Is A $50 Radar Detector BETTER Than A $650 Detector
**Article: Radar Detector Review: Whistler Z11 vs. Uniden R7 vs. Escort Max 360**
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### Introduction: The Cost of Speeding Tickets and Radar Detectors
In the United States, over 41 million speeding tickets are issued each year. Beyond the immediate fine, a ticket can lead to an average three-year increase in insurance premiums, resulting in a total cost exceeding $1200 when including premium hikes. Given these consequences, investing in a reliable radar detector could be a prudent decision.
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### The Detectors: Overview
Three radar detectors are compared in this review:
1. **Whistler Z11**: Priced at $51, it claims to filter out false alarms effectively.
2. **Uniden R7**: Costing $425, it boasts the longest range among current models.
3. **Escort Max 360**: A premium option at $650, known for its filtering capabilities and directional arrows.
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### Testing Methodology
The review evaluates each detector through three tests:
1. **Distance Detection**: Determine how far each detector can pick up a radar signal.
2. **Blind Turn Tests**: Assess accuracy when encountering a police radar around corners.
3. **City Loop Test**: Measure false alarm frequency during urban driving.
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### Test Results
#### Distance Detection
- **Whistler Z11**: Detected the radar signal 45 seconds before the cop was visible, providing ample time to减速. Repeated tests showed consistent performance.
- **Uniden R7**: Showed superior range, picking up signals a quarter mile ahead of the Whistler, offering significant early warning for drivers.
- **Escort Max 360**: Performed similarly to the Uniden but did not exceed its range.
#### Blind Turn Tests
- **Whistler Z11**: Successfully detected signals around corners, proving effective in preventing potential tickets.
- **Uniden R7**: Demonstrated exceptional accuracy and distance, significantly outperforming the cheaper model.
- **Escort Max 360**: Consistent with the Uniden but lacked the same range advantage.
#### City Loop Test: False Alarms
- **Whistler Z11**: Experienced five false alarms during the test, indicating its susceptibility to interference.
- **Uniden R7**: Showed zero false alarms, impressing with its reliability in urban settings.
- **Escort Max 360**: Similarly, encountered no false alarms, highlighting its advanced filtering technology.
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### Conclusion: Value and Performance
While the $51 Whistler Z11 effectively detects radar signals and may be a worthwhile investment for budget-conscious drivers, it is outperformed by the more expensive models in terms of range and reliability. The Uniden R7 emerges as the clear winner, offering superior performance at a reasonable price point of $425.
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This article mirrors the detailed content of the video, ensuring that each aspect of the testing process and results are clearly presented without condensation or summarization.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is a 50 radar detector and this is a 650 radar detector and today we're going to find out which one is actually worth the money every year in the united states 41 million speeding tickets are given out the worst part is it's not just the price of the ticket your insurance premiums are going to go up for an average of three years the total cost of an average ticket including your insurance premium raises is 1200 quality radars like this one the escort max 360 are expensive this one will set you back 650 dollars but all it has to do is save you from one ticket and it pays for itself in full i love this detector because it does a great job at filtering out false alarms basically never goes off unless there's actually a cop it also has directional arrows to let you know exactly where the cop's signal is coming from to see if you actually need to spend a lot of money on a radar detector i went to autozone and picked up this it was 51 it's called a whistler z11 it claims it can filter out false alarms i'm very skeptical but we'll find out in today's video i've also got one of the new kings of the radar scene the uniden r7 this one is 425 so somewhere in between it apparently might have longer range than the max 360. we'll find out shortly to test the radar's efficiency to test the effectiveness of each of the radar detectors i've got this stalker police radar gun first i'm going to be testing which detector can detect the signal from the farthest distance then we're going to determine their effectiveness around blind turns and lastly we're going to do a five-minute city loop with each of the detectors to see how many times each one has a false alarm one of the big things with cheap radars is they go off all the time they're really annoying and then you turn it off and then it's basically useless all right let's get into it officer sebastian will be helping out with the first blind turn test let's do it for the first test we're going to be using the whistler 50 dollar radar now we're not gonna be running all the radar detectors at the same time so they don't interfere with each other instead we're going to locate the precise distance that the whistler first picks up the radar gun and then compare it to the other radar first up the blind turn test for extra accuracy we're gonna be repeating every test two times let's see the radar is way up ahead around the corner let's see when that whistler first detects the signal coming up on a blind turn and there we go detecting the signal right there and i've got plenty of time now to slam on the brakes and go the speed limit before we come around the corner and we see officer sebastian now we are running the first distance test for the whistler we've got a straight shot to the radar detector from here let's see how quickly it picks it up all right can't see the cop yet but the radar detector did pick up its signal so far the whistler is doing pretty darn good and 45 seconds later we got officer sebastian we're gonna repeat that test again for the whistler but so far this 50 dollar radar detector would have saved me from two different tickets if i was speeding in the canyons and that cop was actually there there we go well short of the corner another success coming around the corner and right about at the exact same spot it recognized the radar signal now it's time to test out the unidin r7 which apparently has the greatest range of any radar detector on the market right now i'm excited to see if it picks it up well in advance of the 50 radar or is it the same distance let's find out wow that just picked it up a solid quarter mile ahead of the cheap radar i mean we are nowhere near where my friend sebastian is right now that is impressive good job uniting i mean check this out look at how far i'm going before i actually get to where the radar gun is i could be going 150 back there and then have time to slow down showing me with directional arrows there we go the cheap radar didn't pick it up till up at the stop sign up there that is a massive improvement test number two for the unit in r7 there we go wow even quicker this time that was insane now we're moving on to my personal favorite radar that i have in every single one of my vehicles the passport max 360. max 360 plugged in and ready to go nothing yet the uniden might have the advantage on distance that was pretty good last test for the max 360. this is right about where the uniden started picking it up still nothing from the passport and right there the unit in had by far the best range given the price difference the unit is 425 dollars whereas the max 360 is 650 i'm gonna go with the unit in as the clear victor in the performance test now i'm gonna do a five minute city loop i'm gonna do the exact same loop with all three radar detectors and count how many times there are false alarms or the radar goes off and there is no cop let's see which one makes the most noise obviously i'm guessing the whistler but you never know five minute false alarm city test starting with the cheap whistler see how many times as things goes off first false alarm second false alarm going off this thing has basically constantly been going off with false alarms it's not making any noise right now but it's still flashing which is a little annoying fourth false alarm all right all in all four false alarms for the whistler z11 well we're gonna give it five because one just appeared right here at the light now time to move on to the unit starting the test with the unit in off strong picking up a ka band from behind me well look at that guys zero false alarms for the unit in time to try out the max 360. the final test in the city of false alarms with the max 360. look at that nice alpena v7 in front of us zero false alarms for the escort well there you guys have it in the first performance test the unit in one both via price and its accuracy precision and distance in the second test both the united and the passport max 360 had zero false alarms over its city test whereas the cheap radar had five false alarms in conclusion the 50 radar detector does actually work it detected a radar signal soon enough for you to actually slow down and avoid a ticket if you can get used to it going off a decent amount i mean it pretty much went off every 30 seconds or so on the drive then honestly it could be worth it for 51 but if you want to spend a little bit more money the 425 dollar uniden r7 is the clear winner in this test i hope you guys enjoyed today's video like always please browse the channel and subscribe i look forward to seeing you next video youthis is a 50 radar detector and this is a 650 radar detector and today we're going to find out which one is actually worth the money every year in the united states 41 million speeding tickets are given out the worst part is it's not just the price of the ticket your insurance premiums are going to go up for an average of three years the total cost of an average ticket including your insurance premium raises is 1200 quality radars like this one the escort max 360 are expensive this one will set you back 650 dollars but all it has to do is save you from one ticket and it pays for itself in full i love this detector because it does a great job at filtering out false alarms basically never goes off unless there's actually a cop it also has directional arrows to let you know exactly where the cop's signal is coming from to see if you actually need to spend a lot of money on a radar detector i went to autozone and picked up this it was 51 it's called a whistler z11 it claims it can filter out false alarms i'm very skeptical but we'll find out in today's video i've also got one of the new kings of the radar scene the uniden r7 this one is 425 so somewhere in between it apparently might have longer range than the max 360. we'll find out shortly to test the radar's efficiency to test the effectiveness of each of the radar detectors i've got this stalker police radar gun first i'm going to be testing which detector can detect the signal from the farthest distance then we're going to determine their effectiveness around blind turns and lastly we're going to do a five-minute city loop with each of the detectors to see how many times each one has a false alarm one of the big things with cheap radars is they go off all the time they're really annoying and then you turn it off and then it's basically useless all right let's get into it officer sebastian will be helping out with the first blind turn test let's do it for the first test we're going to be using the whistler 50 dollar radar now we're not gonna be running all the radar detectors at the same time so they don't interfere with each other instead we're going to locate the precise distance that the whistler first picks up the radar gun and then compare it to the other radar first up the blind turn test for extra accuracy we're gonna be repeating every test two times let's see the radar is way up ahead around the corner let's see when that whistler first detects the signal coming up on a blind turn and there we go detecting the signal right there and i've got plenty of time now to slam on the brakes and go the speed limit before we come around the corner and we see officer sebastian now we are running the first distance test for the whistler we've got a straight shot to the radar detector from here let's see how quickly it picks it up all right can't see the cop yet but the radar detector did pick up its signal so far the whistler is doing pretty darn good and 45 seconds later we got officer sebastian we're gonna repeat that test again for the whistler but so far this 50 dollar radar detector would have saved me from two different tickets if i was speeding in the canyons and that cop was actually there there we go well short of the corner another success coming around the corner and right about at the exact same spot it recognized the radar signal now it's time to test out the unidin r7 which apparently has the greatest range of any radar detector on the market right now i'm excited to see if it picks it up well in advance of the 50 radar or is it the same distance let's find out wow that just picked it up a solid quarter mile ahead of the cheap radar i mean we are nowhere near where my friend sebastian is right now that is impressive good job uniting i mean check this out look at how far i'm going before i actually get to where the radar gun is i could be going 150 back there and then have time to slow down showing me with directional arrows there we go the cheap radar didn't pick it up till up at the stop sign up there that is a massive improvement test number two for the unit in r7 there we go wow even quicker this time that was insane now we're moving on to my personal favorite radar that i have in every single one of my vehicles the passport max 360. max 360 plugged in and ready to go nothing yet the uniden might have the advantage on distance that was pretty good last test for the max 360. this is right about where the uniden started picking it up still nothing from the passport and right there the unit in had by far the best range given the price difference the unit is 425 dollars whereas the max 360 is 650 i'm gonna go with the unit in as the clear victor in the performance test now i'm gonna do a five minute city loop i'm gonna do the exact same loop with all three radar detectors and count how many times there are false alarms or the radar goes off and there is no cop let's see which one makes the most noise obviously i'm guessing the whistler but you never know five minute false alarm city test starting with the cheap whistler see how many times as things goes off first false alarm second false alarm going off this thing has basically constantly been going off with false alarms it's not making any noise right now but it's still flashing which is a little annoying fourth false alarm all right all in all four false alarms for the whistler z11 well we're gonna give it five because one just appeared right here at the light now time to move on to the unit starting the test with the unit in off strong picking up a ka band from behind me well look at that guys zero false alarms for the unit in time to try out the max 360. the final test in the city of false alarms with the max 360. look at that nice alpena v7 in front of us zero false alarms for the escort well there you guys have it in the first performance test the unit in one both via price and its accuracy precision and distance in the second test both the united and the passport max 360 had zero false alarms over its city test whereas the cheap radar had five false alarms in conclusion the 50 radar detector does actually work it detected a radar signal soon enough for you to actually slow down and avoid a ticket if you can get used to it going off a decent amount i mean it pretty much went off every 30 seconds or so on the drive then honestly it could be worth it for 51 but if you want to spend a little bit more money the 425 dollar uniden r7 is the clear winner in this test i hope you guys enjoyed today's video like always please browse the channel and subscribe i look forward to seeing you next video you\n"