so, hard-wired Valentine 1 yesterday. bought the radar from here:

https://g35driver.com/forums/accesso...os-inside.html

also bought BlendMount (ebay):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170342335662

a few observations:

- i drove with both valentine 1 and my trusty escort 8500 x50 for about 2 weeks. the valentine seems to be more sensitive than escort to both K and Ka bands. valentine detects a cop a good 3-5 seconds before the escort (tested on I-280), and doesn't lose the signal over far distances, like the escort does.

- a good way to hard-wire it is to go through the right A-pillar and then behind the glove compartment, and then clip on to the right cigarette lighter (positive red terminal) and a bolt next to it (negative ground).

- the mount is very light and very solid - the radar detector doesn't even shake

- the radar is hardly visible from outside the car - you really have to look for it to see it.

overall, extremely happy with the results. btw the antenna you see next to the radar is from python responder 2-way pager with remote start.

 

Wow, a lot of people like that hard mount from the mirror. To me, that is an invitation for someone to steal a $400 radar detector and a $500 deductible payout present to you.

I have mine hardwired and hidden behind the tint band on the driver's side. It is barely visable and i still have the full motion of the sunshade. Mike at V1 also recommends mounting the V1 as high as possible for the best detection. To each his own but great choice on a radar detector!

 

tonke73, let me give you my reasons on why i didn't do it *your* way:

- my comprehensive deductible is $50, not $500
- the radar is $320, not $400
- when California sun heats up the sunshade, i don't want the suction cups (and i assume that's how you got yours holding on to the windshield) to come lose and have the radar hanging on the wire - or to come crashing on the console
- if you put the radar detector in the corner, you are decreasing efficiency of the rear sensor
- like i said, the radar detector is hardly visible under the mirror - tinted windows help a lot

cheers.

 

Looks great. Do you have to leave it mounted up or can you pull it off to hide unit when you're not in the car? I always stash mine after getting my other car broken into twice for the radar.

 

i almost always leave it where it is now. i might pull it off if i park in a shady area.

i can pull it off very easily - disconnect wire, lift mirror (for ease of access, i guess i could do it without that), pull the radar off. the mount leaves the original valentine bracket that the radar clips into completely usable.

 

exact same thing I do, and for the exact same reason. I also take it down everytime I exit the car and rest the stealthcord ontop of the rear view mirror.

 

like i said, always an option. and if my car gets broken into, i'm sure you guys won't hesitate to say "i told you so". meanwhile, i don't give a flying monkey's a$$. i don't keep anything valuable (irreplaceable) in the car, and if someone does break into the car, i'll take that opportunity to retint my windows.

 

^^^ lol positive outlook I guess.

 

Tinted windows have been shown to decrease the range of detectors by about 25%...and that's without putting it right behind the tint strip.

It would be nice if Valentine could come up with a true hard wired system like the Escort SR-1, but one that really works

 

this is true for metallic tints. my next car will have ceramic tint, to never have to deal with this issue again.

tru dat. yet another thing to be in my next car - no hanging radars - truly hard-wired built-in system next time. SRX maybe. https://www.escortradar.com/store/passport-srx.html

 

My beau has a Valentine in his Acura and his GT-R and they work really well. I just purchased my G35 and love it. It is a little heavy on the tip end, or maybe I just like to go fast, but am going to purchase on for my car as well. Tonkye99, do you have pics of the way you have yours mounted? It sounds like what I am envisioning. Above the mirror on the drivers side. I live in FL and have an "E-Pass for tolls directly above the mirror, but easily moveable.

Thanks for any help.

 

OOps, I meant to say, tonke73. Any pics of your Valentine mount?

 

am i the only one who locks the V1 in the glove box every time i get out of the car?

also $200 deductable

 

i have mine mikes mounted and plugged in with the invisicord. i also own both the 8500 x50 and v1 and agree that the v1 responds 3-5 seconds earlier than the escort. anyway, like code said, the detector is not easily visible from outside the car, but if i did want to remove it, it takes 2 seconds to slide it out of the mount and unplug the cord. it's much easier than pulling off the suction cups.

 

i have the suction cup window mount with the quick release