I just found out today that my next job will be a 50 mile drive each way, up 35W from North Arlington. I'm looking to get a radar detector, and have researched it pretty well, but wanted to see what the consensus is for the best unit to be used in this area. I have my choices narrowed down to these:

Escort 8500 X50
Escort 9500 IX
Valentine V1

Suggestions? What do you use? Has is worked well for you? If you had to replace it, what would you buy?

Cobra.

aren't radar detectors completely illegal in Virginia Neu? lol

i don't own one myself, but i have never heard anything but high praise for the V1. if i were to invest in a top quality detector, that's what i would personally choose.

+1 ^^ V1 all the way!

9500 has alot of awesome gadgets to make it a stealth install too

v1 baby best one i every have

V1 handsdown...

I've had the Passport 8500 for years ... best feature is the remote mute button that it comes with stock and you can get a hardwire kit with the remote mute button also. Oh and it works fabulously at detecting radar and laser too

I have a Escort x50 hardwired into my car and it has served me well. Arlington uses laser and that is very hard to detect due to is a concentrated light wave which the cop can pick out which car he wants to catch. Usually by the time the detector signals laser, you're the person the cop is screening. Detectors really only help if its radar waves because the bounce off of EVERYTHING so the advance warning is much better then laser. Irving and Los Colinas uses radar. To secure yourself from laser you need to look into a laser jammer, which has brighter LED that pulses back at the laser gun and jams it. Other then that, if I were to purchase another detector it would have to be a Valentine 1. Their units are ALWAYS upgradable, unlike Escort who says they are but always come out w/ different models.

The Passport 9500i & Ci are the best on the market currently. If you ever want to see how the competition matches up, just check out radartest.com.

Detectors equipped with GPS is definitely a plus as you can tailor the unit to your driving habits and routes. You can flash the newer units with updates from your home computer.

The V1 is like an iPhone very nostalgic, but is pretty much yesterday's news with the technologic advances happening daily. I've had both the V1 & 9500ix and prefer the less falsing and hotspot tagging from the 9500ix. My next car I get will have the 9500Ci installed.

Back in the day (2003-2004) I used a Beltronics Vector 985. I drove to Austin from Dallas 2-3 times a month and that thing was awesome. It worked very well, especially the highway patrol and small towns that used Ka band radar. It helped when driving through Waxahachie right before the Dallas city limit where those cops are notorious for pulling poeple over right before hitting the Dallas city limit. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Beltronics product.

The only other radar detector I've ever owned used was an Escort Passport X50. I bought it a week after I bought my G35. It got 3 months of use and I sold it since I never drove out of town and it stayed off for most of my city driving. For the times I did use it on the freeway, it worked well and LOVED the remote mute button!

The V1 is very nice, but price may put a damper on that purchase. Like Ninja1 says, I would love to get a Jammer installed and there are other brands to consider besides V1. My $0.02.

I used the same BEL for a while. Mostly on the same Austin to Dallas drive I made 2-3 times a month when I was living in Austin up to 2003. It worked well, but I got popped in 2005 in Dallas after I moved here. It didn't warn me for crap, and even the cop was surprised he got me. Ironically, it got jacked like a week later out of my wife's car (I got popped in her car on a road trip, and left it in her car when we got back). I took it as a sign that I didn't need it any more. I went about 2 years without.

I now have a V1, and I am very happy with it. No tickets or issues, and it is definitely better than the BEL. I actually planned to go without a radar detector, but I found an old beat-up V1 in a box of my wife's stuff. Her dad had given it to her a long time ago when he got a new one. She pretty much broke it and didn't use it (it was missing cables, mounts, buttons, etc.). V1 actually lets you send in old V1's for an upgrade, so I sent it in. They gave me a brand new one for $150. I couldn't pass that deal up.... OK, long story, but I am happy with the V1 I got for $150.

If I was going to buy a radar detector at full price today, I think the Escort 9500 series is the best performer. I just think for $500 I would go without at least until I got a ticket (that may talk me into it....).

Beltronics STI hardwired

My personal opinion: cobra rx7 or rx9 - I drive a by a lot of cops between Fort Worth and Houston on 35, 30, 20, highway 6, 290, 59, beltway 8, etc... and it has never let me down. It's also somewhat of a stealth install and comes with a hardwire kit in the box! Radar sits right in front of your rear view and you can put the remote wherever is handy... the best imo:

http://www.cobra.com/xrsr/xrsr9/demo.html

and on my ride:

although the remote isn't visible in this pic.

Bel Vector 940.. Old, but still works well enough for how much I drive.. (And I don't drive all that fast anyway.)