Valentine 1/Laser Interceptor or K40 system

[Tytus]

I have not been able to find a comparison of the K40 detector and laser jammer system with the top ranked Valentine 1 and Laser interceptor jammer system. I am looking for both capabilities but would prefer all of it be stealth and hidden as opposed to the valentine install which cannot be hidden. Performance is paramount otherwise there is no point, the K40 has great propagand, one source and one stop shopping, but does it measure up to the Valentine 1 and Laser interceptor performance wise, price not withstanding? Valentine is cheaper and Laser Interceptor is more expensive, but does the K40 perform as well?

I would prefer a built-in system but not at the price of performance. The K40 jammer system was tested in late september of 2007 but has not been compared to other systems. Has anybody got any thoughts or experience on this? I have seen many NSXs with K40 installs, any comparisons from the NSX Prime community?

Thanks,

Tytus

 

[slurpee]

Have you checked out http://www.guysoflidar.com/?

 

[Tytus]

Yes I have checked out the reviews and there is no question out of all the tests that the Valentine is the best. They have not reviewed or compared the K40 system. The Valentine cannot be mounted in a hidden manner easily whereas the K40 system is hidden by design. That has great appeal but does it work nearly as well? I have seen the beginings of a thread about a year ago where a Prime member was requesting a weather proof enclosure for the Valentine using the remote display, but no one has responded. You would also lose the rearward coverage with that approach with the Valentine. I will try to contact the Guys of Lidar and see what they say about the K40 and post their reply.

Tytus

 

[flaminio]

That has great appeal but does it work nearly as well?

The hidden mounting is very attractive, but my concern would be where the sensors are located. For best detection, you'll want the sensors mounted as high as possible in the car -- and I suspect the K40's sensors would be mounted somewhere behind the bumper, which is fairly low and would lead to suboptimal detection.

But I would be interested to hear from any NSX owner who has the K40 system installed. I'm a V1 fanboy, but the idea of a completely stealth setup is tempting...

 

[nsxotic911]

I can vouch for V1 and I uregeit everyone to have it. I have no idea what I was thinking by not having one when I turned 16.

I will say again....I have no idea what I was thinking not having one when I turned 16. The state of Washington + Oregon + California would have been out of.. at least $3000 dollars, probably $5000 and maybe more within the last 10 years.

From the jammers, it looks like the Laser Interceptor has done the best.

 

[stevenlee]

The Valentine can be mounted above the rear view mirror making it almost invisible to anyone outside the car. In this position it can also look out the rear window.
I made a custom mount to accomplish this and posted a photo in the owner's gallery section. (Sorry, I don't know how to post the photo here.)

 

[Tytus]

That is an install for a ealy coupe Isn't it? I have a 2004. The visors won't work with that install, above the mirror. Am I right?

Thanks,

Tytus

 

[stevenlee]

Tytus,

I think you're right. I have a '94 coupe.

 

[Dhalsim]

V1 has saved my azz multiple times..............I would enojoy a more stealth mount too but the performance is so good I can deal with it.

 

[Swift]

everyone knows the valentine 1 works great. The k40 I believe is made by the same people that actually make the police laser/radar guns. I have walked past a few crusiers..one had a Hummer system and one said k40 on it i think not sure. All i know is if the company makes the gun....maybe they make the detector??? :wink:

 

[RaDaRkInG]

The K40 is overpriced, has average radar detection, and it failed to jam any lidar guns used by the police. It was tested by the guysoflidar.com and it failed so K40 decided they wanted to sue them to keep the test results hidden. The guysoflidar is a non-profit group of enthusiasts that do unbiased testing of radar/laser detectors and jammers.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9fwJCRDk2Ik


Nothing beats a Valentine One/Laser Interceptor combo.

http://guysoflidar.com/august-2007/radar-detector-test.html

http://guysoflidar.com/march-2007/laser-jammer-test.html

 

[steveny]

v1 saves me a lot of hassle. saved me yesterday. It picked up a cop turning off and on his radar gun a long way ahead. My wife was driving she adjusted her speed the guy beside us did not and he got nailed a mile down the road.

 

[Daedalus]

+1 V1 is excellent. I have 2 of them, with hard-wiring in 4 of my vehicles. I keep the newest one in the NSX, and swap the older model among the other 3 cars.

I've been googling Laser Interceptor but to no avail. Anyone know where to get it in the US? I'm noticing more frequent brushes with instant-on stuff.

 

[KooLaid]

hmmmmm, I'm wondering if I should now get the V1 or the 9500i. That GPS thing seems awefully nice..........

 

[MiamiMermaid]

I can vouch for V1 and I urge everyone to have it.

I will say again....I have no idea what I was thinking not having one when I turned 16. The state of Washington + Oregon + California would have been out of.. at least $3000 dollars, probably $5000 and maybe more within the last 10 years.

:tongue:
p.s. Luv your quote :smile:

 

[ChitownNSX]

I have had excellent results with my K40 Laser/Radar w Jammer.
I have a Valentine 1 hard wired unit in my SUV for the last year as well...

Between the two of them I have been ticket free for 7 years! I should have been busted so many times. I become so used to it that I have trouble driving other peoples cars!

Valentine seems to give greater range but also gives lots of false signals
the K40 works great, but the range seems to be slightly less.

This difference could be mounting height of sensors too. My suv's is mounted 6 ft in the air and the NSX is 9 inches off the ground.

The new Blue Tooth on the K40 had dropped the installation price considerably and makes the install a DIY job and not professionally any more!

Joe

 

[RaDaRkInG]

Valentine seems to give greater range but also gives lots of false signals.

The Valentine One alerts to all things that operate on police frequencies and that includes door openers operating on X and K band. It does not give lots of false signals, it is just more sensitive and will alert you from a greater distance than every other detector. If you have a detector that won't alert to door openers until you are practically right on top of them, you have a weak detector that will fail to alert to instant-on radar and from a long distance.

Many people believe the myth that the V1 gives more falses but all the V1 is doing is alerting from a greater distance and for longer because of the rear radar antenna on the V1 that no other detector has. The Bels and Escorts claim to have great filtering but all they do is lower the sensitivity to X and K band but you will pay the price if a cop uses those bands.

 

[BioBanker]

Many people believe the myth that the V1 gives more falses but all the V1 is doing is alerting from a greater distance and for longer because of the rear radar antenna on the V1 that no other detector has. The Bels and Escorts claim to have great filtering but all they do is lower the sensitivity to X and K band but you will pay the price if a cop uses those bands.

I agree with that. It is not a false IF there is a legit signal there and a legit signal is defined by the wave, not the source.

I use the Bel STi because I need something that cannot be sniffed out by the SPECTRE's all over our highways. It appears to be an excellent detector. Saved me a few times, including a laser save last weekend.

Id choose the V1 for the arrows otherwise. I think it is SLIGHTLY better on Ka and laser, but I think reviews place it slightly less sensitive than the STi on K (which is used frequently here).

I got banned from the Guys of Lidar site because I asked a question about the K40!!! Too bad - I loved that forum.

I want a laser jammer now.

 

[RON98]

i got a v 1. i love it. the only time i get tickets is when i dont use it. :wink:

 

[jond]

I have an older K40 and it's the biggest piece of junk I've ever owned. I've had about 5 different radar detectors in my life, and the K40 is BY FAR the worst. False alarms EVERYWHERE. Needless to say, I haven't even turned it on in 2 years. Its junk.

I was considering upgrading to the new bluetooth K40 since the install job is incredible in my car(brake light indicator blinks when radar is detected), but I heard from others that the new one isn't great either.

I had the beltronics remote unit in my old Type-R and it worked really well. I don't know of anywhere in the NSX the remote display could be mounted though.

 

[slurpee]

+1 V1 is excellent. I have 2 of them, with hard-wiring in 4 of my vehicles. I keep the newest one in the NSX, and swap the older model among the other 3 cars.

I've been googling Laser Interceptor but to no avail. Anyone know where to get it in the US? I'm noticing more frequent brushes with instant-on stuff.

google elvis laser interceptor. elvis is the distibutor. He emails me every couple of months telling me he has some in. But he only takes certified check.

They are $650 for a two head, but rumor is the guysoflidar test had multiple diodes where the production units dont.

 

[Daedalus]

Thank you!

 

[aaronkamloops]

I got my first ticket in my NSX in my second week of ownership. The cop claimed he had to do 200 km/h to catch up to me and give me just a regular 3 point speeding ticket (excessive would be 6 points). The next day I went and bought the 9500i after doing alot of research. I figured wow it would be great to know where that signal is coming from (like the V1 can do so well) but I like the fact there are very few false alarms. Plus you can GPS it so it wont do it again unless the next time the band it detects has changed from the one you set in the system. Plus the setting to remind you of speedtraps when you get close to them is great, and it tells you the speed you were going when the signal was picked up so it helps if you have to go to court to contradict evidence the police will use (such as speed at the time). Id say go with the 9500i and get less false alarms!

 

[nsxrtd]

I just wanted to give you all some thoughts. Here in HI, the police dept speed guns are due for caliberation. They haven't had renewed or caliberated their radar guns due to private contracts and money issues. It was on the local evening news. I haven't seen the normal speed trap areas on the freeway lately. I guess the police dept. are pacing cars at this time to catch speeders. Btw, my first ticket on the nsx was the first day it arrived in Hawaii not from speeding but because it didn't have a front license plate. The car came from CA and only had one although CA requires two. I searched my car for it thinking the previous owner had hid it, none found. Cop didn't give me a chance.