreed, there is a wide range of reaction times. Those who are alert will likely have the fastest reaction times and the best chances of avoiding tickets. In all cases one should slow down on hearing an alert and then determine if it was a threat or not.
We have been going back and forth and I want to thank you for your perspective. Your points are valid. I don't want anyone to think that v1's are not awesome devices and that LI are not a good choice for protection, they both are at the top of a short list of options.
Depending on your budget there are a set of options you have, and for all budgets there is a defensive option, I thought I would share my thoughts on different budgets for those interested.
0 (zero dollars) : if you don't want to spend a dime and assuming you have an iOS or Android device Waze is a great way to go. Many use it in conjunction with a radar unit.
100-300$ : Beltronics and Escort make a few budget friendly units in this price range. I personally would save up to the next price range and skip these units all together. Window mounts only here, with a few very portable units. No frills and radar only.
$400-700 : Sweet spot for window units. You will find the best window units in this price range. V1, Escort Redline, Passport Max and Passport 9500ci to name a few.
$1000 - 1500 : Window radar unit with an installed Lidar unit. Pick any window unit and add a Blinder 905, Al Priority, or LI with two jammers for front only Lidar defense.
$2000+ : fully installed stealth units with front and rear Lidar defense and top of the line radar units. 2 grand will get you the equipment and you can install yourself. A basic install will likely run an additional $600, and anything custom will be an additional $2000 and up. In mirror displays are around $500 more.
Popular combos are Escort 9500ci with Laser Shifter Pro, or a Beltronics STi-R plus with LI, LSP, Blinder 905 or ALPriority front and rear.
Less popular but sold at many dealerships is the K40 systems ( I don't recommend these at all ).

Hope that helps out those looking to get some type of LEO alert or defense.