Skeeter

Any idea what it'd cost to have a V1 etched into the rear mirror -AND A good installer in the Bay Area?


Love that stealth look...

Thanks, thankyouverymuch

Skeeter

cte430

The two places I know around here who do that job charge around $2,500 for the V1, a laser jammer, and the install

MBTEK

look on ebay, search valentine one, shop in new york is doing it for about $600 with a few days turn-around, i'm gonna do mine in a few weeks.

BenzoManNY

Hi i went to two of the most reputable NY shops nobody could do My E63 or was willing to figure out a solution. The E63 has a special mirror that can not be etched it is actually two pieces of clear glass sandwiched together. I contacted the guy EUROTEK on Ebay and they took on the challenge and did the mirror conversion and it looks awesome. They actually took an E55 mirror and my E63 mirror and made everything work, SOS, homelink, auto dim etc. My speaker and controls are also in the mirror i have no idea how they did it because i saw how little room is inside these mirror housings. These guys are electronic wizzards and they do these mirrors as a side thing from their daily work as software developers. The main V1 is in the headliner in a cover wrapped in alcantara behind the map lights. They dont do the full install but one of their guys did the complete job at my home on Saturday as a side job and it looks awesome.

Go for it you wont get a better job for less. If i get time this week I will post photos of the completed job. I will let all E63 and CLS 63 guys know that these guys are the ones to call for the job.

jangy

I don't get what the V1 is all about, if you have to mount it on the windshield anyways?

dragonAMG

If you get it hardwired and the mirror etched unit it doesn't mount to your windshield.... you won't see it.

jangy

I would get both of those, but doesn't theunit still have to be mounted on the glass? If not, I'm down to get it. I want stealth, not some thing hanging on there.

Captain AMG

Yeah, I've seen the conceal remote unit etched and installed into the rvm, but the actual detector unit itself still had to be mounted somewhere in the car with a clear line of sight to the road.

jangy

That's my issue. I want one that is totally stealth, even at the expense of a little range.

BenzoManNY

Guys I will post photos Monday or Tuesday for you to all see and clear up any questions on how this is done. it is 100% stealth and works perfect because the main unit is aligned with the front and rear windows. More details will come with photos

turbineexpert

I was wondering about this myself. Please post pics.

BenzoManNY

Ok here are some photos I had a hard time with the rear with the lighting will try again in the morning if i have time.

Now when i posted last on this the guy was still working on the car at my house. He was planning to drill some holes on my headliner and i didnt want that since the car is leased. The cover looked beautiful and matched the OEM black alcantara perfectly. So we had to come up with plan B

He then decided to remove the rear speaker grill on the parclel shelf and modify it and mold the radar v1 into the grill and cover with new grill material. To be honest this location is by far perfect it lines up with both front and rear windows as if the unit was on the windsheild. Also since the subwoofer fires down it doesnt affect the sound.

Today i tried it out, works flawlessly.

Let me know what you guys think, now im more comfortable going above the 50MPH limit in NY.

way2evil

i need that. please pm the shops info and pricing

SLK55R

Hey Skeeter,

Let me know if you find a good shop. But to be honest those numbers I saw .. 2k sounds really high to me.

BenzoManNY

more photos look at the guts of the mirror there is no room but these guys made it work. Look carefully they even made the on/off and controls in my housing i cant get over it with all this stuff inside.The installer just emailed this photo to show everyone.
Granted its not cheap but it takes some serious time and skill to do this conversion and these mirrors are like $600 so there is liability for the installer to break something. I feel its well worth it.

PM me for their contact info

jangy

I like all the mirror mods and all, but where does the detector (sensors) sit? Is it on the windshield or covered up? That is my concern with this setup.

BenzoManNY

Jangy took this photo this morning to give you and everyone else a better idea where the V1 goes. The V1 comes out of its metal case and they made a cover for it, looks kinda cool. The rear speaker was then recovered in new material to look uniform.

jangy

I get it now. So, it can be customized to hide under the material and still be in the line of detection. Hmmm, that does change a few things. I'll need to take another look at that setup.

Thanks for the pics, fellas. i had no idea that there were any other options. For those that have tried this setup, have you noticed any loss in range from the front side?

cte430

Jangy, my set up is even more stealth if it's possible. The installer wouln't even tell me where he put it in my E55 but I do know the rear seats were removed. What i'm saying is my V1 was even more hidden and it still works. Had the same set up in the 997S and moved it to the 997TT. I don't know where it is in the pcar either.

there are lots of people who will tell you it won't work, has to be mounted up high etc. I can tell you it works. Less sensitivity? maybe. Anyone who just blindly relies on their radar detector is an idiot anyway. You still need to use your eyes and common sense. So, i'll gladly give up a bit of sensitivity for something that's as stealthy as this.

My laser jammer is also integrated into the V1 display in the mirror. Meaning if the system is "off" and I get hit with laser the audible alarm will sound as well as the mirror will light up.

BenzoManNY

cte430 i know what you mean. My prior car was done in NYC and they put my main v1 in the front header bar area with the console and roofliner. One day I had the sunroof cracked open and the rain got the headliner a little wet the V1 was damaged. I sent the V1 back to V1 in Ohio and they said since the unit was tampered with it was not warranted. When you stuff the unit to be invisible the installers do stuff to make it fit. So i was out $400 and i said next time around i dont want to have this happen again. Plus once they tamper with it you also can never trade it in for the latest version etc and they wont even bother repairing it. I guess their are signs of this happeing. Years back Ultrasmith did one for me on my 996TT and when I traded the car in the V1 was no longer usable for who knows what reason but it was in pieces and it worked terrible in that car for whatever they did to it.

Lesson learned i rather leave the unit in tact and have a good installer conceal it. There is a reason why your installer isnt telling you where they put it and i doubt you will ever get to keep that unit for another car.

cte430

I actually moved this unit from my 997S into my 997TT. So, whatever they did there was no issue in using it again.

There are not many of these high end places that do work on some very serious cars. I think they each have their secrets and tricks that they don't want out there

jangy

Sweet!! Thanks for the clarification, fellas. I will be looking into doing just that. Stealth is what i want. I do not mind a slight or whatever loss in sensitivity.

zoink

Jangy, what kind of tint are you using? I've been hearing and reading that metallic tint will hinder radar wave. And unfortunately, that's what I have on my E.

zoink

One question to cte & benzoman:
Does the set up still allow you to upgrade the radar's software (or firmware - bite me, I'm not a geek squad ) when it becomes available from V1?

cte430

If the install requrires the V1 to be taken apart to make it even more "stealthy" than I'm assuming the answer would be no. If the unit remains intact than you should be able to upgrade it.