[Ninjaneer]

Originally Posted by Josh49

Holy crap does some of this look cool. I always said how if you mixed GPS with radar detection, you could get rid of all the crap. Looks like they did exactly that. This detector works great, but why no fvcking arrows? The arrows are incredible. What were they thinking??

Damn, I really like some of these features..

I thought I read that the arrows were patented by V1? Or is it just the rear laser detector?

As for the mount, yea I quickly wanted to get rid of my X50's suction cup mount. I didn't face rattles but it was just annoying and I kept worrying about it falling and hitting the dash/trim.

I ended up getting this rear-view mirror mount: http://www.countryjoycrafts.com/350Z/minimount.htm

Bad news: despite measuring my rear-view mirror stem and meeting the criteria (at least I thought I did), it was difficult to mount because the BMW mirror has very little play to move the mount back and forth. I slightly scratched the stem when trying to fit it and reaching the screws was awkward.

Goods news: determined to get this to work, I ended up filing (a proper dremel may have helped too... got a cheap one from Walmart but it was underpowered) the whole mount on the beveled edges to make the whole thing FLUSH with the rest of the mount's surface. It took some time, then I spray painted it black to restore the color, and that made it thin enough to fit my mirror and give it enough play so that I could properly adjust the mirror to the angle I needed. I attached some velcro to it to serve as padding to prevent it from swinging just for good measure.

Warning: if anyone goes this route, be prepared to file it down and work a little. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take pictures of this. I could take a pic of the current view, but I wish I took pics before mounting it.

Ever since then it's been great. It took some work but it's a clean install and hardwired now

*edit: oh one more thing. I saw this mount on my friend's G35 and it fits nicely where his X50 is just barely sticking out from under the rear-view mirror. NOT SO with the BMW mirror; my X50 is almost entirely sticking out, so I've gotten used to it. It doesn't obstruct vision but it might not be for everyone.

[teknochild]

Originally Posted by ZuerstBMW

But how much better is it than the V1, 50.00 better

for me you cant put a price on a good radar detector

i was going to get a v1 when my e92 got here but looks like ill be getting hti instead, thats just crazy

[Ninjaneer]

Ok here's some pics of my setup. Ok so it doesn't totally stick out, but it does more than my friend's G35.

1st pic: normal view, tilted to the position I need to drive with. W/o filing the mount down I couldn't tilt the mirror to the left cos it was so thick.

2nd pic: close up view of the mount

3rd pic: side view, notice the small amount of play available - I tilted the mirror to the right to expose the gap. You'll notice the velcro isn't exactly properly stuck to anything, but it's just there for padding to prevent the mount from swinging side to side easily (had no probs, and I took my baby to the Tail of the Dragon last weekend so that's 318 curves and no probs lol).

I ought to make a separate and more visible thread about this, but here it is for now.

[teknochild]

thats way to obtrusive for me i prefer mine mounted higher where its not in your view unless you actually look at it

[uhaulball]

ya the v1 goes above the mirror and fits perfectly.

[Ninjaneer]

Oh well it works. I thought of having it mounted above the mirror, to the left, but didn't want to reach that high to silence it (hardwire) and I have a tint strip running across the top so I didn't want any potential degraded performance.

[ironic]

yeah, i can't believe it doens't have arrows =/

[Josh49]

Originally Posted by ironic

yeah, i can't believe it doens't have arrows =/

Originally Posted by Ninjaneer

I thought I read that the arrows were patented by V1? Or is it just the rear laser detector?

Sounds weird, but if true, do something to tell which direction it's coming from. anything. write front or rear on the screen. have a green light for in front of you, red for behind you. Anything..

Like I said up top, the company seems like a bunch of complete dolts..

[teknochild]

Originally Posted by uhaulball

ya the v1 goes above the mirror and fits perfectly.

nothing to do with a v1 or escort, thats just the way he mounted it, my current passport is mounted above my mirror too

but the suction cups with the passport DO suck ass

[Dollar Bill]

I have my X50 on a visor clip. I like the height and I don't think there is any issue with the light tint at the top of the windshield. Have you guys with the X50 tried the clip?

[SteveMD]

FWIW, the 8500 X50 does have rear detection, just no way of telling the driver if it detects radar from the rear.

I love my 8500 though. But, on Craigslist it will go.

Hopefully, they'll offer a blue LED version of the 9500.

[Ninjaneer]

Originally Posted by SteveMD

FWIW, the 8500 X50 does have rear detection, just no way of telling the driver if it detects radar from the rear.

That's for radar. In an earlier post I was referring to V1's patented rear laser detection. AFAIK they're the only ones that have a 2nd one just for the rear, while other brands have 1 and have to rely on it bouncing off stuff ahead of you to get reflected back at you (in the case where the cop is shooting laser from behind you).

At least that's how I understand it.

[teknochild]

i dont think laser detection all that important, if a half competant cop has a laser gun where u cant see him your fed

[picus]

Originally Posted by Josh49

Man, they are complete dolts at the company. My other initial thought was, I wonder if they came up with a better mount than the 20 cent one that was on the 8500 x50 and rattled like hell. Of course not!!! Looking at the website it still uses the same 20 cent POS two point suction cup mount. Plan on it rattling at every bump, or putting some ugly a$$ rubber strips on the front to shut it up. Man for a $450 you think they would have put a day of R and D into the mount rather than using the same one that doesn't work on the 8500 x50.. They needs to hire some mechanical guys over there instead of all the sparkies..

No kidding man; the rattling bugs me a ton. I guess I will have to put some felt tape on the stupid thing.

[teknochild]

Originally Posted by picus

No kidding man; the rattling bugs me a ton. I guess I will have to put some felt tape on the stupid thing.

mine doesnt rattle at all, it just doesnt stick properly

you guys know your suposed to mount the suction cups on the windshield then mount the detector on the cups as far back as it and go right?

[Hunter399]

I love my V1 but wow....what should i do?

[ZuerstBMW]

Originally Posted by hunter399

I love my V1 but wow....what should i do?

Keep it. I would wait for V1 to come out with new one as well.

[picus]

Originally Posted by teknochild

mine doesnt rattle at all, it just doesnt stick properly

you guys know your suposed to mount the suction cups on the windshield then mount the detector on the cups as far back as it and go right?

Yep. Mine sits on the windshield, but over bumps it rattles. Not a huge deal, I will add some felt. Seems like all I do is add felt to this car.

[Ninjaneer]

Originally Posted by teknochild

mine doesnt rattle at all, it just doesnt stick properly

you guys know your suposed to mount the suction cups on the windshield then mount the detector on the cups as far back as it and go right?

Before my current setup I had it up against the windshield, and had it far back as possible but the thing was right up against the windshield and that was annoying on bumps. I didn't have a rattling problem but I kept thinking of it flexing on some bumps then smacking the window And the dumb bracket had to be bent to get the right angle and already shows strain marks - and with my current setup I had to bend it AGAIN since the angle is totally different than if it was up against the window.

I think if I placed it with the suction cups right above the rear-view mirror I might be able to have it suctioned AND slightly resting on the mirror to relieve too much pull, but that might be a bad idea if I move the rear-view alot (I don't though, and no one else really drives my car).

[Hunter399]

I think I will keep my V1....however, if V1 releases a new radar I will buy it no question

[Josh49]

Originally Posted by Ninjaneer

Before my current setup I had it up against the windshield, and had it far back as possible but the thing was right up against the windshield and that was annoying on bumps. I didn't have a rattling problem but I kept thinking of it flexing on some bumps then smacking the window And the dumb bracket had to be bent to get the right angle and already shows strain marks - and with my current setup I had to bend it AGAIN since the angle is totally different than if it was up against the window.

I think if I placed it with the suction cups right above the rear-view mirror I might be able to have it suctioned AND slightly resting on the mirror to relieve too much pull, but that might be a bad idea if I move the rear-view alot (I don't though, and no one else really drives my car).

$450 is a lot of money; this same POS mount scheme should not be included in the new design. To pay that much for a detector and have to deal with these same issues (that will definitely come up) is garbage..

Originally Posted by hunter399

I think I will keep my V1....however, if V1 releases a new radar I will buy it no question

Yeah I agree. I love some of that technology though, but I am not dealing with the rattling issue and falling off the windshield issues I had with the 8500 x50. And I'm not going back to not having arrows after having them.. What a bummer though, the GPS marked locations for the everyday alerts sounds incredible..

[SteveMD]

Hmmm...I don't have the rattling issue and I use it on 4 vehicles.