bwilliams

Those of you who got the Passport 8500, did you look at the Valentine One? If so, why did you pass up the V1 versus the 8500? Just curious, my V1 will be here tomorrow for this weekend's project. I'm gonna hard wire it in without the remote.

Can't wait!!!

vaughn

I chose the V1 over the Escorts because of the upgradablitiy(although costly) and because of the the counter and dircetional arrows. I previously had a BEL 745 way back when and after seeing my uncle's V1 perform I thought it was a must have. I cannot count the numerous times both the counter and the arrows have saved me or at the very least prevented me from just guessing where the signals were coming from. You will love the the V1.

Also, although not necessary, the concealing unit is nice. It prevents othres from knowing you have a radar detector with all the flash and attention the arrows can create.

MIS_A4

I had them both and I preferred the 8500, but they both seem to work excellent.

formerly dennisA4

Why did you prefer the escort (other than price)?

formerly dennisA4

What's the "counter" do?

MIS_A4

The $100 price difference really didn't matter to me either way. The 8500 just seemed easer to use and less cluttered. In my opinion it also detected radar around upcoming corners better then the V1. I tested both going to and from work on Rt.80 in NJ on the known speed traps and the 8500 always notified me of the radar signal first. Once again this is just my opinion, in a real life everyday driving situation and the 8500 just worked better for me. Others will disagree and claim the V1 better, and they are entitled to their opinion. I would recommend that you get both, test them for a week or two then keep the model that works best for you. Both Escort and V1 have a 30 return policy.

SVAudi

I've been pretty happy with mine. It's saved me numerous times when I had my 01 A4 1.8t. Since the 02 is still being broken in, I haven't really taken it too fast. However, hardwiring the 8500 is my next plan since I'm tired of the cigarette lighter adapter dangling across the the dash and over all the controls.

My reason for getting the 8500 over the V1 was mostly price. I figured when you're paying that much. How much better is it going to get?

vaughn

Tracks the amount of signals its picking up. Very useful in speed trap situations with multiple signals. Just becuase you see a police car with a customer, if you don't have a counter, don't assume the radar gun you are picking up is the one with the customer, it could be another police car waiting for another victim...