Radar Detector & Remote Start question

First, I have neither a radar detector, remote start, nor sunroof.

There are several circuits that energize as "accesory", meaning they are live when the car is READY or ACC ONLY or IG ON. You could wire your radar detector to one of these circuits. Don't most radar detectors have a power switch on them? Couldn't you just kill the power that way?

The ceramic heaters in the Prius start putting out warm air almost immediately. The hot coolant pumped back into the engine on startup gets engine heat to the heater quickly. If you're in the area of Virginia, you're not really in a cold climate. There may be aftermarket remote starts, but you get into all kinds of troubles since you have to have a fob in the car or in the dash to start it, so your security really drops, particularly since the car tries to prevent you from locking the fob in the car.

A few people have installed sun/moon roofs as mods. Search and ye shall find.

 

Driving below the posted speed limit would solve your radar detector issue as well as improve your MPG.

 

I agree, in fact most of what you want to do will lower your mileage. You will probably be back here right after you get your car asking why the mileage is only 38... :huh:

 

Oh my. I've heard that so much -- "If I don't drive fast, I'll be run off the road!" That simply isn't true. Even if it is, just drive many car lengths behind a semi. They will see the semi and switch lanes long before they get to you. Going back to the "it isn't true" part -- people whiz by me, and they never seem to have a problem doing it.

"Coasting in neutral". Another bad idea. There are threads on this. Little to gain.

I'll ditto what Evan said. I never wanted a radar detector, but I was a type A driver that always drove 10-20 miles per hour over the speed limit. It was like a switch was flipped when I bought my Prius too -- I now drive the speed limit or below. I have NO desire to drive faster, and it is SOOOO much more relaxing (and law abiding!) And I don't have a single problem with anyone around me.

Listening to you, the bottom line is you are going to do what you are going to do, even if it cuts your mileage in half, which it will. So do yourself a quick favor, and check out my signature -- you will find a MPG vs MPH test there. Check what it says at the speed you wish to drive, so you're ready for the reduced fuel efficiency you will get.

 

I like to drive fast too. Fortunately, I live in Massachusetts, where any ticket for less than 10 miles over the speed limit is automatically thown out of court, so no cop will write them out for this, unless possibly if you are in one of the areas marked with "speed limits enforced with zero tolerance" signs, or perhaps if you are zipping around a college campus at night or something. And on MassPike and I-495, in the areas where the posted speed limit is 65MPH, one can pretty much blow right past cops holding out radar guns at 79MPH without incident. After all, most speed limits are about revenue generation rather than safety--if the legally required engineering studies to determine safe traveling speeds were done at all on a road, they were done with equipment that is using the driving abilities of an octogenarian driving a Studebaker, not a fully competent driver using a modern vehicle.

But with all that said, gas mileage is still very important, and it will drop significantly the faster you go. And the great gas mileage is undoubtedly one of the primary reasons that we all have bought or will buy a Prius. And as a previous poster said, it is actually a lot easier to drive at a slower, relaxed pace in the Prius, because of the reinforment provided in the display. No, it's not a cure-all for me, at least not yet. My commute already takes an hour each way, and I have no desire for it to take an hour and fifteen. But I'm experimenting and trying to compromise. For example, I make an effort to drive more slowly on the way home because I am not in as much of a hurry, and I try to drive more slowely on the non-freeway half of my drive relative to the speed limit than on the freeway half, because I think the mileage payoff is bigger on that end of things. But as I said, I'm experimenting.

In regards to speeding tickets, I'd like to direct you to the National Motorists Association at http://www.motorists.org/ . They are an immensely valuable resource in helping you fight speeding tickets and unfair traffic laws (and you should always fight speeding tickets).

 

I've had a car with a sun roof and thought it was great but unless it is installed by the manufacturer; I have always wondered how it affects the structural integrity of the car's design.

I don't know if there are any accident statistics on a moon roof but I have always thought they were less safe.

 

kdmorse, To be more specific to your question, I am working on that now. Because there is no power port in the bottom of the dash (somewhere around the stereo head unit), you will end up attaching your radar detector to the ignition cables (pretty common) so it will only turn on when you turn the car on (this is the route we are going with our Valentine One).

What you may not already know is that the windshield is waaaaay the heck in front of you, I mean out of reach. One idea I thought of is to bring the cords "back" towards you and have a 2 position switch ("on" and "off") then run the cables forward to the radar detector. This way there is something handy to power it on and off at your convenience.

Further, I have my wife's parking permit (school) just above it and the Fastrak next to it to make it less visible from the front. I don't know if you are in need of "camoflauge" or not, just a thought.

To each their own on how you drive, my wife isn't slowing down from her 85mph commute speed and is excited about her 42-43mpg. My commute speed is artificially restricted to 10mph over in daylight and 5mph over at night due to my accumulation of speeding tickets. I hope to resume in January when I get my "speeding ticket school" available to me once again. Your driving habits may change and they may not, but the security of a radar detector is for you to decide.

PS. You will truly enjoy the car once you get it. B)

 

I agreee driving the Prius has totally changed the way I drive....my radar detector is in the glove box...
I would love a moon roof as well....if anyone ahs the modification would you post pictures...and give details...
thanks

 

I have a question. I had a radar detector years ago and I thought it was just a receiver. How do the cops know you have one and if it is on? Do they see the led on light? Seems like a bet of black tape would fix that. I thought you could install the unit in the grill and have a remote alert in the car so the cops would not know you have a detector? Here we have a lot of laser in use here. How do you protect against that? I have also slowed down since getting my Prius type A to B shift. Obviously I am now out of date on radar detectors.

 

This was posted on www.speedcameradefence.com:

What is VG-2?
All detectors made in recent history are superhets. This means they have oscillators which send out a weak, but detectable signal. Some genius decided to take advantage of this fact to make a product to sell to liberty-loving governments the world around. He called it a vg-2. The cops hold this black box which simply detects the presence of a detector. A new crime is born! Your defence is a detector with vg-2 shut down. That is, the detector senses the signals put out by the cops black box and shuts down its oscillator. It's still basically a quick draw contest between your box and the cop's box, so if you're in one of those fun-loving places like Virginia, D.C. Ontario, Quebec, France, Belgium, Switzerland, New South Wales, etc. where they'll confiscate your detector; get yourself a detector which puts out far less signal to detect in the first place.

http://www.speedcameradefence.com/faqs/index.asp#faqAnchor6

 

I've got a V1 mounted top/center of the windshield (hooked onto the sun glasses holder). The wire runs under the headliner to the A-pillar (backside of the airbag) and then down beneath the dash where I tapped into te plug beneath the dash. Works great and I can easily adjust/turn off the detector.

As for spped, don't believe the hype. We carpool in the Prius 120miles a day and average 75-85mph. We average 48-50mpg (calculated at the pump not MFD). As long as your a consistent driver and don't do anything to sudden you'll get prett good mileage.

Now, as for those who'll criticize the exess speed, get over it. We're not unsafe drivers, we don't do anything rash or stupid and we slow down when appripriate.

--GD

 

I too was a big time speed demon. For 20 years I never got behind a weel going less than 10 over the speed limit. Now I am doing 8 - 10 under, and DANG happy to do that.

Sounds crazy but WHY would someone be happy with 38 MPG when you can get 58 MPG by slowing down?? 5 - 10 min extra on my commute adds an extra 10 MPG on ever gallon of gas I put in. an extra 100 miles per week I add by just slowing down... tough choice (OK, not really).

I gave my radar detector away. Not needed, never will be again. All I need to see is my consumption guage showing 58+ MPG and I'm a happy camper!!

 

Technical note on the power system.
Most of the devices in the car are powered just as car audio amps are. They are given their main power through a constant 12V, and are turned on through ACC, Ig1 (Ig-On) or Ig2 (READY) feeds. These feeds use a 7.5A fuse, since they are only used to turn on the devices, not to supply current.
The power outlets are a bit of a different animal. Each are fused by 15A. The console outlet 15A fuse is fed from a 25A fuse that is powered through a relay energized at ACC. The 25A fuse is shared with the 7.5A fuse I mentioned.
The dash outlet is turned on by a relay that is turned on by the console outlet power. The relay contacts are sourced by 15A constant 12V. Coastal's mod simply jumpers the relay contacts.

So, if you power your radar from one of the 7.5A fuse, you might overload the fuse. Taking power from the outlet is your best bet.
Alternately, you might be able to use a spare fuse slot in the driver dash J/B.