I'm looking for a pretty good radar detector for my B6 A4. Anyone have any that they are familiar with and would recommend. I'm on a pretty tight budget (about $150-$250), but will consider anything you guys can think of.

Also, has anyone had any problems with using the cigarette lighter adapter as a plug in for power such as with a power adapter for a radar detector? My friend has an '07 A3 and when he used his power adapter in the cigarette lighter, it caused fuses to blow in the car. Anyone know if this is a B6 A4 problem as well?

Thanks!

 

dunno about the power issue but if you are willing to spend that much money on a radar detector than what ever you decide to buy will be a very good one. anything much higher than that for price is just over kill.

 

Not to be a dick, but you couldn't be any more wrong. Ask Anyone that has a Valentine One. I pick up radar in hilly and curvy Vermont about a mile to a mile and a half away. I never wasted money on a Ticket detector (thats really all the other detectors do is tell you when you are about to get a ticket), but I know several people who have, and who drive MUCH slower than I do and have the "paperwork" to support what I'm saying.

www.valentine1.com $400

Best and only Detector on the market. But please, don't just go on what I say, ask anyone here who has used one for any length of time. They will instantly back me up.

You can only buy them from their site, which is why a lot of people have never heard of them, but the nice thing is the directional arrows, dual radar and laser antennas, bogey counter, type and strength (usable strength, cops can't detect your speed until Valentine has full strength) indicators, and full upgradeability. New technology comes out? Send your detector back and they will upgrade it to most recent spec for parts cost only. Not to mention BEST in class Laser/Lidar detection, no joke picks it up from refracting light reflections around corners.

If you just want to know when you are about to get a ticket, go buy an escort or passport. I bought my Valentine after 2 months of Saving on a $100/week job in college, it's never left my side since. Nice part is, it can be hard wired (COMES with everything you need, including wire taps and the such), and it also has the cig lighter and a spare mount, so you can use it in other cars, friends cars, rentals, etc.

 

i would have to agree with getting a valentine. my buddy has a gli and hard-wired it into his car. he says its the best thing he bought. it has already saved him a few tickets. check out their website. you cant pay $100 and expecet something to work perfectly. you pay for what you get.

 

oh and one more thing. he had it plugged into the cigarette lighter until he finally got sick of the wire getting in the way all the time. valentine also includes everything you need to hard-wire it all in.

 

Well I've personally handled Escorts and Valentines and I say they're both as good. My 9500ix warns me of speed camera's and the newest is redlight camera's. I have all the useless alerts blocked via GPS so I only get a certains signal that cops use as K's. Ka's are always cop signal so I didn't bother blocking that. But stores and banks never ring a buzzer. If it detects certain signal ie. higher that a 24.151 its more than likely a cop and even if it has a 24 K signal blocked it will warn me of the new threat. The only thing I like about V1 better is that it has arrows but I slow down either way so I don't use them as much, wether it'd be behind, in front or on the sides, just slow the F down. Either choice is great, but I'll disagree with the above about Escort not being good, they're awesome. I'm in the process of hardwiring my own Passport plug-in into a cool plexiglass display.

But if you don't want to spend more than $250 don't bother buying anything. The minimum you can get is a 8500 X50 in red display and that's at least $350. Same technology as the 9500i but no GPS and other luxuries. Your gut instinct is a lot better than Cobra's, Unidens and all that horsecrap. V1's and Passports are worth every penny though

 

I do have this one hard wired to my car, is the whistler 3600 series. I believe I paid $250.00 for it.

Whistler Group - Product Catalog

 

I would really invest into a Valentine One. Go big or Go home. It's simply the best radar detector for a reason.

 

hard wire thru the sunroof panel to get rid of wires!

 

Debating radar detectors is like debating religion. The V1 is a premium product with a loyal following but the sites that really compare them find very little difference at the top end. But the top end is the $300-400 range, so you do get what you pay for. I have driven with various detectors for the past dozen years and while I push 5-15 over, unless you pay close attention to early warnings and avoid instant-on, most good detectors give adequate warning. I have been running a Bel 795 for the past five years and I receive almost mile warning on straights when troopers are running their radar full time or blipping cars in front of me (see pay attention to early warnings). The Bel probably set me back $179-250 (cannot remember), but it was not the top of the line. As far as hard-wired, that is personal choice. I rotate four cars so that is not an option.