I decided to treat myself for Christmas and go "stealth" with an Escort 8500ci........ did the install myself. I know many here would spring for the "plus" version with GPS false alarm lockouts, I decided not to go that route. Most all my driving is local and I know the area very well. I also have the unit set to "SpecDisplay", which shows the actual frequency of the signal being received ........ helpful in identifying an automatic door opener versus a real trap............ as I said though, I know my area very well, and decided I could live with the brief false alarms I encounter. Additionally, as all you guys know who've been driving with a detector for years (my first was a Bel remote unit I installed in my 944 in 1985, yes I'm old
), it's all about knowing how to drive with one, as well as learing your detertor's warnings and how to interpret the various beeps and braps and the intensity of them. I also almost never see Laser in my local driving, so not sure if I am going to add the optional shifter pack, although I might. That is an easy install as the shifters plug right into the back of the antenna and the existing display does the warning.
Anyway, the antenna mounted behind one of the grills using the Escort supplied flat mount, and a flat piece of metal I picked up at Lowes, to attach to the back of the flat mount and the other end to the bar behind the grill (see pic). From there I routed the single wire across the front to the right side of the car and then through the firewall using the BMW rubber grommet firewall opening (attached pic). Once inside, the wire snaked across from the passenger footwall behind the center console to the driver side footwell, and attached to the interface. The 8500ci interface was mounted to the backside of the plastic cover above the driver footwell that attaches below the dash. I used double sided tape, and cut an opening just larger than the speaker opening on the interface, about 2 inches, so I would be able to hear the warning well. It's loud when turned up with that size speaker (attached pic). Next I mounted the display in the ashtray, because I wanted a stealth look (attached pics). A hole was cut in the back of the ashtray for the wire to snake through, and one in the inside back of the ashtray mounting. Once installed (provided/attached sticky tape on the back), the display totally covers the hole I cut for the wire feed. The wire snakes over to the interface and plugs in. Lastly, because I wanted a stealth set-up, I mounted the dual color LED in the top of the instrument cluster between the speedo and tach. The LED is green, and when you encounter radar, it flashes red (attached pic). If I want to determine if the K band warning is real or false, I can always open the ashtray and check the frequency on the display.............. but in my normal driving I pretty much know where the false alarms are. Should an officer be using a location like that to set up a trap, I'll get a much more intense warning. Nothing wrong with spending the additional money for the GPS and ability to lockout the false alarms. I guess if my area was loaded with them on every corner, that feature would be a must have.
Anyway, this is not that hard to do if anyone else is thinking of going this route. I already have a sat antenna mounted on the dash, in the middle up against the windshield, for my Sirius install, so something similar could be done for an 8500ci plus system. With the ashtray door closed, the only thing visible in the car is the green LED, and that looks factory to the untrained eye. You also have to look close through the grill on the outside to see the antenna ............... nice and stealth
John
Oh, I forgot to add, I used an "add-a-fuse tap to power the unit, extremely fast and easy. I plugged it into fuse port #2, which is unused and "switched".