What kind of radar detectors are you S class drivers using? And how much did you pay?

 

contact mid-city engineering they can install one that is integrated with your command.

 

stealth custom mounted K40 for non distronic plus vehicles and escort 9500ci with mid city piece for distronic plus vehicles.

as for the midcity piece I give it props, if I had the ability to change the programming I would send the cluster a custom priority message like the door ajar warning that will show up no matter what menu of the cluster you are in... but that is me... I am finicky when it comes to that... 2 people liked having nav on the dash vs audio... me, I tell them dont speed

 

Aidesign installed passport 9500 with red light camera warning on friend's car. I used to think that V1 was the best but this new passport is very cool unit. I'm thinking about having Aidesign of NY put one in my s class. check out the photos.
http://aidesign.com/our-work---past-...perties/ID-205

 

Sure that looks nice, but it is still there and visible... did you see the midcity piece? it is in the cluster...

I have a video of it on YouTube, but don't want to post it, so amadouche doesn't come in and think that the 5-10 people viewing it from here is self promoting...

but if you search YouTube for:

Mercedes-Benz "Distronic Plus" "Radar Detector" "Escort 9500ci" e350 "S class" automobile electronics vehicle cars racing consoles

something will come up with the interface

 

I use a Solo II, cordless unit, mounted above the rear view mirror, nobody notices it, no wiring, no hassle.

 

I considering going with these guys, by chance do you have any pictures of your friends set up?

 

I have a 9500IX the cheap one and it works great. Once you have a GPS unit I doubt you will want any other one.

 

in the white S63 example (in the link) is the license plate diffuser legal?

 

Yes, the diffuser is the OEM for the car.

 

The cordless units are so much easier and more versatile for switching from one car to another. How flawless is it and are they really undetectable?

 

Unfortunately I get a speeding ticket every 2.5 years, although I have been clocked via airplane, zapped by Laser & Radar, the large majority are via pacing (Cop uses his relative speed to determine yours), in which the most supreme detector or jammer in the universe would not have helped.

 

One every couple of years seems reasonable to me - just think of it as a tax on going fast.

 

They kind of give you a false sense of security. Will you be caught by instant on laser, etc.? I had my Solo on when a cop ahead of me was driving in front of a tow truck and all he had was his left side to see cars coming up to him from behind. I saw him at the last minute in his unmarked car, and he nailed me. Here in Ontario if you go 90mph or faster, they not only give you a huge huge fine, they take your keys and tow your car, so we have to keep in under 90 (150km/hr.). Hardly worth going 80 with the radar detector on! I think radar detectors were a step ahead of the cops in the 80's and 90's but I don't know about nowadays though...

 

Doing 90 mph you're asking for trouble, in the US I tend to drive only about 5 miles over the speed limit. The issue comes when you're just leisurely driving and get zapped in a speed trap or by a speed camera. So for me I rather have a little bit of a warning rather than no warning at all.

 

I do not have picture of my friend's GL550. Ai also did V1 in my escalade. If you go to their website and click on GM and you'll see white escalade with custom sub box between middle seats. I am going to take my S class out to Ai this winter to get passport installed as well. IMHO, they are expensive but the best in the country. Definitly check them out before you go with anyone else. I wish they were closer to D.C.

 

I've been looking at their website and corresponding with Todd from Ai. Yeah it is a bit pricey, but at the same time I want quality work done that's also dependable. I'll checkout out your Escalade on the site.

 

No detector can keep you 100% safe from tickets. You still have to use common sense, good eyes, knowledge of the area, placement of other traffic... and a little bit of luck!

As for detectors, ALL of my cars have Valentine 1's

 

All this valuable discussion bring up an important point:

1)There is a huge disconnect between capability of cars vs. posted speed limits. 20 years ago, most cars had 150 BHP, did a 0-60 in 10 seconds with a top speed of near 100 MPH.

2)These days we drive cars with 300-500 BHP, 0-60 in 5 seconds or less and top speed of 150+.

But the posted speed limits have not changes or even decreased.

 

The speed limits have nothing to do with the car capabilities; if anything, they're in place to limit them. The higher your speed is, the more distance you travel before being able to react to a change in the environment. Among other things, the speed limits put a safety cap on that distance.

 

I understand skrontz, but my point is why do car manufacturers make and why do we buy such powerful cars when all we are allowed to do by law is 55-75 MPH (depending your state and highway).

There are many highways around the US with little traffic, straight as an arrow and yet speed is limited to 75 or less.

Are we wasting our money buying and driving such powerful cars that we can not legally use on public roads?

 

I was in court for a larger speeding ticket in my S-Class not long ago (and I have V1). The Judge looked at the speed and said "...this car is capable - but you just cant do that speed (138) on this road..."

The road was empty (of everything but the officer) and even the Judge thought it was basically sane, but the law is the law.

BTW, the officer was in a unmarked SUV. No radar was used.

Nevertheless, the V1 is the detector to have.

 

I can only speak for myself, but I haven't seen the need for a radar detector for years. However since I've been stationed in New Jersey I've been pulled over merely because of the type and color of my car. Once I was pulled over on a road that I travel on daily 5 days a week and the officer claims I was doing 85 in a 65. That was completely false, I always set my cruise control to 72 when I'm traveling on that road. The second time was on another road that I travel on very frequently that has a speed limit of 65 and I always set my cruise control at 72 on this road as well. This time the officer tried to tell me that I was clocked doing 80, which is rather funny when a station wagon had just zoomed by me in the left lane. He claimed that the reason that I my I had a different reading was because on my wheels. That was a bunch of BS, considering I've had 22s on many cars that I've owned. Good thing I'm in the military, he didn't give me a ticket and I rolled on. So when it comes right down to it, I rather have some type of advanced notice compared to none at all.

 

"Little" traffic is a fairly instantaneous measure; we cannot be sure that there is and will not be any traffic at all times of day. In any case, this is something to take up with the legislature.

As a consumer, you can vote by not buying these cars. Would you prefer that the manufacturers limit the cars to match the speed limits? Just because you own a gun and can shoot someone, doesn't mean that shooting people should be legal.

 

In a neighboring town to us in Southern California, there is an infamous motorcycle cop with traffic division, he is known throughout the community for issuing false tickets mostly to high end MB, BMW, Porsche drivers. Everyone knows about him, but nobody can do anything about him.

My wife got a speeding ticket from this rogue cop, we demanded a court hearing, went back to the site took all kinds of measurements and presented it to the judge that it is impossible to achieve this kind of speed from a standstill(right turn from a traffic light) in such short distance. The officer said, you were driving a MB S500 and it is a powerful car, judge just took his word for it and did not even want to look at all the detailed calculations.

So, maybe my wife's S500 is capable of going from 0-65 mph in 28 yards.