V1: Left or Right Side of Rear View Mirror?

great question. on the left the benefit of easy access to mute the alarm, but perhaps too close to the head in the event of an accident.

on the right the benefit of being away from the head, but more difficult pressing the buttons and seeing the LED display and arrows.

i think the V1 is just as sensitive left or right, maybe a tiny bit more responsive on the right side of the mirror since most cops are hiding off to the right side of the road. hmm, come to think of it many times i have seen cops hide on the median (the left side of the road).

JawKnee said:

I was just curious to hear your thoughts on why you mounted your V1 unit to the left of the rear view mirror (i.e. driver side) or to the right of it and why, if anything beyond personal preference.

I also purchased the Concealed Display unit and was leaning towards placing my unit to the right of the rear view mirror...

Click to expand...

Mine's on the left, but I don't have the concealed display. If I did I would mount it on the right since I won't have to adjust/look at it at all...

--Andrew

I mount mine right under the mirror. I know it makes it easier to see, but I take it out when I am not in the car and I figure it probably works better since it has a greater line of sight.

I really think the important fact is to make sure that it is pointing level with the car. My favorite is people who have there detector sitting on the dash pointed up at 45 degree angle. Perhaps it's an alien detector. :dunno:

Mine is on the right just to right of the mirror but approximately in the same horizontal plane.

Reasons:

1. I don't want it impeding my view.
2. I don't want it near me in the event of an accident.
3. Once you get use to the way it sounds (false or real alert), you tend to hit the brakes first and ask questions (look at the unit) later to determine direction of the radar.
4. If you are stopped, for what its worth, its less likely to be seen by the offending officer :thumbup:

Interestingly enough, I first placed it on the left of the mirror.

Obviously a personal preference!

Good question, but no - while laser is difficult to avoid due to the instant on nature of most devices, it can be avoided. My V1 has saved me so many times I can't tell you.

Besides, a lot of cops don't have instant on radar or laster, but still have the "always on" or "always off" variety. Those are completely avoidable. :lmao:

It is still a gamble, but I like increasing my odds against big brother whenever I can. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Good question, but no - while laser is difficult to avoid due to the instant on nature of most devices, it can be avoided. My V1 has saved me so many times I can't tell you. Besides, a lot of cops don't have instant on radar and still have it on all the time, wide open. Those are completely avoidable.

Actually I am looking into getting one too. I just assumed I should be looking at a laser detector rather than a radar. Thats why I had that question when I see so many of you talking about V1. I know K40 has a radar/laser portable for below $300, what do you guys think about that one? Or is the V1(radar only) still is a better investment? :dunno: :dunno:

Bimmee,

The V1 does detect both radar and laser. Although I'm not convinced the laser detection is worth much. It's instant on, so if your detector goes off, it's too late. But I guess there's a chance you can get some laser light bouncing off from ahead and that would help. At any rate, regular radar is still used by a lot of cops, so a radar detector still give you some info. The V1 is particularly nice because it has arrows to point in the direction of the source and has a coutner for how many radar/laser sources there are. It's a very nice product.

bimmee,

I'm not familiar with the k40 at all. But I'd be really surprised if it came close to the V1. You get what you pay for. The V1 is pretty expensive- $400. But the arrows and counter for the radar source are really excellent information to have.

If you just want to run a V1 (or any detector) off the wires that come with it (like in the cigarette lighter), there isn't really any installation. But if you want a nice, clean wiring directly into your car, look here:

http://www.bmw330ci.com/DIY_V1.htm

I used that install and it worked very well. Maybe it took me an hour (and I'm slow when it comes to taking parts of the car apart) if you count gathering up the tool box and moving the car out of the garage into the sun.

The only real place to get a V1 is from the company direct:

http://www.valentineone.com/home.asp

You can't buy it in stores. They sometimes have returned units from their 30 day money back guarantee. That's what I got. I think it was $360 plus $6 for shipping. It's excellent. :thumbup:

Good luck!

ahh, thats why the question was whether right or left side of the mirror. hmmmm, so is that the only place where u can put the unit? Looks a lil too noticeable to me... Quote from the V1 site: A few things to remember: Leaving your Valentine One in plain sight in an unattended car is asking for a break-in.:eeps:

The site also talks about how tinted windows can affect performance of the v1. Mine is tinted , anyone of you have yours tinted but still have the v1 installed?