I've had a V1 for years and it serves me very well. I put a piece of Velcro on the dash up near the windshield, and the matching piece on the V1, then I can just place it there when I want to use it. You might think sitting behind the wipers would reduce it's effectiveness but it doesn't. Having the arrows helps a lot, I luv 'em.

 

I have had a Valentine 1 for 15+ years and always felt it was the best... I currently have a newer V1 in my SRT8 Jeep. I like the arrows as it tells you which way to look. But I decided to revisit the topic when I bought the Aston. The V1 has fallen behind in the ratings primarily due to its lack of other features. I put the Escort 9500ix in my Aston and have been very happy with it. (V1 & ix are both running ~$450) The 9500ix has GPS, so it eventually learns where the false signals are and mutes them.. (handy for around town). It talks.. tells you where the red light cams are. Also flashes your speed when you get a hit... You can also manually mark known false signals. The GPS antenna is on top so you need a clear view of the sky.. It can't be right at the top of the windshield. Bottom would work, but you wouldn't be able to reach any of the buttons. I have it mounted so that sitting back in the drivers seat, the display is just below the rear view mirror... I leaned forward a bit to take the picture below. Once in a while I do lose the GPS signal for just a bit. Generally speaking, higher in a car is better for picking up radar over hills, etc.

If you want to subscribe to Escort's 'live' system you can tag speeding traps in real time and others around you will be alerted who also subscribed (haven't tried that yet). It is a neat device. V1 has saved me dozens of times over the years.. and imo is the benchmark for quality radar detection... The 9500ix hasn't had a chance to prove itself yet.. but seems like it should be as good... and likely less 'noisy' around false signals in town.

As far as wiring.. you can skip dealing with the 'well secured' fuse box. I routed the wire around the headliner, and down the passenger a-pillar.. and picked up a switched 12v from the tire pressure SmartTire monitor in the passenger footwell below the glove box door. There are easily read red/black wires you can tap for low amp draw to power the detector. (I did buy the $20 hardwire kit). I had the airbag cover off at the time since I was fixing the dash leather ... which made routing the wire from the base of the a-pillar into the footwell possible. (stickie for that on the forum header).

2nd minor point... but we are talking style with the AstonMartin... The V1 is square & blocky.. Suits my SRT8Jeep... The Escort... well it has a shape & form that almost looks like it was designed to match the center stack in the Vantage. Definite win on style points. Style wouldn't matter on its own... but the ix seems like a high quality piece of equipment.. No regrets.

 

Great information Rolex! Thanks to everyone for their feedback.... I'll see what I decide on and let you know what I went with...

 

Side by side, the V1 will detect radar signals before the escort everytime. It does give quite a few more false alerts but I got used to that. However, escorts new "smart radar' is a game changer IMHO. It will automatically report laser and pop radar hits to the network so that every driver on the road has at least a mile 'heads up' alert (if they are not the first to get hit). Because it also locates useing GPS and can you see reported alerts on your phone via google maps, this feature completely trumps the V1 directional arrows. Additionally you get traffic reports thru the service as well. It's worth looking at. I promise that it was not easy for me to leave my V1 at home.

I still think the V1 is a more effective detector and if you live is a rural area, were multiple 'smart radar' owners may be unlikley, the V1 may be a better choice but for me, the smart radar system has made me a change to escort.

Install is easy, just pull power from the rear view mirror cluster and mount either unit on the passenger side of the mirror (tucked out of you main line of sight but the interphase is still easy to see).

Cheers.

 

Guys, planning to install an 9500ci myself, do you guys mind sharing the placement of the components. Front laser detectors in the sides of the grill. The front radar detector? it is too thick for the grill. The GPS antena? back window? The back laser detector on top of licence plate?

 

I have the 9500ci
- the front shifters (left and right side of grill) and radar detector (center of grill) will fit behind the grill
- the rear detector is mounted behind the open slot in the rear diffuser - this trades off some performance for looks (license plate position looked way too obvious)
- GPS receiver can be mounted under "dome" above the instrument cluster so it's out of sight
- speaker underneath the steering wheel.

The fun part is where to put the red LED indicator, the display unit, and the controls.

It took an Escort dealer/installer about a day to install but it was well worth having someone install this who had done it before. Especially given the wiring routing and what parts of the interior had to be taken apart.

 

Use search. Someone posted a good thread with photos that I literally gave my installer and said do this. I agree with the above & would not do this project yourself - even if you are competent with electronics because it's tedious. I have my display in the mirror and control in the center console next to the cigarette lighter.

 

Off topic:
Hmm. How come I haven't seen any pictures of this "Matte Azue Blue Metallic wrap"?

 

I'll assume that was supposed to be a "haven't" Here's a pic. I got it done a few months ago and about to go on a car rally so I might rip it off afterwards. Going to a shoot this Sunday so should have some more pics of it then.

 

^^^^ that looks very nice!