hhughes1

I hope this extremely long-winded sharing of my experience helps all of you make your selection of a system that works for you.

AVB-AMG

Not long winded at all and very helpfull.Thanks for taking the time to give your first hand account.

qship5

There are very few places in the US that they are illegal. Only those states that the people didn't put up a fight since in theory a radar detector is nothing more than a radio receiver for a specific frequency range.

scarbrtj

I have had the 9500ci with laser jammers for about two months. Impressions:

1) Voice alerts are great.
2) Lack of false alerts is an amazing tech. Via GPS, if the 9500ci hits a signal which is repeatable 3 times in a row, at the same locaton, it logs it and you don't get bothered with it anymore. Then, after a while on routes you routinely travel, your detector is just silent! EXCEPT when you see the po-po.
3) You can mark locations manually but I don't do it much
4) USB upgrade for speed traps/speed cameras is cool
5) Radar detection is *very* sensitive

You can see the blue LCD readout under the fuel gauge, the controls I mounted under the tach. I attached a pic.

(ZO)

Can you please post some pictures of the location where you fit the laser jammers head front and rear, I am very interested in where you put it

Thanks in advance

MAN1

+1 for the K40 Calibre. 1 have it installed on my CLS55. Very clean install. All you use is a remote to control its features.

hhughes1

9500CI just installed today

seven21

I had the 9500ci installed back in August and I am extremely happy with it. The laser shifting technology works extremely well and has saved me from 3 speeding tickets (including one where I was doing 125 mph in a 65 mph zone).

As for installation, I had them take out my ash tray and install the blue LED display in there. It makes it easy to conceal if necessary by just pushing the ashtray console cover. Visibility is pretty good, but I wish I would have had them mount it at a slight angle, rather than flush against the back. I would ask them to tilt it a bit up for greater visibility if you mount it in that location. The controls are mounted on the side of the center console area, so it is easily accessible and visually out of the way.

You can't go wrong with the 9500ci!

taylorcoleman

Thanks for the feedback. I'm probably going with he 9500ci shortly. Will you be kind enough to post pics of the where the laser shifters (front & back) and the radar receiver (front) is mounted? I'd also love to see a pic of the controller in the ash. Thanks!

seven21

Sure, I'd be happy to post some pics. Just give me until the weekend to take some.

seven21

Also, they were able to conceal the GPS antenna behind the driver's side front pillar. Much nicer than having it mounted near the rear window.

As for the rear laser shifter, it is only a license plate mount. I asked to have it better concealed, but they said it would impact performance since there is only 1 covering the back. It isn't bad, but I wish it had a slightly slimmer profile.

I'll take some pics and let you decide.

taylorcoleman

Awesome, can't wait for the pics. Had been considering the Laser Interceptor w/ the 9500i for radar & GPS, but I believe the LI is an active jamming device that's illegal in many states, and has an unclear legality in many other states as well. I head that people have been charged with "interfering with police duty" using those active jammers. 9500ci probably the way to go.

peet

I have V1 mounted above right of the mirror with their "heads up" display mounted in the lower left armpit of the window. You can't see it from outside the car but it's in my line of sight and from behind you don't see all the red lights from the main unit as the remote display shuts those down.

As for laser jammers - they are fantastic. Saved my bacon numerous time - no pun intended. BUT in IL as of 1/1/2008 they are illegal, so on this car no joy, didn't tempt fate. That plus my town is almost all laser - so I'm sure they're pretty quick on jammed signals. You see, Naperville IL cops love to get their ticket revenue. Only place in my 25 years of driving that I've gotten tickets and I've only lived here 9 years.

Lastly as for laser jammers - read up on the subject. The ones that come with the passport and K40 are pretty worthless. They have narrow cones and used LED transmitters that are weak. There are better units out there with Blinder at the bottom and going up from there. Some act as distance sensors too so you can gray area them into your law.

Good luck!

seven21

I can only speak from my own personal experience, but the escort passport 9500ci works. I don't doubt that there may be better laser jammer only systems with wider cones and stronger transmitters, but I am very pleased with the performance of the 9500ci. It has saved me three times, which is really all that matters when it comes down to it. Plus, there are going to be fans and haters of any major manufacturers product. There are plenty of write ups that also praise the passport 9500ci (one was even posted earlier in this thread), so I simply suggest you select the one that has the features / installation configuration that meets your personal preferences. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the suggestions listed above. As for me, I can only speak to the performance of the 9500ci and it gets the job done!

I'll snap a few pics of what we discussed yesterday this weekend and post them.

reelgr

how much was it for renntech to integrate the v1 into the mirror?

seven21

Looks like it is $3495 based on the renntech product catalog. You can find it here: http://www.renntechmercedes.com/c.html

**Just click through to the interior upgrades page.

suicidal4life

There are much cheaper alternatives to RENNtech

dlbello

+1 Yesterday I spent sometime researching Radar detectors/ Laser Jammers and from my findings the 9500ci is the one to go with for the price and flash memory updates which itself is a buy.

Anyone out there have some pricing on the 9500ci installed??? I called a few authorized dealers and for around $1500 you get the unit and installation

seven21

As promised, here are a few pics. Sorry it took me a day later than I said. Unfortunately, one of my rear tires blew out on me this weekend and I had to take care of it. Something must have been in the road while I was driving on the interstate since there is about a 4 inch gash in the center of the tire tread.

Let me know if you have any questions.

seven21

Here's a picture of the nasty gash in my rear tire.

hhughes1

Most websites list the 9500ci at $1599-not inc installation. Price seemed consistent at several sites which may indicate set pricing like fine watches. I paid $1800 inc a 5 hour install done at my house.

Big Red

I, too, have the 9500 ci. The display readout is installed in the ash tray. If I get stopped, I flick the unit off and cover the "ash tray" with the spring loaded cover. There are color visuals in the overhead lighting, but mostly I rely on the ci's audible message. When you hear that message, you just react immediately. Between cruise control and the ci I haven't had any problems. In fact, with about 4,800 miles on the odo I haven't had any issues requiring a trip to the dealer. She does burn a little oil at start up some times and 0W40 is virtually impossible to come by except at the dealer. Otherwise, no concerns.

dlbello

Have you tested the Laser LED yet? and what do you think about the unit? I've seen a few web links floating around with laser test and Laser interceptor was on top across the board and the 9500ci didn't fair well... what do you think?

Check this link out, look at Escort...

http://www.guysoflidar.com/july-2008...mmer-test.html

taylorcoleman

Sorry about your tire man.

Thanks for the pics. I'll print & use as a reference. I think my local MB dealer is about to be an authorized reseller & installer of the 9500ci, so I think I'll go that route, especially with the remote in the ashtray.

taylorcoleman

So I understand having the 9500ci won't guarantee you won't get stopped. However, you mentioned that if you get stopped, you flick the unit off and cover the ash tray. Does that mean you've been stopped for speeding with the 9500ci in full force? If so, what do you think caused the 9500ci to not protect you in that situation?

seven21

Even better than a test, it has worked for me three times since getting it installed. The first time I was driving 65 in a 30 mph zone and there was a speed trap set up right around the corner. The police officer was standing in the road with the laser gun pointed at me and the alarm and voice alert "Front Laser Shifting...Front Laser Shifting" went off immediately. I watched the cop look at the laser gun and tilt it back and forth in disbelief. I then slowed down and rolled down the window. He looked over at me and simply said "Slow it down." I was impressed at how well it worked. The next two times were on the interstate. One time I was doing 95 in a 65 mph zone and the last time I was doing over 120 in a 65 mph zone. The distance was further than in the first instance and the voice alarm went off as soon as I noticed there was a speed trap up ahead. Needless to say I slowed it down and kept going without either of them pursuing me.

Since I already have the system installed, I'm not really too worried about all the reviews and skeptics. I didn't find anything but positive feedback prior to purchasing it and it's worked flawlessly for me so far. I'd be more worried about all the reviews if it had failed on me...especially since I often have opportunities to drive 120 - 150 mph when there isn't much traffic. I paid about $1900 to have it installed and it has already paid for itself between court costs, attorney fees, and insurance premium increases.

Please keep me posted on what you find out though. I'm sure every system has its weaknesses and I just hope that I don't find out mine for a while.