(Passport 9500i) Sorry about that! I first saw it mentioned in my AutoWeek last week! Forgot the exact nomenclature!

Me? I will keep using my Passport 8500 in my Nissan Frontier V6 6 spd manual. (Yeah! I pretend it's a Countach ).

The new Passport 9500i is $450.00. I don't have the spare cash. It's pretty sweet, though. It looks like Mike Valentine might have his work cut out for him! I drive 40+ minutes each way to and from work through the countryside. But; it's out in the country while you're by yourself that your most likely to get hit with an instant on gun. (I learned the hard way a couple of years ago while driving my MazdaSpeed turbo during the early morning hours. Luckily; by going to the courthouse with the ticket, I got away with just court costs ($154.00), and nothing on my driving record. It helped, too, that I hadn't had a ticket in 13 previous years! Ha!! I was going 84 in a 50.

ps: I came out of this diving bend, and the state trooper was about a 1/2 mile away coming toward me. The 8500 pegged out! And; that was that. I just pulled over and sat there grinning.

((not affiliated with Escort))

Ooops! Sorry! I now see there is already a post about Detectors. Feel free to discard moderators, if you wish. Thanks! I should have done a search first. I could have just added on about the 9500i.

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- Greg

I have been through over 30 speed traps, 3 of which were laser..zero speeding tickets, even though I was typically over 20 to 40 mph over the speed limit. Passport 8500 and M40 laser blinder....

So what is the new advantage with the passport "9500"..I had not heard of it till just now.

I would also add, EVERY person owning a Lambo SHOULD be speeding, or why waste the money on a rocketship :-)

I agree that's the only reason to let it out of the pen but there are those who just want to be fashionable if you can believe that. What a waste.

As for the detector, I can't see how the Escort has a major advantage over the Valentine but I'm willing to listen. I was considering the new blue-tooth wireless K40. At $800 pretty steep, but just mounting those modules without wires is really attractive though I was put off by mounting the front module behind the front bumper which would place it almost on the ground. I Just didn't think it would pick up the beam as effective as the windshield location. Any body with experience on this I'd be interested to hear.

I suppose it would not be so bad if there were a few slow poke yellow Gallardos within 20 miles of where I live--that way it would not seem as though I am driving as fast all the time :-)

Hi guys!

Here is the link.....

http://www.escortradar.com/9500i.htm

It looks good! I have owned my 8500 since Jan. 2003, and it would be nice to upgrade to the 9500i. But; I cannot justify it. Even though, they would give, if I remember correctly, $50.00 trade in. I have vacation coming up, etc,,,

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- Greg

As to the K40, I read way too many reports on how the Bel and the Passport 8500 were far superior to the K40...it appears the K40 costs more, and they rely on this to make people think it is better.

If you really want to speed, the mounting of a Passport or Bell just below the rear view mirror is easier to suffer through than the invisibility of the K40, linked to speeding tickets :-)
Add the M40 laser diffuser, and the only thing left to worry about are airplanes or Vascar... I am still looking for solutions on these..

Bottom line is; for many years, as good as the V1 is, it seems the overall choice has been the 8500 series Passport. The Arrows? So what! The way I see it; if you get an alert, you slow down. What difference does it make where the radar is being shot from? Great marketing, though! I also owned one of the original Escorts, and the first series of Passports. The quality is legendary. The Valentine One has always reviewed well. But; when you look at the more independent tests (including the unbiased 'radartest.com' test), the Passport 8500 has been the one that usually gets the #1 ranking.

http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=9090

Oh! I also owned one of the early Bel detectors. Apparently; the newest one talks to you. Another thing that should be considered is how many areas actually use Laser Radar. Still; not many. But; it is something to be aware of. Most people know that Mike Valentine and the owner of Escort (Cincinnati Microwave) - his name escapes me right now, began together. Not sure why they went there separate ways. But; what is for sure; they share the greatest wealth of knowledge when it comes to this business of finding radar guns!

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- Greg

This is a very useful thread.

My understanding is that Vascar is based off of mechanical calculations...so there is no way to get around it unless you can somehow link-up to the computer system that does the calculating and somehow modify its return output.

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If one's going to live, live well.


*Looking Forward to my first Lamborghini, whenever I shall have her!*

I would like to have someone build a police radio wave detector--any time you get within 1 mile of a police radio, the idea would be it would give off a signature that could be detected--this would signal an alarm that you should not be speeding. I would pay quite a bit for this, if it worked reliably. :-)