Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Valentine 1 or Escort Passport 8500

Buy a used V1 off of Ebay. Every V1 going back to the very first ones can be upgraded to current spec. The older it is, the more upgrading that will need to be done though. But they will do it! I've seen used V1's going for about the same $$ as a new 8500.

I belive the V1 to be the best unit on the market, but the 8500 is not by any means a bad detector. If there was no V1 we would all love the 8500 and proclaim it the best.

I'm going to get a Passport 8500, if for no other reasons that I

1. Can't justify spending $100+ for front and rear detection with directional arrows when I 90% of the time, the radar is going to be coming at you from the front.

2. I have to order the V1 and wait for it to arrive but I can go down to Des Moines and buy an 8500 right now.

But, I have purchased another useful "toy", a Uniden Beartracker BCT7 scanner. On my trip to and from Chicago, except for some spots in Illinois, I consistantly got wind of police presence way before I was ever in radar range, avoiding a few speedtraps.

As long as the HP have "mobile extenders", which according to this little article , 2/3rds of state police cruisers have, the BearTracker gave a warning that there is a HP within 3 miles of you whenever the dispatcher sends a message or keys the mic. It gives no direction or location of where the officer is at, but at the very least, you'll know that there is something in the area and to be on the lookout.

Unfortunately they're illegal in some states, but according to this website Iowa, and apparently Illinois, are not among them.

another interesting fact from the car and driver test is that the V1 covers 157 degrees from the rear and the escort only covers 108 degrees.

Senario one:

Two cars driving side by side on the freeway (speeding of course), one has a 8500 the other a V1. K band goes off on both at the same time. The driver with the 8500 hits his brakes and slows down. Driver with the V1 keeps going because directional arrow is pointing to a house on the side of the road. V1 driver laughs at the 8500 driver who is still looking for the cop who is not there as 18 wheelers pass him by.

Senario two:

Two same drivers side by side. KA band goes off on both. 8500 driver slows down and so does V1 driver. 8500 driver looks for cop but cant find him anywhere for a few miles and figures his 8500 is on the blink so he speeds back up again. V1 driver notices arrow is pointing to the rear and getting stronger. Soon the V1 driver (still doing the speed limit) notices little piggy hauling azz from behind and blows by him. V1 driver smiles as his direction arrow points forward and the singnal starts to fade. V1 driver speeds back up again. V1 driver sees 8500 driver pulled over a few miles later.

Senario three:

V1 driver notices 8500 driver has put his detector on ebay and has bought a V1. V1 driver smiles cause his insurance has not gone up and he did not have to pay any tickets knowing that the extra 100.00 spent has paid for itself many times.

Happy Memorial day everyone.

Eric G.
Simpsonville, KY
98 BMW M3/4 cosmos (V1 protected)
01 Mazda Protege ES
Ex 99 SVT Contour owner
84 xj Cherokee "the rock crawler."
BMWCCA#188400

Sure :rolleyes: You just don't get it do you!

And if anyone know anything about how a radar detector works will know what direction the detection is coming from! The direction indicators are just a luxury your paying $100+ extra dollars for! Its totally a personal choice!

Its not like the V1 is soo superior(if at all) to the 8500 in terms of performance!

HAHAHHAHAH ROFL!!!

Like with ANY TOOL, you have to know how to use it. Most drivers have NO CLUE how RADAR works and or how to use a RADAR detector correctly. What ever detector you decide to buy, LEARn HOW TO USE IT PROPERLY FIRST! Also, contrary to popular belief (I'm surround by idiots)no one uses a RADAR detector for speeding! That is just plain stoopid. It is simply an information gathering tool to alert one to a RADAR presence. RADAR detectors are not magic and they will not allow one to speed freely. You can still get a ticket no matter how good one's detector is or how much it costs. Now go out and get the V1! It's dope!

Passport 8500. As all the advertisements say, it is rated better than the V1 in every test except C&D's. I have it and I love it...far better than my Cobra.