Drive the speed limit is best

This time of year they are making allot of money off that highway, I have had many friends pulled over on car & bike club runs this summer, so be very cautious...take in the views and your speed at autoX or track days

Apparently if a policeman see's a radar, they will pull you over and can fine you for having one...again better to be safe than sorry...

Na Brian that is not true.  I have had my radar detector on my windshield for well, between the various models, over 15 years.  I have been pulled over several times. None of which were because I had a radar detector, and given tickets for racing, speeding, tinted windows, and such.  All the cops saw and it couldn't do a thing about it. 

As for brands, personally I have had amazing results with Whistler. I have not had a speeding ticket in over 5 years and the only time I did get a ticket before that was because I had forgotten to plug in my radar detector.  Its now hard wired to my ignition, when the key goes on, so does the detector.

         Do yourself a HUGE favor and get one with Text display.  You won't regret it.  Being able to glance down and see if it is K, Ka, X, or Laser is really nice, and being able to see what mode the system is in, be it Highway, City, VG2 Cloak mode all in text is another nice feature.

There are newer models with many more bells and whistles, like GPS speed and down loadable maps of known speed camera's and or speed traps, but my 8 year old Whistler is still doing me great to this day.  If you want I can dig up the model number, I checked recently on EBay when I thought it was dead, and found used ones of the same model going for around 50 bucks and up.   I think I paid well over 200 when I bought it, and it paid for itself in the first few months I owned it.  I use to have a monthly budget for tickets. 

Capt Fiero wrote: Na Brian that is not true.  I have had my radar detector on my windshield for well, between the various models, over 15 years.  I have been pulled over several times. None of which were because I had a radar detector, and given tickets for racing, speeding, tinted windows, and such.  All the cops saw and it couldn't do a thing about it.

This was based on the Sea to Sky highway only from 2 friends who were pulled over for "checks" in the last two months, not the lower maninland where they could care less...

Bassman wrote: [QUOTE=Capt Fiero] Na Brian that is not true.  I have had my radar detector on my windshield for well, between the various models, over 15 years.  I have been pulled over several times. None of which were because I had a radar detector, and given tickets for racing, speeding, tinted windows, and such.  All the cops saw and it couldn't do a thing about it.

This was based on the Sea to Sky highway only from 2 friends who were pulled over for "checks" in the last two months, not the lower maninland where they could care less...

[/QUOTE
Then they should fight it. A Radar Detector is totally legal; A Radar Jammer is the only kind that's illegal.

Wow...beat me up a little more will ya all...I replied with a little humor and you all jump over the legal, etc...my message was simple to not plan to speed because I heard recently from friends what they experienced...end of topic from me.

Have fun, be safe:)

As much as I enjoy driving fast, I gotta admit I don't enjoy doing so while on a club run. Actually, I enjoy it too much.  Hang on, let me explain...

Although I like to think I'm older and wiser than some club members, it bothers me that I'm able to be caught up so easily by the "pack" mentality while on a club run and therefore end up exceeding the speed limit by a greater margin (and/or more often) than I usually do while driving on my own. I really have to fight the urge to want to be at the front of the line of club cars while on a run. (Yes seriously, even while driving the duke!)

As a club, I feel we need to behave ourselves while on a run together. Doesn't mean we necessarily need to be restricted to 100 kph and not a single kph faster, but anyone who wishes to be racing at excessively high speeds while on a public highway really needs to be driving in that manner while traveling on their own.

Bassman wrote: ...and discard the clubs reputation as a bunch of Fiero Yahoo's, be respectful and represent in a safe manner.

Yes, to be completely honest, I was embarrassed to be involved in the club run down to Arlington last year. Too much craziness occurred on the way there. It wouldn't have been very difficult for anyone who saw us on the highway in Washington State to have connected all those little plastic cars and their BC plates to one particular car club.

Having said that, I felt the trip to Arlington this year was a lot more controlled (possibly only due to the increased traffic congestion).

Ok first off.  Brian I know what kind of line of work you are in, and it requires you to be assertive and always direct.  Even when you are just playing it by ear you have to sound like a leader.  Your  post did come off a bit gruff.

        I don't feel like everyone jumped on you, So go take a relax smoke and kick back for a few mins, everyone on this board does respect your opinion and you as a person.

       Now as to the legality, that has been made clear, they are legal.  Do the cops care?  Well thats up to the individual cop.  Can he do anything about it no, but he can LOOK for other things to bust you for.  I.E. my ticket for my Lisc plate frame. Yes my Capt Fiero lisc plate frame is technically to the letter of the law illegal because it covers the outside edge of the lisc plate.

                Now as to driving this club has been and always will be a sports car club, not a cruising club. 

Patrick you were the one at the June meeting Recommending that we leave earlier to Avoid the traffic as it slowed us down.  So you can't really play that card.  

           Now I did not enter this thread to fight.  Seems like any time a thread comes up that involves a topic that has to do with mod or something that is designed to allow you to go faster on the street it turns into a Pro Street Racer vs Pro Track guys battle palooza.

I am not going to summarily lock this thread, as I do feel that a discussion about radar detectors could be a good informative thread ABOUT radar detectors and which ones are good.

Maybe some of you could use up some of that pent up energy to check eBay for any newer models that are a good deal.

Capt Fiero wrote: Patrick you were the one at the June meeting Recommending that we leave earlier to Avoid the traffic as it slowed us down.  So you can't really play that card.

Play what "card"?

Not wanting our cars to be mixed up all over the place amongst hundreds of other cars on the way to Arlington has nothing to do with wanting to go 190 kph. It would just be nice IMO to be driving together on a club run without having the general public all mixed in with us.

Capt Fiero wrote: Now I did not enter this thread to fight....

Dave, I don't know why anytime there's a discussion with opposing views you regard it as "fighting". We're all simply expressing our opinions. It's healthy.

Ok so long as no ones feathers are fuffled, we are all fine.

Damian, here is the unit I have.  It works great and is fairly cheap now as it is several dozen models out of date.  If you do a search on here for CIrcut in the message body it will pop open a thread where I took it apart and cleaned the board.  Its amazing the abuse the chips took and came back to life.  http://www.whistlergroup.com/de1650.asp - http://www.whistlergroup.com/de1650.asp

Here is the board apart link http://www.westcoastfieros.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2276&KW=circut - http://www.westcoastfieros.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=227 6&KW=circut

Capt Fiero wrote: Ok so long as no ones feathers are fuffled, we are all fine.

Everyone's fine... well, except for Tristan. I wanted to kick his butt last Saturday for texting back and forth during the entire club meeting. Kids!

Back on topic...

I have a old Bel 550i "SUPER WIDEBAND with Laser". I haven't used this thing since my original Fiero was parked nine(?) years ago. I used to enjoy the pretty flashing lights on it.

I wonder if it's any good at all detecting what the police now use?

Capt Fiero wrote: Now as to driving this club has been and always will be a sports car club, not a cruising club.

Dave, looking back at this comment, what exactly does it mean? Seriously, in the context of the post it was a part of, I'm curious what you may or may not be implying.

Bassman wrote: ...everyone is slowing down

Well, not quite everyone... as was demonstrated by the guy in the video in http://www.westcoastfieros.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?FID=17&TID=2577&PN=1&get=last - This thread .

Bassman wrote: ...the police are now more empowered to fine you, stiffer fines to a point here if there is excessive speeds, pay huge dollars or lose your licence period.

Or lose your car.

And the biggest one to fear... losing your life (or taking someone else's) while driving recklessly.

Patrick wrote: Capt Fiero wrote: Now as to driving this club has been and always will be a sports car club, not a cruising club. Dave, looking back at this comment, what exactly does it mean? Seriously, in the context of the post it was a part of, I'm curious what you may or may not be implying.

Patrick wrote: Capt Fiero wrote: Ok so long as no ones feathers are fuffled, we are all fine. Everyone's fine... well, except for Tristan. I wanted to kick his butt last Saturday for texting back and forth during the entire club meeting. Kids!

As a side note to one half of this discussion, why has no one touched on the obvious: Vehicle speed and highway accidents have almost no correlation. I finally found my table from the Federal Highway Administration, US D.O.T.

Category        &nbs p;  The Netherlands  Germany  Sweden  Australia   USA
 
Accident 
Rate         &n bsp;         &n bsp; 0.38         0.67     N/A      0.15     0.63
Accidents per 
vehicle km x 106)

Speed Limits (km/h)
Freeway          ;          120       No limit    110      110      105

( http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/speed06.html - Source )

You'll note that Germany, with unlimited highway speed, has almost the exact same crash rate as the US, which is the most stringent of all five countries. People seem to forget that our speed limits haven't changed since 1960, where we were still using leaf springs and bias ply tires (Cars handle slightly better these days). In fact, in British Columbia specifically, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_Canada - a report advised raising our speed limits by 10KM/H, as BC had "posted limits that were unrealistically low".

Now, back to the discussion proper, what are you really needing from a radar detector? If it's just a warning beacon to let you know that "hey, slow down, cops are somewhere" a basic model should do splendidly. As you head in to higher-end models, you typically only gain more precision ("Hey, slow down, cops are 400 metres to your left"), although the price ratchets up rather quickly too.

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.

Well, think we htjacked Dawg's post well enough...hope the radar information was useful.

This certainly is a good topic, times are changing whether we like it or not, and the law is cracking down hard, my friends after their recent experience are now considering selling their bikes because they are targets now...so does or will a radar help, not from the conversation I had last night with the RCMP, and by the time you have a chance to react and especially dependent on how fast you are going, they will witness front end dip, rear wiggle, etc. (he shared all they look for) when one panics and hits the brakes, which then is a sure sign that someone is slowing down, never mind throwing off your suspension and potentially loosing control of your car.

End of day, we all like to step on the gas, but tech is changing so fast, the police are able to keep up, and enforce to a point where you have to ask yourself if it's worth it:)...

Agree Dawg, well stated...moving on...so what radar will you look at?...here is a good article:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-N9zrWkOMG1r/learn/learningcenter/car/radar.html - http://www.crutchfield.com/S-N9zrWkOMG1r/learn/learningcente r/car/radar.html

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.

Points all vaild...and we have a good group...

On another note, anyone else tired of this rain!!!

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

Oh, quit your whining!

Ya, not cheap is right Dawg...I liked the detail of the article also:).

Now for that thunder and rain last night...OMG it was awesome...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.

Enjoy the day all...Sun's out

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: 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.)

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. 

Gawd damn it, I just lost a whole long post I had almost finished!  Curses, I'm not typing it all out again.

Capt Fiero wrote: 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 don't want to alter that '86 GT (I should get motivated and "simply" sell it), but without going into all the details (that I had already done and then lost), I've possibly got the opportunity to make use of all the info from http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/20110502-2-104472.html - This thread . Look familiar, Dave?  

Yes, I have both necessary vehicles. I need to first make sure the 2.8 is okay, but the tough part is just getting started!  (And it's gotta stop raining for awhile.)

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.

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

Romeo wrote: Had no moneys. It was tragic.

Are you still tomcatting, or is there some progress on Gretchin to report?

You need to re-focus, my boy, re-focus!

Another week or so of this and you'll have no strength, no money... and still no wheels.

And she'll be off looking for a guy (with money and a car) who isn't worn down to the nub.