Radar detectors

Romeo wrote: why has no one touched on the obvious...

And why is it that you have not touched on the obvious that damage, injuries, and deaths go up considerably the faster that vehicles are traveling during these "accidents"?

Or are you going to try and convince us that there's no difference in the carnage that occurs whether it happens at 90 kph or 190 kph?

Just telling us the "accident rate" tells us next to nothing.

 

Wow....a lot of pent up energy in this club lately....eh?

Brian, for exactly the reasons you state, I think a radar detector is mandatory these days.  Who among us hasn't gone 5 or 10 kms over the posted speed limit?  Right, no one.  They can give you a ticket for going over, no matter how much over you are.

Once I get one, it will be on constantly due to the environment we find ourselves in.  Saying you simply won't speed is not practical in my opinion.  Everyone speeds at one time or another.

So regardless of the fact that I plan to speed during our club runs I think a detector is just money in the bank at all times.

I for one appreciated that this "energy" in this thread is fueled by concern for fellow members.  However, this is a sports car club, and for me this means driving at speed on roads.  Now I don't need to go 180K to feel like I'm having fun this is for sure.  But the HIGHWAY speed limits are a joke frankly.

So what do we do?  Do we give up and move on to other more acceptable pass times or do we get smarter?  In the old days, we used to send a point man ahead to clear the way.  No high tech gadgets needed.  It ALWAYS worked.

Patrick, I'm not even sure what to say to you.  You sure like playing both sides of the fence.  Maybe I could say that reckless is a relative term.  I sure don't feel reckless at speed on a freeway or highway.  I know my car and am comfortable with my skills.

I'm sure my Granny, bless her soul, would be totally freaked out by normal rush hour traffic these days.  She would certainly use the word reckless I'm sure.

Bottom line fellows, do what you feel comfortable doing.

The Dawg

Dawg wrote: Patrick, I'm not even sure what to say to you.  You sure like playing both sides of the fence.

Damien, I didn't realize this was a black or white issue. I've never implied that I don't speed. The problem is that some people don't know when to slow down.

Dawg wrote: Maybe I could say that reckless is a relative term.  I sure don't feel reckless at speed on a freeway or highway.  I know my car and am comfortable with my skills.

That's all fine and dandy, you very well may be fine. No need to name names, but there are members of this club who've demonstrated they suffer from a certain lack a judgement when it comes to picking a time and place to let loose with high speed on a public highway.

The whole point I was making earlier is that it's far too easy for ALL of us (me included) to get sucked into a speeding frenzy when we're together on a club run. Whether you or others wish to acknowledge this or not, it's potentially a dangerous situation. We just need to watch ourselves. I don't wish to be attending a fellow club member's funeral.

 

Bassman wrote: On another note, anyone else tired of this rain!!!

Oh, quit your whining!

 

Ouch that would be a nasty walk 72nd ave to KG skytrain is about an 8km walk, doing it in the rain in a T-Shirt, I would have called a Taxi or looked for a bus.

Brian - Excellent article.  I am considering a built in model.  They aren't cheap however.....:)

I will probably find a good deal on a decent plug in model for now to see how often it beeps during regular use.  If often enough, then maybe a better built-in unit is warranted.

The Dawg

Brian: I have gotten wired into helping my Brother In law wire up the lights on his RV Trailer. So I won't be able to join you.

Sorry. 

Dawg as the beeping when not needed, that's where a text based unit comes into play.  You get to hear and read the display.  Now I have just tuned out any X band when I am in Canada, and K-Ka is the only thing I have to listen for, K-Ka is not ever triggered by anything except a cop.  X-Band is the one that gets set off with automated door sensors and other things.  Plus with a good Highway/City mode, the detector will just beep once and then display 1-10 as the signal gets higher or lower in City mode.  However in Highway mode it will beep every time it continues to pick up a given signal once its initially set off. 

Now when you are in the states especially in smaller towns, I have noticed that the cops have and still do use X Band.  So in the states any time I am doing more than 20kph over, and the detector goes off I lift on the throttle and wait to see if the signal increases or not.  

       I usually pick up a single level of 1-3 as the cop is checking the cars ahead of me, so when he actually gets to checking me, I am well slowed down. 

          Obviously if he is using pulse and I am the only car on the road, there is nothing I can do, however in the last 10 years, I have not been ticketed via a pulse check.

Bassman wrote: packing up and off to Gary's to see if we can trace my oil leak and fix it, and forget going back to the trans shop.

So whatcha find?

 

Dawg wrote: Ok...so tell me, how often does your detector go off during a typical day or week? The Dawg

        Honestly I couldn't tell you, as like I said I tune out the X band, and the K/Ka is so random it totally depends on if I am going through a speed trap.  Only semi false alarms on K/Ka are those new damn digital speed signs you see all over the place.  However you get to know where they are setup and you don't have to panic.  However I do usually slow down for them until I can see that they have not swapped out the sign for a real cop checking speed.

 

Patrick wrote: Dawg wrote: I will start the process by saying I will not exceed 140K's on the upcoming Whistler run.  Will you join me? Seeing as how that's all the duke's speedometer goes up to, 140 kph sounds good to me. (Seriously, when you can't actually see on the speedometer how fast you're going, it takes most of the fun out of continuing to accelerate.)

    IMHO 140 is a good compromise on speed.  

Patrick sounds its time for a speedometer upgrade for you.  Just in case you did not know, you can put a 180kph cluster in your duke.  Its a direct drop and swap install.  Heck you could even install the GT center cluster if you wanted.  Personally if you are going to keep auto crossing the car, I would do something like Brian has where the center cluster has a triple set of autometer gauges instead of the stock gauges.  

       If its just the 5spd that you love so much, why not break down and do the swap, install a 5spd in your GT.  I know its a pain, but I have done it in my driveway.  You just need to find an entire donor car with a stick shift so you have all the "little" parts. 

Capt Fiero wrote: Ouch that would be a nasty walk 72nd ave to KG skytrain is about an 8km walk, doing it in the rain in a T-Shirt, I would have called a Taxi or looked for a bus.

Had no moneys. It was tragic.

140 does seem acceptable for all... It's not outrageously quicker than the standard speed limit, but still at least fun in corners.