[Megahurtz]

Anyone here do any custom installs with Radar detectors and/or Laser detection/defense?

Anyhow, I have purchased the 9500ci and an Anti Laser Priority system and plan to install in my car next weekend. I'm going to take pictures and maybe do a write up of the install. Not sure if anyone is interested or not?

P.S. I know its overkill but where I live the police are relentless with speed traps and they have the latest and greatest LIDAR's like the Dragon Eye.

I will be running the ALP Laser defense in the front since it can defend against all known LIDARS and the 9500ci Laser defense in the rear since it can defend against all LIDARS except the Dragon Eye and the latest Stalkers. Most speed traps they shoot from the front so it makes the most sense to install this way.

Stay Tuned...

[sub_ETCS_ret]

Good luck! Too much for where I live. I bought the new Escort IX. Works for my needs so far.

[Megahurtz]

Delivery of both units has arrived! Installing this coming weekend.

[750x]

I'm interested for sure on this! Subbed.

[Megahurtz]

Started the install today. Here is the 9500ci and ALP side by side. Disregard the Laser Shifter Pro pieces from the 9500ci. I won't be installing these.

[RideZX6R]

If you do a full on how-to for this... Let me know, I'd be interested

[Megahurtz]

I decided to mount the ALP shifters and the 9500 Radar receiver all in the lower grill area. There just so happens to be a piece being the grill that makes a great mounting location. For the ALP heads I used the supplied brackets for a more sturdy mounting and the ability to bend and shape them to make sure they are installed straight. You have to be very careful when you mount these to make sure they are aimed correctly. I used 3M VHB to mount the jammers and radar receiver. Here you can see I'm using a level to make sure they are pointing straight ahead and at a 90 degree angle from the ground. The Radar receiver is far less critical. It can have minor obstructions in front of it without any issue.

[Megahurtz]

Originally Posted by RideZX6R

If you do a full on how-to for this... Let me know, I'd be interested

I'm going to post up my install. More coming tonight and then I'll wrap up the install tomorrow. It's very tedious work so it takes time.

[RideZX6R]

No rush - I'm still waiting on my 1LE to show up haha

[Megahurtz]

The next part is getting through the firewall. There is an existing grommet right above the hood release grommet. It's a real pain to get through it though. In the pics you can see where I went through the grommet. I had to take an exacto knife and cut a hole in the grommet. Later I will go back and seal it up with RTV.

To make a connection to the sensors in the front you will have to push three wires through the grommet. 2 for the ALP Jammers and 1 for the Radar receiver. I couldn't get the phone into the front of the grill to take pictures but removed the hood latch bolts and moved it aside. This way I could get my hand in there to zip tie the wires down neatly and out of sight. I attached them to the horn wires and then ran the along the path of the hood latch release cable. Since the grommet for the hood latch cable is right next to the grommet I am using to get through the firewall, this made perfect sense. Also it allows the wires to be tucked away neatly.

Remove the lower door panel to gain access the pull the carpet back and get to the grommet. You will need to pull a clip off near the brake pedal and the copper colored clip with a wire attached as well to allow the carpet and sound deadening material to come up. In the first picture you can see where I stuck a screwdriver through from the engine bay. That's when I determined I needed to move the copper colored clip to get to the grommet and cut a hole in it. FYI This part was a major PITA.

[Giri]

There's another entrance in the firewall right above the accelarator, but much higher up that is easy to get to if you go from under. No pulling up carpet

How're you finding the 9500ci? I've been pondering of it for months now but the price tag is a little hard to swallow. Would you say it's worth it over a normal radar detector?

[Gen6]

Thank you very much for this, Im very interested in this as well.

[Megahurtz]

Originally Posted by Giri

There's another entrance in the firewall right above the accelarator, but much higher up that is easy to get to if you go from under. No pulling up carpet

How're you finding the 9500ci? I've been pondering of it for months now but the price tag is a little hard to swallow. Would you say it's worth it over a normal radar detector?

The one you're talking about is the hood latch release grommet. Too thick to cut through and the one I used has indents which look like it was made for extra wires that were not used.

The 9500ci is great for Ka radar, actually it is the best. Couples with the GPS and Ka segmenting software I don't have to worry about false alerts. If it goes off I know there is a real threat. I got my 9500ci off ebay from an "Unauthorized Vendor". But all that means is you cannot send your device to Escort for warranty, you have to use the vendor. So there is warranty regardless. Being it is from an unauth vendor I got my kit for $1200. I ditched the Laser Shifter Pro setup from this kit as they are useless today.

This is why I purchased the AntiLaser Priority setup as well. This way I have the best Ka Radar and the best Laser Defense setup. I started with 2 front heads and will expand to two rear soon. Might even add one more up front.

Originally Posted by Gen6

Thank you very much for this, Im very interested in this as well.

No problem. I have more pictures coming soon.

[Megahurtz]

Got more work done today. I had to remove the A-Pillar to mount the LED's so that I didn't have to have the control panels in plain sight. I can tell whats going on by the LED's or the voice notifications. Other pieces you need to remove to make this much easier is the door jamb trim, then the side panel of the dash facing the door. When you take this off there is a ton of space back there to mount everything. Then the A-pillar comes off, and then lastly remove one small screw and pull the dash speaker cover off. That is the only screw to remove. Everything else just snaps on/off. Just pull firmly but carefully in an "outward" direction from however its mounted. I hope that makes sense.

Once I had everything off I drilled two small holes in the A-pillar to mount the LED's and ran the wires down through the dash into the little area behind the HUD controls. To mount the GPS module I actually crawled upside down under the dash and felt my way up to the plastic tube which is the air vent for the windshield defroster. I couldn't get any pictures of that area as it was impossible but its beside the dash speaker. IF you reach up you can feel the dash speaker magnet and then the air tube. There is a small area on top of the tube where you can use velcro to mount the GPS module. It's right under the plastic dash but out of site and has no problem getting a GPS signal. As a side note I used industrial velcro to mount the control modules and speakers inside the dash. This makes it easy to remove later if needed.

OK , LED's installed, GPS installed, I then mounted the speaker and 9500ci CPU in the area behind the HUD controls. I bundled up all the extra wire and zip tied it and tucked it away behind the HUD controls as well. Now for the ALP CPU. I mounted this on the side of the kick panel under the carpet. I ran all of the connections to the ALP and zip tied all the wiring up there as well out of the way. Then I ran the USB cable from the ALP and the 9500ci up to the area behind the HUD. This way I can just reach up and grab the cables for updates or worst case just pop the side dash panel off again.

The last part I got to for the day was the power. Under the dash there is a Body Control Module. On this module there is a BLACK connector. On this connector there is a green and purple wire. This is the wire I found that is switched 12v power. I used a vampire tap to get power from it. In the pics it looks like its attached to the green plug but that is not what it really is. I just got a crappy picture of it. Then by the hood release latch is a single screw that screws into a metal piece of dash. This measured adequate ohms so I used it as a ground. An alternative is a bigger bolt with multiple grounds going into it and its bolted to the side of the kick panel. You can't miss it once you get down there. I had previously wired the ALP and 9500ci modules power and ground wires together and into a single pair so I only had to make one connection.

I'm almost done with the install. Everything is working but I have yet to find a satisfactory place to mount the control panels and the 9500ci's display. I originally planned on mounting them on the little ledge by the A/C controls but I can't get the 3M VHB tape to stick very well. I tried cleaning it with some Simple Green and then rubbing alcohol after a little research and its working better but I'm not sure I'm going to keep them there. This is why I have no pics of the mounting. Technically I don't need to see anything since I have the LED's, I just be able to push the mute button on either system if I need to. Or to turn off the jammers once I slow down to speed limit so as I don't give the cops any reason to give me extra attention. Once I find a more permanent mounting solution for the control pads and display I will post up pics. But in the mean time here are some pics of the work from today.