K40 RLS2 Radar Detector Review

"Justin Hughes" (justinhughes54) 05/16/2016 at 16:29 • Filed to: radar detector

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I hadn’t used a radar detector in many years. After !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! offered to bring me up to speed on the latest and greatest technology, and sent me their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! detector.

(Full disclosure: K40 provided the RLS2 at no charge for this review. I also reached out to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to make this a comparison test, but they never got back to me.)

Read on Right Foot Down or continue below

Unlike !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I have not been a habitual radar detector user. I tried them years ago, and found that nine times out of ten, they alerted me to automatic door sensors, or security systems, or electronic road signs. That’s why I stopped using them. Besides, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and, more recently, watching for police alerts on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , has kept me (mostly) out of trouble for years.

My original article exploded here on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While many comments agreed with me, some opposing comments made excellent points. One of them was that the filtering technology of modern detectors is much better than the ones I used in the past, resulting in fewer false alerts. Another, in response to the inevitable “If you don’t want to get a speeding ticket, don’t speed” comments, pointed out that sometimes a detector can help prevent you from making an honest mistake. I know that when I switch from my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to my wife’s !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , the combination of its more refined ride and powerful 3.5 EcoBoost motor means that I sometimes don’t realize just how fast I’m going sometimes. A blip on a radar detector, whether it’s a speedtrap or just an unrelated sensor, reminds you to check your speed and keep it where you intend to. And then there’s the issue of certain municipalities that use their police force as auxiliary revenue collectors. Speed limits are supposed to be set at the 85th percentile speed, meaning that only 15% of all drivers exceed it. Yet on the MacArthur Extension in Springfield, IL, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! immediately after exiting the interstate. That’s how they get you, and the cost of a speeding ticket and several years of insurance surcharges could more than cover the cost of a decent radar detector to save you from this fate in the first place.

I tried to be clear in my original article that I’ve never been against the use of radar detectors. I’ve simply chosen not to use one myself. I have an open mind, and I welcomed the opportunity to try the best portable radar detector that K40 offers to see how the other half lives.

In the box, there’s the detector itself, a simple but effective suction cup mount, and two power cords - one long and straight, the other shorter and coiled. I stuck the RLS2 to the top of my windshield next to the mirror, and used the long and straight cord for a hidden install running above the headliner, down the pillar, and into the glove box. My BRZ has a handy power port there that must have been designed with this application in mind. This also means that I can take the RLS2 with me and use the coiled power cord in temporary installations, such as in my wife’s Flex.

I decided to begin my RLS2 adventure in Highway mode with all bands enabled and all filters disabled. A trip to the Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster, MA showed me this was a bad idea. I got numerous X-Band and K-Band false alarms, just like my old detectors did. But unlike my old detectors, the RLS2 provided some options to deal with the false readings. Pushing the Quiet Ride button will disable all audio alerts until you exceed a particular speed that you define, at which point it will resume normal operation. In my case, turning on the Traffic Sensor Filter eliminated all of these false alerts. It’s actually intended to filter out highway traffic flow sensors, not shopping mall radar sources, but in my case it worked for that, too.

The Daily Grind

Photo credit: Picky Wallpapers

My daily commute consists of about an hour’s drive on highways, quiet back roads, and the congested city, so it’s an excellent test for the RLS2. Filtration and false alerts are so much better than the old detectors I used in the past. The only false alerts I received are still genuine speed radar - in this case, radar signs that measure and display your speed. One of these is permanently installed in a school zone, so I used the Mark to Mute function. The RLS2 automatically connects to GPS data, which is how it knows where you are, how fast you’re going, and what direction you’re heading. Mark to Mute tells it to automatically mute audio alerts for the currently active band within 1500 feet of your current location. From that point on, the visual alert will still display, but the RLS2 will remain silent.

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The other false signal was another radar sign, this one a portable unit. At first I didn’t Mark to Mute it, since I’ve seen actual speedtraps in the same area. One day, much to my surprise, after passing this sign I received simultaneous alerts for K-Band and Ka-Band. At first I didn’t understand why, but then I saw a police car approaching from the other direction! The RLS2 had given me alerts for both radar sources - K-Band for the sign, and Ka-Band for the actual cruiser. This also taught me that this town’s police use Ka-Band rather than K-Band. This meant that I could safely Mark to Mute the portable radar sign on K-Band. An actual speedtrap, even one hiding in the shadow of the sign’s false K-Band alert, wouldn’t be hidden from the RLS2, as Ka-Band alerts are still active. The following week, the portable radar sign went away. I removed the Mark to Mute feature from that location by simply pressing the button again as I passed by. Now I’ll get any new alerts in the area.

A tough test for the RLS2's filters is Speen Street in Natick, MA. There are many businesses and strip malls there, including the popular Natick Mall. It’s an area infested with numerous false radar sources. Yet the RLS2 doesn’t give me a single false alert there. Impressive. Most impressive.

Photo credit: Kansas City Star

On a back road one morning, an oncoming Mercedes flashed his lights at me wildly. I was approaching an area where I’ve seen a speedtrap many times before. Soon afterward, Waze alerted me to police in half a mile. Before I rounded the corner, the RLS2 gave me a K-Band alert, and sure enough the speedtrap was active as I came into view going slightly below the limit. Any one of these warnings alone would’ve been enough for me to make sure I was going the limit. In fact, I see this particular speedtrap so often that I always make sure I’m at or below the limit anytime I pass through. But confirmation is always good. There was enough time between Waze, the Mercedes, and actually entering the speedtrap myself that the cop could’ve moved or chased down a perp. The RLS2 confirmed that this trap was active, right now, setting its sights on me. It also confirmed that this particular town still uses K-Band, so I should pay attention to those alerts as well as Ka-Band.

Just how sensitive is the RLS2? One time Waze alerted me to a speedtrap on the other side of the road, so I made sure I was going the speed limit. It was a clever location, and completely hidden behind a row of trees until I was already passing the trap. The officer was aiming down the road in the direction I was going, not in the direction I had come from. However, the RLS2 still picked up his radar long enough before I passed him that even if I’d been speeding at the time, I wouldn’t have been by the time he saw me.

It’s worth pointing out that although I could see this particular speedtrap on my map, Waze did NOT alert me to it because it was on the other side of the road. That shouldn’t matter, and if I’d blown by at 50 in a 30 zone, he would’ve rightfully nailed me. On another day I had four Ka-Band contacts on my way to the office. I spotted three of them with my own eyes, one of whom was in motion - something Waze can’t tell you. The fourth was probably a state trooper going the opposite direction on the highway, since the radar contact came and went rather quickly. Waze is good, but it has limitations.

Head Out On The Highway

Working well on my daily commute is good, but what about a long highway trip? I helped with radio communications at the NER SCCA !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , which was also a great opportunity to see how the RLS2 performed on the open road. The two and a half hour drive north in the early morning was almost completely silent. The only radar contact I had was on X-Band as I went under a bridge. There were no police, so I presume this was some sort of traffic measuring device that the Traffic Sensor Filter didn’t filter out. Mark to Mute took care of that one. It’s also worth mentioning that silence is golden if there are no police around, meaning no false alerts.

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The trip back was rather quiet too. This time, however, there were some police around. At one point there were a whole bunch of NH State Troopers attending to an accident on the other side of Interstate 93. There was not a peep from the RLS2, presumably because the police were busy dealing with the accident rather than clocking speeds. Later on, Waze alerted me to a speedtrap half a mile away, and sure enough there was a trooper in the median. But the RLS2 was silent. The RLS2 did nothing wrong - this particular trooper had his radar turned off for added stealth. He must’ve been relying on his eyes to identify speeders, ready with radar to make a quick instant-on zap only to document what he saw.

Am I A Believer?

I was quite emphatic before that I didn’t believe in radar detectors. I thought they went off at all the wrong times, didn’t go off at the right times, and cost more money and hassle than they’re worth.

I was wrong.

Used with Theresa (T-) McCracken’s permission

Sampling K40's best portable radar detector has been a real eye opener for me. Anti-falsing technology has improved leaps and bounds over the old detectors I used *mumble-mumble* years ago. Once I set up the RLS2 properly, the only false alarms I got were still from traffic-measuring radar, and were worth being alerted about. GPS integration is a feature I had never thought relevant to a radar detector until it made such features as Mark to Mute available. I’m now commuting false alarm free, which is far less distracting than the old detectors where you never knew if they were falsing or not. False alarms are minimal on the highway as well, though you still need to keep your eyes open for traps not running active radar.

Did I find myself driving faster while using the RLS2 than I did with no detector at all? Surprisingly, no. I certainly appreciated the additional level of protection the RLS2 gave me, but other than slowing down for radar alerts, I didn’t notice any real difference in my driving. I’m only one person, an insignificant sample size, but it goes against the conventional wisdom that people with radar detectors speed more.

Once my filters were set up correctly, I found the RLS2 to be more accurate than relying on Waze. On my drive to NH and back, I had many false alerts on Waze, but none from the RLS2. Though it’s also worth pointing out that there have been times Waze warned me of a speedtrap that the RLS2 didn’t, since it wasn’t using radar.

Radar detectors are not a magic bullet to save you from speedtraps. They are NOT police detectors. You can’t ignore speed limits except when the detector goes off and think you won’t get caught. You will, by the cop running laser or instant-on radar, or by the helicopter you don’t see clocking you. K40 does provide a one year ticket-free guarantee, which will pay your speeding ticket during your first year of ownership (unless it’s in a school or construction zone, or part of a DUI - that’s perfectly reasonable). But now I believe that they are a useful tool, as long as your weapon of choice is a modern unit with decent filtering. Waze is still useful, for navigation as well as warning me of hazards other than speedtraps, so I’ll still use it. But a smart driver is still the most important factor. You still need to interpret the information these devices provide, and apply that knowledge correctly. More than anything, it’s important to keep your eyes open, maintain situational awareness, and drive safely, regardless of your speed.

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lurker342 > Justin Hughes 05/16/2016 at 16:59

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I had a radar detector once... Escort 9500ix.. driving along BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP you slam on the brakes.... is it something? Is it nothing? After 2 weeks of stress inducing beeps, I’m much happier without it.

Justin Hughes > lurker342 05/16/2016 at 17:01

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Really? That’s the model the vast majority of pro-detector commenters on my original article swear by. But having now spent time in both camps, I completely understand your point.

lurker342 > Justin Hughes 05/16/2016 at 17:06

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It’s not really the detector... I just hate beeping!!! Good article by the way.

Justin Hughes > lurker342 05/16/2016 at 17:07

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Thanks! And I hear you about the beeping. One of my favorite features of the RLS2 is being able to tell it to shut up in so many different ways.

shop-teacher > Justin Hughes 05/16/2016 at 17:33

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That’s good to know that they’ve improved. I’m not going to run out and buy one, but perhaps someday if I own something worth doing some more speeding in ...

facw > Justin Hughes 05/16/2016 at 19:29

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I have a cheap one, but have never used it as it wasn’t USB powered (I didn’t even bother to check), and I can’t spare my cigarette lighter for a proprietary charger.

Justin Hughes > shop-teacher 05/16/2016 at 20:30

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I decided not to go the clickbait route and say “The RLS2 is good, but you’ll never believe what I’m testing next...!” However, the statement is still true. :)

shop-teacher > Justin Hughes 05/16/2016 at 21:43

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Ohhhh, is it the hidden K-40?

atrombs > Justin Hughes 05/17/2016 at 08:10

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As a gadget lover I’ve always wanted one. As a VA resident, I can’t have one. :-(

Justin Hughes > shop-teacher 05/17/2016 at 09:02

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Yep!

Justin Hughes > atrombs 05/17/2016 at 09:03

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We all know what happens if you speed in Virginia.

shop-teacher > Justin Hughes 05/17/2016 at 10:05

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Swweeeeeeeet! If I had kept that ‘04 GTO that made me stop using radar detectors because the dash was so pretty, I would’ve gotten one of those. Alas, that thing put the lemon in friday car, so I only kept it for 3-1/2 months (it spent 31 days in the shop in just that time, thankfully under warranty).

Justin Hughes > shop-teacher 05/17/2016 at 10:52

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That’s too bad. I like the GTO and have pondered one for myself someday.

shop-teacher > Justin Hughes 05/17/2016 at 11:41

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I absolutely loved it, and lots of people have found them to be very durable, but mine was nothing but trouble. I pity the fool who ended up with it.

My head still snaps around like no other whenever I see one.

Justin Hughes > shop-teacher 05/17/2016 at 11:43

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I know a lot of people bashed them for looking utterly unremarkable, but that’s part of what appeals to me about them. It looks like a Grand Am and will kick your ass with its Corvette heart!

shop-teacher > Justin Hughes 05/17/2016 at 11:46

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Yep, I loved that as well. It’s a great sleeper. The looks are nice and clean, it’s not like it’s ugly or anything. Had I kept it, I was going to remove the spoiler. They look even cleaner then. It got the exact right kind of attention, car guys knew what it was and wanted a look, nobody else ever batted an eye.