GDawgC220

I just finished hardwiring our S-Class with a radar detector (Passport 8500).

This was the toughest out of all three cars that I did (w202, w163 and w220).

I tapped into the wiring behind the cig adapter (both 12V and ground).

If anyone wants pictures and/or instructions, i'll be glad to do a write up for those who want to hardwire their radar detectors or plan to do so

Oh, BTW, I placed it in the "trapezoid" area at the bottom of the center/right of the glass...where the metal oxide isn't present. It's actually pretty low and centered, not in the middle of the passenger side of the windshield

X-Ricer

pics please! i want to find out exactly where to mount the detector....

GDawgC220

I will take some pictures tomorrow

GDawgC220

hey man,

i've been busy all day, haven't gotten a chance to do it. I will try my best tomorrow!

Thanks man.

GDawgC220

here we go:

I ran the wire to the right of the detector, down the side of the dash, underneath the dash then tucked it into the side tunnel along the HVAC/COMMAND and it pop's out right behind the ash tray.

So far, it's worked very well, picks up all the radar signals from automatic door opener's that our other MB's pick up (non-coated windshields)

X-Ricer

that is nice! i am going to do that this weekend....thanks for the info!

ArMaNi S500

Beautiful job! This might've been answered before but what kind of detector is that? And why pick that over the others? I've heard the best two are Valentine One and Bell 8500? TIA

ArMaNi S500

CORRECTION: Passport 8500. I just looked at the top of the thread. So my question would be why that as opposed to the others?

GDawgC220

The two best ranked in high end radar detectors are the Passport 8500 and the Valentine 1.

Both are very very good at what they do.

The reason I went with the 8500 vs the Valentine 1 is that when I first got it, I didn't have $400 to spend on a radar and thought it was kind of too much. I also worked in retail, so I get the 8500 for half the price of a V1.

Ever since I got it, it's worked everytime, saved me numerous time and I just love it.

The only big difference I find between the 8500 and the V1 is the arrows that V1 has on it's detector. IMO once I hear the radar, I slow down, common sense. Even if it's a cop from the side, I still would slow down because they can still estimate your speed. I know 99% of the false radar's in my town and the roads that I travel on...so IMO, I don't need the arrows.

DMI+RY

I was thinking about 8500 X50 proper location for a while...
Above the mirror would be the perfect location but obstraction from the dotted area and possible interference from metal oxide (which not present on my car) is the issue.
The lower mounted radar as shown on the GDawgC220 pics is very nice and clever installation.
The only disadvantage is - lower positioning. The radar coverage area is much shortened and it is looks like rear sensor would be blocked by seats/passengers/etc.

Now I am thinking on putting Escort SRX or SR7 with ZR3...
Haven't decided the best area to put display units in W220...

GDawgC220

from what I was aware of, all w220 have the metal oxide coating on it's windshields (unless you got a aftermarket windshield replacement), including the black-dotted area up top. I wanted to mount it up there, but in the past when I had it plugged into the cig adapter, it didn't catch anything that it should (IE, known false alarm places).

So far, the detection from where it's mounted now is pretty good and range is pretty good as well, even though it's only the first generation 8500. Next time if I take the S on a longer trip, I'll use my 8500 x50 in the S and see how it works out.

DMI+RY

My windshield is original MBZ.
Is it true that it has metal oxide coating?

Also I am testing 8500 X50 at this moment and it is mounted right above mirror and plugged to cig. lighter.
Can't confirm effectiveness of the spot since I was using old Whistler then V1 before 8500 x50, but it looks like it does picks up quite a lot false alarms
Also in NYC suburban area and in the city there are too many false POP mode alarms so I was thinking to turn POP mode off for that reason...

Because of that metal oxide coating issue and 8500 location issues (I like display located near mirror) I am seriously thinking to get SR7+ZR3 or SRX

GDawgC220

yeah, I get a few pop's here and there, I may turn it off as well, but the sensitivity and range is AWSOME. So much better than my first generation 8500s I have in the other two cars. As for false alarms, I've only caught the ones I use to get with the first 8500...couple of stores along my frequently travelled routes. Other than that, no other new false alarm spots.

Range going around curves and hill is awsome...picks it up with plenty of reaction time to slow down. Sometimes I think it's a false alarm :p

So far the hardwired in the w220 and w163 worked flawlessly thus far. I think I did a pretty good job, hehe

But on the metal oxide issue, check your manual as well, as mine says it does and points out the "trapezoid" area where I mounted my 8500 as the only place for all signals to pass through. The above rearview area is for transponders for the electronic toll collections and that works fine, even though I was unsuccessful at getting that to work so we had to get a bumper tag instead. Oh well.

If you don't like to mount it where I did, then the discreet/stealth installation of the SRX is a very good product. A little costly, but worth it in the end

tmushy

i got a black tint on the back window should that be a major problem in detecting a radar?

DMI+RY

Tinted windows do not affect detector's reception, unless you have metallic tint film which may block or diffuse radar frequencies.