Where is the best place to mount the radar receiver and lazer jammer pods for a Passport 9500ci on a 2012-13 CLS63? Do they need to be placed high in the upper grill, or can they go in the lower grill?

How can the GPS receiver be hidden? In my C63, the guys at MB Buckhead totally hid my GPS receiver. I want to do the same thing on my CLS, but I cannot figure out how they did it.

Any advice would be much appreciated

 

Hey Lew,

I would suggest you pm forum member jbondox. He has done hundreds of installs (including mine) and I'm sure he could help you with all of your questions. His work is phenomenal and he has many years of experience. If you need his phone number shoot me a pm.

 

Thanks Rock! You Rock!

 

Great unit. I have one in my RR. Can't really help you with install on a CLS. Sorry.

 

Lew, contact Radarrob on radardetectorforum he is close to your location, is very knowledgable with installations, and has LIDAR guns to test your installation.

 

I tossed the photos and video of the CLS63 on the Facebook page. Rock was this your vehicle?

https://www.facebook.com/CollectionAutosports

 

The ZR4 shifter heads are placed too low. They should be in the lower part of the upper grill for better performance.

 

I'm sorry guys but the Z4 sucks, like really sucks. Laser Interceptor for life!

 

and the peanut gallery chimes in

They work perfect where they are! Remember we test with the local law enforcement professionals, not a hobbyist (saying it extremely nicely)

In the grill they would be too far back and such an angle, that to compensate for it would look hideous, the vehicle is over $100k not a clunker! Further, the S Class which we do many of is a larger vehicle and again... work perfect

Again, tested, passed, works like intended. No myths, no voodoo, no special super secret laser gun or receivers, no conspiracy, no witchcraft... just professionally installed!

 

The ZR4 wouldn't be my first choice, but neither would laser interceptor.

 

My latest vehicle (purchased new this past July) was $136K. Obviously not a clunker. My SUV that I purchased new in September 2011 was $128K.

The low position of the shifters hurt performance in two ways:
1. They are too far from the headlights.
2. When cresting a hill, too much of the car will be exposed, but the shifters will be hidden by the hill. I have seen this technique used numerous times in my travels. This LEO technique hides the LEO from the driver's view, so the driver that doesn't have laser jammers doesn't have sufficient time to slow. Those who have appropriately placed laser jammers will be protected.

Based on testing I and others have done, the Laser Interceptor 8.9 version heads can be slightly recessed and still offer excellent protection. Another option is to use the new Blinder HP-905 compact heads which are much smaller than the Escort ZR4 and K40 EX2 laser jammers, and easier to install in more appropriate locations, while being estheticly acceptable.

Your interior installs are second to none. For your clients, I wish you would utilize better equipment and choose better installation locations for the exterior hardware. One who purchases M-B, and pays M-B prices expects M-B performance.

 

Let's try to keep this on topic and answer Lew's questions regarding his 9500ci install. This is not a debate about what system is best.

 

 

Much appreciated amigos. Any thoughts on how/where to hide the GPS receiver?

 

above the instrument cluster, under the dash pad. You have to pull the trim, vents, and cluster to mount it...

 

When deciding on where to place the jammer heads, a certain amount of homework is needed to calculate the most ideal place for the jammer heads. If a jammer (shifter) head does not see the incoming LIDAR beam, the shifter will not be activated and will not jam the LIDAR gun. According to Escort's own installation manual http://www.escortradar.com/pdf/9500ciInstallManual.pdf they state that the shifter heads should be mounted "halfway between the license plate and the edge of the car.

Line #1 the yellow line is 74 inches which acccording to MB USA's website is the width of the car

Line #3 the orange line is the center of the car.

Line #2 the green line (use the more middle one) is the midline between the edge of the car and the centerline of the car. This is where according to Escort, the shifters should be placed.

Because we are dealing not in one dimension, but two dimensions, we need to not only consider with width of the vehichle but the height of the most targeted areas of the vehichle. In the current example, the placement of the center shifters are 30.3 inches from the lateral edge of the headlight cluster, and 14 inches to the center of the license plate. This example gives a great amount of protection to the license plate, but offers little protection to the headlight if they are targeted. If we draw a straight line from the center of the license plate to the outer edge of the headlight cluster and place the shifter head in the middle of that line, both the license plate and headlights will be equally protected. (center of the proposed placement of the shifter is noted by the purple arrow, with the shifter in light blue). The difference in postion of the center of the shifter head from where it is actually positioned and where I propose to place is is 12.125 inches in this example.

Generally when a police officer targets a vehicle, they aim for the center of the vehicle. If they don't get a reading there, they will then normally target the headlights. If a license plate is not used in your state, then they generally target the headlights first. They are looking for the most reflective areas to shoot your vehicle with. When your car is targeted first (and generally at the front license plate), you are at the furthest point away from the police officer. The Laser beam is the widest at this length. If the officer does not get a reading, he will then target your headlights,now that you are closer to the officer, the laser beam width is smaller. If the shifter head is too far away from the area being shot, the shifter will not see the beam, and the shifter will not fire. This is why it is important to get the shifter heads as close to each of the areas of your car that will be targeted. With three areas to target, and only two shifter, you need to split the difference equally.

 

^ Now that is a well thought out post but do a couple of inches really make that big of a real-world difference? Furthermore, the upper grill is pretty shallow, so maybe mounting the diffusers there is impractical and would look awkward.

 

Yes, a couple of inches does make a difference, as well as changes in angulation makes a difference in real world situations. Just as many installers alter and fabricate interior pieces, the same can be done for external components. Grills can be modified and mounting hardware can be fabricated to create a beautiful exterior installation that blends with the estetics of the car. The key is to find an installer who is able and willing to spend the time and has the expertise to do a proper exterior installation, rather than just mounting the shifter heads in the easiest location.

On the radar detector forums, members will link videos and threads of many professional installers to discuss the performance of such installations. I and many members on these forums have tested many of these professional installations, which generally results in us modifying or totally uninstalling and reinstalling the shifter heads and radar antenna.

There is a lot of work that goes into planning the installation before anything is done to the car. Installers must learn how police LIDAR works, police tactics, how laser jammers work, what will cause laser jammers not to perform as they are designed to, and how to design and execute a proper installation that will meet a clients desire for excellent esthetics, while being able to provide excellent protection. Installers also need to learn what are the differences in quality and performance between the various manufactures, and what technological elements of the product makes it better or worse that it's competitors.

I am a perfectionist. On each of my vehicles I spent about an hour per laser jammer head leveling and aligning them after they had been installed until I was happy with their orientation. Rigorous testing follows which in my case has always confirmed that I have chosen the proper equipment, jammer head location and jammer head orientation.

People who invest in purchasing and having these systems installed should do their homework prior to their purchase and installation. I do have my systems installed by professional shops that have experience with the autos that I drive. I do not know how to disassemble my car's dash, bumpers and more. But knowing what I know about laser jammers, I closely supervise the installation, so it meets my esthetic and performance requirements.

Lew, the main LIDAR gun used in Delaware is the Stalker. After you install your system, make sure you have it tested against the Stalker.

 

And when putting them there, you would be showing the complete laser shifter looking hideous, I wouldn't drive a Geo Metro with it like that! Further, the outer ends would be spaced down 2 inches to have them parallel to the road. Trading off from perfect to practical which is the reason we place them where we do. We have tested with the local PD before we decide on placement on both the S class and Porsche Cayenne. We just don't put them where they look good, we actually find a spot that works.

We took our "hands on test" and applied it to the MB and Porsche lines. Seeing the S is the widest of the sedans, this vehicle pictured above would be nicely covered as it isn't quite as wide in the front. Further we do test them with the police pretty frequently, ya know the guys that actually matter.

 

Rock, first off, my wife said yes! second in the real world of laser, not really. just make sure that they are parallel to the road and that the head is clear of debris. laser is nanoseconds, and from trigger to reading it is near instant... which means within a second if you were caught off guard, your system should be jamming before you get the warning and actually acknowledge what is going on...

 

Response in red.

 

first red: No, we are not putting an aftermarket grill or cutting up the customers car... again we test!

second red, they use Stalker guns, also... I serve my clients well otherwise I wouldn't have any

I do not have anytime in my life for debating something as elementary as this. I barely have time for this. Thanks for the offer but I will pass.

 

As for aerial vascar, I know! It is more West and South of us. Besides affixing a phased array antenna on the roof or a spinning search radar.... oh well it is out of my hands.

 

KeepRtPassLeft, please post photo's of your installs on some of the newer benz's. Completely understand what you are saying but not sure many are going to swap grills on $100+K benz's just for optimum laser performance. Form does not always follow function in some situations so completely interested to see how you do it and keep it looking good on our car models.

 

I don't post pics of my cars because due to the colors, they are very rare. Here are examples of good sensor placement: http://www.radardetectorforum.org/forumdisplay.php?f=39
http://www.radardetectorforum.org/sh...php?t=5&page=4 the difference in the installs that I would do, is to fabricate a support structure attached to the radiator supports, so the heads would be flush to the grill.

There is also a member here that has a very nice install on his E550. I hope he posts pics of it.