Best Radar Positioning?

[Kruzen]

Hey guys,

I've been reading up on radar lately. It seems for laser detection you want it low, but for radar detection you want it high. :\

What have you guys found to be teh best positioning?

[backtrail69]

I personally would want my radar detector to not be painfully obvious...in case I get pulled over.

[Kruzen]

I personally would want my radar detector to not be painfully obvious...in case I get pulled over.

Well the nice thing about high positioning in an e30 is our cars are low enough that a cop isn't gonna notice it when its mounted up near the headliner.

I'm gonna be getting a v1 + remote setup, not sure while i'll put the remote but i wonder where the hell I should put the main thing.

[mulishaflesh969]

above the RV mirror... route the wires to go around your headliner and down the pillar... its what the dealerships do over here.... and with no hanging wires, and you can flip it off, nobody knows. blends in

[delatlanta1281]

I mount my v1 on my visor. works fine.

[ak96ss]

Remote laser sensor behind the grill, radar unit up near the headliner. Conceal all power cords, hard wire it if possible.

I prefer the units on which you can turn off all the lights and still have the audible alarm. Makes it much easier to conceal the existence of the unit if you should get pulled over at night, since they won't see the blinking light on your headliner...

[bimmer8604]

/\ you live in VA or somethin?

[ak96ss]

Haven't lived in VA in almost 15 years, although I work there and have to drive through DC to work. However, the odds of getting a ticket instead of a warning increase dramatically if the nice police officer walks up to your car and your V1 is dinging away 'cause his radar is on you. If you don't have a detector on, you can at least try the "I was going how fast??" routine - if you have a detector, he knows you had premeditated intent to speed and is far less likely to be generous.

I've gotten three speeding tickets ever - first one when I was 16; second about 12 years later by a brand-spanking new TX state trooper who was not even going to entertain the notion that she wouldn't issue a ticket; and the last one by a TX sheriff, who apparently had something against the military. As soon as I said I was in the military (which I had to do - although my license expiration date had long since passed, it was still valid due to my military service), the ticket book came out and he wrote it up.

I have, however, been pulled over many, MANY more times than that, and am generally able to drive away with a warning.

In fact, I don't even use a detector anymore - they are a waste of money, IMHO. Drive smart, and you can go damn near as fast as you want.

[Jscotty]

I find radar detectors to be useless also. The cops around here find so many other methods to catch you that radar is starting to become obsolete.

I engage in what I call "safe speeding" where I only speed in certain situations- Like if the rest of the traffic is speeding or if I have the opportunity to "shadow" the car in front of me. I like to ride about 7 to 10 lengths behind the car thats doing 20mph over the limit. That way if there is a cop lurking out there, he will be the first to be stopped giving me a chance to slow down. Also, if he sees the cop first, he will slow down prompting me to follow suit before the radar hits me too.

Also, I will not speed if I am the only car on the highway or if the rest of the traffic seemingly wants to slow down or go at the posted limit. I figure if everyone on a particular road drives the speed limit and I am passing everyone, there must be a cop lurking nearby. When driving at night and I see a car trailing behind me, I will slow down and let them pass until I know that they are not a cop.

A few years ago I let my girlfriend drive on a long road trip in the middle of the night. She was doing 85 in the left lane and nobody else was on the road except for this car trailing behind us. I was tired so it didn't even occur to me that something was wrong with this picture. Anyhow this car that was trailing us for a good 10 miles was a cop and we got pulled over. I admit that I speed ALL of the time and the few times that I have been pulled over, I was able to get away with the, "Sorry officer. I didn't know..." excuse. She and I both have talked our way out of tickets in the past, however its pretty hard to convince the cop that you lost track of your speed when he was following you for over 10 miles.

[AdironRider]

I have a 20 dollar whistler radar detector which works much better Ive found high up on the windshield by the rearview mirror. For 20 bucks at Walmart, this thing has prolly saved me a grand in tickets. Say what you want about not needing radar, but one ticket saved and its paid off. Thats a pretty even trade if you ask me.

[Wiglaf]

i want to build one into the check panel

[e30sd]

only pic i could find at work. i likes.

[Jscotty]

I have a 20 dollar whistler radar detector which works much better Ive found high up on the windshield by the rearview mirror. For 20 bucks at Walmart, this thing has prolly saved me a grand in tickets. Say what you want about not needing radar, but one ticket saved and its paid off. Thats a pretty even trade if you ask me.

And its not always the cost of the tickets that you have to consider.. keeping a clean driving record is important too. So I can see how radar detectors are very useful in many situations for many reasons. I know a couple of people who are on their "third strike" simply because they thought that they could pay for the privilage to speed by paying fines.