Radar Detector: Escort X50 good?
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 375
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TX
Originally Posted by rookiels1
I work at a mercedes dealership in washington that is the only authorized dealer/installer in washington for the Escort SRX system (Detection and Laser Shifting) From what I've learned asking around is that we've had quite a few AMG Customers with E55's SL55's CL65's etc install them and have loved them. No complaints yet... but unfortunately the system is about $1500 
and the laser transceivers or whatever they are need to have clear vision so they can't be mounted behind the bumper so I know this may be an issue for T/A owners who don't really have a grill like the camaro's and Mercedes etc.
and the laser transceivers or whatever they are need to have clear vision so they can't be mounted behind the bumper so I know this may be an issue for T/A owners who don't really have a grill like the camaro's and Mercedes etc. One thing to think about is what happened to me. I had just bought Bell model, not top of the line but a good one, and I was on my way back to Little Rock from Dallas. I was clipping along at about 88mph when BAM!!! Radar goes crazy and in a matter of seconds Texas State Trooper pulling me over. He was sitting about fifty feet of the highway at a ninty degree angle between some trees. He was shooting perpendicular accross the highway. I don't think any radar detector would have seen that trap.
IMO, they are all a waste of money. Glad I did not spend $400.00+ on top of the cost of the fine.
Just my .02
IMO, they are all a waste of money. Glad I did not spend $400.00+ on top of the cost of the fine.
Just my .02
Launching!
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 203
Likes: 0
From: Stranger in a Strange Land
Well laser is very very hard to detect, I agree. But when you LEARN how laser and radar detectors work you will have a different opinion then this one.
"IMO they are all a waste of money"
For now you are just 100 % wrong.
My Bel RX65 paid for its price countless times.
Tommy
"IMO they are all a waste of money"
For now you are just 100 % wrong.
My Bel RX65 paid for its price countless times.
Tommy
Detectors have saved my *** numerous times. I have always ran an escort model of some kind. I currently have the X-50 and got a great deal on it. 225 new or some such deal. There was a group buy here about 6 mos ago on it.
Buy what you can afford. If I had the jack to blow on a 400 dollar V1 I'd have one. The passport is a great detector.
That being said, just because you have a detector does not mean you will not get caught, I keep an eye out all the time for the sneaky bastard hiding and popping people with instant on laser. I've been nailed once by that and it was because I wasn't paying attention. Such is life. If you don't want speeding tickets don't speed, that is the only way to aviod them. Luck helps too.
They help, but are not the total solution. Common sense helps a lot. If I had the money I'd have the laser shifter installed, but damn, 1500 bucks is a lot of cash for that.
Buy what you can afford. If I had the jack to blow on a 400 dollar V1 I'd have one. The passport is a great detector.
That being said, just because you have a detector does not mean you will not get caught, I keep an eye out all the time for the sneaky bastard hiding and popping people with instant on laser. I've been nailed once by that and it was because I wasn't paying attention. Such is life. If you don't want speeding tickets don't speed, that is the only way to aviod them. Luck helps too.
They help, but are not the total solution. Common sense helps a lot. If I had the money I'd have the laser shifter installed, but damn, 1500 bucks is a lot of cash for that.
Originally Posted by TOMMY BOY74
Well laser is very very hard to detect, I agree. But when you LEARN how laser and radar detectors work you will have a different opinion then this one.
"IMO they are all a waste of money"
For now you are just 100 % wrong.
My Bel RX65 paid for its price countless times.
Tommy
"IMO they are all a waste of money"
For now you are just 100 % wrong.
My Bel RX65 paid for its price countless times.
Tommy
Yes, I think they are a waste of money
I think it depends on where you live too....where i live the local smokey's run straight K band even when they're driving around so it's easy as anything to pick up near a mile away on a straight road. If I go ten minutes out of my town they run instant on, and you're pretty much fucked unless you pick up his radar when he uses it on someone ahead of you, same thing applies to laser. And it is true, you have to learn how to use one correctly. If you frequent a road, you'll learn where your detector will be set off by security systems etc. and where a cop is. I love my passport and it has saved my *** several times. But like SSCoutler said, is it really worth totally relying on a detector? Hell no, you gotta use your head and think about what you're doing.
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 362
Likes: 0
From: fairfax, va
Originally Posted by SSCoulter
I had just bought Bell model, not top of the line but a good one,
He was sitting about fifty feet of the highway at a ninty degree angle between some trees. He was shooting perpendicular accross the highway.
I don't think any radar detector would have seen that trap.
IMO, they are all a waste of money. Glad I did not spend $400.00+ on top of the cost of the fine.
He was sitting about fifty feet of the highway at a ninty degree angle between some trees. He was shooting perpendicular accross the highway.
I don't think any radar detector would have seen that trap.
IMO, they are all a waste of money. Glad I did not spend $400.00+ on top of the cost of the fine.
i currently have a $40, $90 and $250 radar detector. they all have at least 5-6 detection modes including laser. and all 3 have 360 degree detection.
the $40 Cobra one really sucked *** in terms of the distance of detection. but my $250 Escort X50....i can't really tell if it's much better since i haven't detected much lately.
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Teching In
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
From: Ohio.....
I bought the v1 and used it for a little while, and it was alright. If you read about the v1, the reason it picks up x,k,ka so good is because of its super high sensitivity. Now if you live in a city like I do, driving down the street will drive you insane because of all the x, and k hits. Half the time I was gettin hit by 9 bogeys in every direction 
, but on the high way it was pretty good, but you encounter the same problem if you drive by any office buildings or stores placed near high ways. Another small problem was reading it at dark. Since it was so sensitive i didn't pay attention to X band, but at night those little round lights got annoying to read, because the lettering next to it doesnt glow or nething. So i had to flip on a light to see if it was an X or K. So I returned the v1 for my 400 back, went and bought a Passport 8500 X50 for 200. I can drive down the same street that with the v1 i got 9 bogeys, but with the passport, i dont even get a hit. The reason is the passport has a chip that filters out security systems, and sliding doors unless your 50 ft from it and it feels that the overwhelming x or k band is a threat. On the highway it is great. I was driving to Cedar Point and i was gettin hit from a K band. So i slowed down to the speed limit and about a mile to 2 miles, there was a cop radaring people inbetween a barrier as they drove by. What's great about the passport is that it says what band is hitting you. I have mine setup so that it shows the band and if there are multiple ones, it shows a bar per band. Upgrading both of these radars is quite different though. To upgrade a v1 you send it in and they give you a new one for free. The passport is programmable, so incase anything new comes out, you can reprogram it for free (if im not mistaken).
Both are great radars, but do some research before you go and lay 200-400 bones on a radar detector.
www.radartest.com
, but on the high way it was pretty good, but you encounter the same problem if you drive by any office buildings or stores placed near high ways. Another small problem was reading it at dark. Since it was so sensitive i didn't pay attention to X band, but at night those little round lights got annoying to read, because the lettering next to it doesnt glow or nething. So i had to flip on a light to see if it was an X or K. So I returned the v1 for my 400 back, went and bought a Passport 8500 X50 for 200. I can drive down the same street that with the v1 i got 9 bogeys, but with the passport, i dont even get a hit. The reason is the passport has a chip that filters out security systems, and sliding doors unless your 50 ft from it and it feels that the overwhelming x or k band is a threat. On the highway it is great. I was driving to Cedar Point and i was gettin hit from a K band. So i slowed down to the speed limit and about a mile to 2 miles, there was a cop radaring people inbetween a barrier as they drove by. What's great about the passport is that it says what band is hitting you. I have mine setup so that it shows the band and if there are multiple ones, it shows a bar per band. Upgrading both of these radars is quite different though. To upgrade a v1 you send it in and they give you a new one for free. The passport is programmable, so incase anything new comes out, you can reprogram it for free (if im not mistaken).Both are great radars, but do some research before you go and lay 200-400 bones on a radar detector.
www.radartest.com
TECH Resident
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 868
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by skunk50
i just got it and it's huge. thinner than a V1 but longer and just as heavy or more.
how's the performance on these things? i thought with technology, things gets smaller.
how's the performance on these things? i thought with technology, things gets smaller.
I have a brand new (2 months ago) X50 and a buddy had a 5 month old V1 and we went out and tested them. The X50 was just the same or better in most areas accept rear detection was a little better with the V1. Could have been the detector, could have been the placement in his car compared to mine. The multiple alerts are better displayed in the X50, and you can send it back for updates just like the V1. Not to mention I got my X50 for $160 less then my buddy got his V1 (cost is great!! 
). He was a little ticked after our 4 hour test through the city and Hwy's. The X50 is now a better deal, and now that I have proven it for myself, you couldn't get me to buy a V1. I had a huge write up on every point between the two on LS2.com but It went away for some reason (this has been 2 months since I wrote it).
Also have a new 7500 that I got as payment for doing computer work for someone. Going to mount it in the Old ladies car for times when I am driving hers. Hope it is at least half as good.
). He was a little ticked after our 4 hour test through the city and Hwy's. The X50 is now a better deal, and now that I have proven it for myself, you couldn't get me to buy a V1. I had a huge write up on every point between the two on LS2.com but It went away for some reason (this has been 2 months since I wrote it).Also have a new 7500 that I got as payment for doing computer work for someone. Going to mount it in the Old ladies car for times when I am driving hers. Hope it is at least half as good.
I found the first review that I did on LS2. Here it is copied below!! It's long, but goes into details on my experience with the two!!
New 8500 X50 review against the holy V1
Well, I read all the reports and finally went and bought a Passport 8500 X50 radar detector to replace my 5 year old Uniden 2 weeks ago. Reviews that I have read have rated the 8500 X50 higher then the new Valentine one, but every one says that those reviews were Fixed and/or bought. So me and a buddy with a V1 went out for a test over the weekend. First off some information on the X50.
The X50 retails for $300 (or $340 for the blue face). I went with the passport since I could get it at cost which was $220. I like the fact it has a lot of different settings on it based on your preference. Most of this is just what I have tried out. Basic running functions are Highway, City, and auto. I have only used Highway and Auto. It also has the ability to Cut on and off each band individually as well as turn down the sensitivity of each band separately (which is cool if most false alarms are X band for instance). I keep it on Highway most the time since this thing false alarms 90% less then my Uniden so I don't mind it when it does (which it still rarely does [never does in auto seems like]). The voltage display is cool if you run the radio with the car off. It has about 5 different display setups to personalize the screen. This is the most I have played with. The Window mount is good, but the Valentine one is better. It also has the same RJ-11 phone connector like the valentine one has. It has a POP detector (the V1 doesn't), but other detectors set that thing off like crazy so I turned it back off (you have to turn it on, it is off by default). The new X50 is upgradeable just like the V1 as well. There are more settings, but I haven't tried them all out yet.
As far as them running side by side. This thing didn't run circles around the V1, but did run better. My buddy and I went around and compared signals (with the help of a State trooper ) while talking on the phone (not sure of what version he has, but it was bought brand new from V1 in March of this year, so I figured it was the newest software). Review, the passport X50 had a longer range with Ka and K and about the same X band range. Mine picked up first on all the test except finding a good X band to test was a little hard so we just figured it was even. The X50 falsed a little more in hwy mode then the V1 and less or pretty much not at all when placed in auto. I will admit that asking which direction the signal was coming from was nice while talking, but being able to ask before his went off was priceless!! The V1 picked up better from the rear, but not by a lot. Maybe it was because his is located center window (he took out his rear view and it is there and mine is up almost at the headliner, which is at our mirror. The Cobras mirror is lower). Or maybe it's the big sensor on the back.
So here is another Option if you don't want to pay for arrows. They are nice, and I am sure that some can't live without it, but wiether the signal is coming from the side, back or front, I slow down so I don't mind not having them. Either way you go will get you a great radar detector, just depends on how much money you want to spend. Also heard the new bell was pretty good as well, but I have not used it so I couldn't say. I guess those reports were not bought or fixed like some V1 people would like to believe!! I have no doubt that V1 will step up and improve, but I saved almost $200 and got a little better deal IMO.
BTW, I made no money off of this review!!
ALmost forgot!! The X50 will show up to 9 different bands that it is picking up and show the strength of each band!! That is a cool feature. The fact that it shows the individual strenths is awsome. I have seen 5 so far.
Well, I read all the reports and finally went and bought a Passport 8500 X50 radar detector to replace my 5 year old Uniden 2 weeks ago. Reviews that I have read have rated the 8500 X50 higher then the new Valentine one, but every one says that those reviews were Fixed and/or bought. So me and a buddy with a V1 went out for a test over the weekend. First off some information on the X50.
The X50 retails for $300 (or $340 for the blue face). I went with the passport since I could get it at cost which was $220. I like the fact it has a lot of different settings on it based on your preference. Most of this is just what I have tried out. Basic running functions are Highway, City, and auto. I have only used Highway and Auto. It also has the ability to Cut on and off each band individually as well as turn down the sensitivity of each band separately (which is cool if most false alarms are X band for instance). I keep it on Highway most the time since this thing false alarms 90% less then my Uniden so I don't mind it when it does (which it still rarely does [never does in auto seems like]). The voltage display is cool if you run the radio with the car off. It has about 5 different display setups to personalize the screen. This is the most I have played with. The Window mount is good, but the Valentine one is better. It also has the same RJ-11 phone connector like the valentine one has. It has a POP detector (the V1 doesn't), but other detectors set that thing off like crazy so I turned it back off (you have to turn it on, it is off by default). The new X50 is upgradeable just like the V1 as well. There are more settings, but I haven't tried them all out yet.
As far as them running side by side. This thing didn't run circles around the V1, but did run better. My buddy and I went around and compared signals (with the help of a State trooper ) while talking on the phone (not sure of what version he has, but it was bought brand new from V1 in March of this year, so I figured it was the newest software). Review, the passport X50 had a longer range with Ka and K and about the same X band range. Mine picked up first on all the test except finding a good X band to test was a little hard so we just figured it was even. The X50 falsed a little more in hwy mode then the V1 and less or pretty much not at all when placed in auto. I will admit that asking which direction the signal was coming from was nice while talking, but being able to ask before his went off was priceless!! The V1 picked up better from the rear, but not by a lot. Maybe it was because his is located center window (he took out his rear view and it is there and mine is up almost at the headliner, which is at our mirror. The Cobras mirror is lower). Or maybe it's the big sensor on the back.
So here is another Option if you don't want to pay for arrows. They are nice, and I am sure that some can't live without it, but wiether the signal is coming from the side, back or front, I slow down so I don't mind not having them. Either way you go will get you a great radar detector, just depends on how much money you want to spend. Also heard the new bell was pretty good as well, but I have not used it so I couldn't say. I guess those reports were not bought or fixed like some V1 people would like to believe!! I have no doubt that V1 will step up and improve, but I saved almost $200 and got a little better deal IMO.
BTW, I made no money off of this review!!
ALmost forgot!! The X50 will show up to 9 different bands that it is picking up and show the strength of each band!! That is a cool feature. The fact that it shows the individual strenths is awsome. I have seen 5 so far.
Last edited by FirehawkNS; Oct 20, 2004 at 03:49 PM.
