Ferrari California 9500ci Radar Detector Install

[BradyPPC]

This car was in the background of one of the pics in the SuperSnake thread so I thought I would go ahead and put some pics of it up as well. We finished it and it was picked up a few days ago. The car was brought to us for an Escort 9500ci custom installed radar detector. This is the second vehicle we have done for this particular customer with the same detector.

 

For those that arent familiar with them, the 9500ci comes with a front mount radar reciever, 2 front mount laser shifters (shifters divert the laser signal from returning back to the gun), a rear mount laser shifter, a gps antenna, heads up display, color changing led for driving status, an audible speaker for giving alerts, a power/mute button, and a usb cable for updates. On top of telling you whether you are getting hit with radar and/or shifting laser signals, the 9500ci has a database of redlight and traffic camera's stored in it as well and uses gps to give you an alert as you are approaching them. The database is update able and Escort sends the owner email alerts as updates are available. The driver also has the ability to program in his own alerts as well as mark false alerts with the gps to prevent the unit from falsing in that same spot again. The units work really nice and are a nice clean install.

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6284&g2_serialNumber=2

 

In the grill are mounted 2 laser shifters towards the bottom outside edges and a radar receiver is mounted in the middle area just behind the Ferrar emblem.

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6288&g2_serialNumber=2

 

All the wiring is then brought up through the engine compartment following factory wiring harnesses

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6291&g2_serialNumber=2

 

With the factory panels back in place, you dont see a thing

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6300&g2_serialNumber=2

 

Wiring is then brought through the fenderwell to make its way inside the cabin of the car. The excess is neatly ziptied out of the way.

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6297&g2_serialNumber=2

 

The rear laser shifter is usually mounted either above or below the rear license plate. On this particular car we went below as it was the area that would provide the best performance. Above would have been a little cleaner and more concealed but the shifter would have set under the ledge about 1/2" which would hurt the performance of the unit.

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6309&g2_serialNumber=1

 

One of the challenges with this particular car is that it is a convertible hard top. The trunk not only tilts up like a normal car but it also tilts rearward to allow the removable hard top to retract into it. All of this had to be taken into consideration during wiring in order to allow the rear shifter to function properly without any wires getting pinched or damaged through normal use.

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6315&g2_serialNumber=2

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6321&g2_serialNumber=2

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6327&g2_serialNumber=2

 

The heads up display fit nicely below the climate controls

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6330&g2_serialNumber=2

 

A color changing led was mounted easily in the drivers field of view to give the driver a constant status update. Green simply means no signals are being received. The led will instantly change to red and an audible alert is given if a signal is received.

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6333&g2_serialNumber=2

 

The power/mute button was mounted just under the center armrest. It is in a very comfortable position for the driver to be able to mute the unit if needed.

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6336&g2_serialNumber=2

 

Once everything was completed, the car was parked inside awaiting pickup and for the weather to clear.

 

http://pickupspluscars.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6366&g2_serialNumber=2

 

 

On top of carrying/installing the Escort 9500ci units, we also carry the full lineup from Escort.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Brady

[Ef8sirJunkie]

Nice work Brady!

 

Escort was the radar of choice at Kelly BMW. plenty of them had units installed and i liked them a lot. Did not know of these features though.

[carl1647545492]

I wonder what the officer makes of it? would it piss him off enough to give a visual estimate of speed ..yes you were going 95 in a 65 heres a ticket have a nice day......asshole!

[BradyPPC]

Nice work Brady!

 

Escort was the radar of choice at Kelly BMW. plenty of them had units installed and i liked them a lot. Did not know of these features though.

 

Thank you sir. This is the newest unit out. It has probably only been out a year or so.

 

I wonder what the officer makes of it? would it piss him off enough to give a visual estimate of speed ..yes you were going 95 in a 65 heres a ticket have a nice day......asshole!

 

Ive never had a problem with one or had a customer report back any negative feedback. I think it goes back to 'if you act like an idiot, you get treated like one'...I run one of these in my 5.0 and it has saved me several times. Of course if you are doing 90 in a 35, thats a different story....

[twistedfocus1647545489]

When I read the thread title I was thinking "they still make radar detectors?" but after reading what all it does I'm really impressed. Top notch install too.

[944s2]

Is he planning on using the Escort Live features?

[BradyPPC]

Is he planning on using the Escort Live features?

 

The Live feature is not currently available with the custom installed units although Escort has told us they are working on it. While it is a cool feature, Im not convinced it is that big of a deal. They send out weekly updates and they are verified which would keeps the driver plenty protected. While the live setup would be nice, the better protection with the laser shifters, custom installation, and not having something hanging from the windshield is usually what makes people lean towards this type of setup.

[M0nk3y]

Not convinced by the price and the sub-par lidar shifters, but it's a hell of a radar detector. Great install, super clean.

 

I run a 9500xi, saved me countless times.

[BradyPPC]

Not convinced by the price and the sub-par lidar shifters, but it's a hell of a radar detector. Great install, super clean.

 

I run a 9500xi, saved me countless times.

 

Yeah, they are certainly not for everybody. I run the same setup in my 5.0 and the shifters work really well. The one thing about laser, if the detector is going off, you have already been hit. Most of the cars these get done on are 'higher end' cars and alot of that is probably due to the cost of the units but when you have a car like this, cost inst too much of an issue.

[2011SVT]

The shifters may not offer JTG performance but at the ranges I've been hit at they must be working.

 

Not that I have been speeding :gabe: but the officer just keeps lasing and lasing until I turn the shifters off. :fuckyeah:

[Nate1647545505]

Kind of off topic for the thread, but I've been looking at setups for the M. Have you had any legality issues with these?

 

Is Valentine still making detectors?

[BradyPPC]

Kind of off topic for the thread, but I've been looking at setups for the M. Have you had any legality issues with these?

 

Is Valentine still making detectors?

 

We havent ran into any legality issues with these. Of course, you cant use them in states that ban detectors, like virginia or d.c. Not sure about Valentine. We pretty much only do Escort and most of our sales are the custom installed units.

[BradyPPC]

The shifters may not offer JTG performance but at the ranges I've been hit at they must be working.

 

Not that I have been speeding :gabe: but the officer just keeps lasing and lasing until I turn the shifters off. :fuckyeah:

 

Exactly. I have the same experience with the setup on my car. So much of the performance has to do with placement on the shifters as well so a good installation placement is key. Ive seen some installations from high end car dealerships where the shifters are behind the grilles and they are pretty much worthless at that point. Ive also had some cars that we have done where I didnt really care for the placement but it was all that the car really offered for us to work with without making the setup stand our or look stupid. Every car is different but I have customers that have had us put these on every vehicle they own and swear by them. Having ran mine for the last 2 years, I now do as well.