[jimmyc13]

Well I finally found the time to hardwire my radar detector. I've had the hardwire kit for about 2 weeks now and with the long day on the road today to go see an ALMS race with my son (3 hour drive to and from), I stayed up late last night to get it done.

First off, the location where Lexus placed the fuse box is absolutely retarded...why they didn't place it on the left side of the drivers side foot well is beyond me! Dipping my head in there under the steering well and then looking upside-down/backwards to see things clearly was a task in itself! The fuses are not standard size (I think they're called micro or mini fuses?). Took me forever just to get the 15A fuse out (used a small flathead screwdriver carefully to wiggle it out).

Originally, I was hoping to install the remote mute button in one of the blanks located to the left of the steering wheel/above the fuel door button, but the opening was too small to fit the switch. All in all, I am VERY happy with the results. I didn't think I would find an ideal location for the switch to mount it using velcro, but I have to say, this location shows the wires the least (without any drilling needed) and is pretty much right at your fingertips! Routing the wire from the detector to the fuse box area below the steering wheel was a piece of cake! Just need to use a plastic joint compound knife/tool to get the wire tucked away along the bottom of the windshield.

Here are the pics, let me know what you think!

 

[jimmyc13]

Thanks Matt! I'm pretty anal about things like this and took my time, making sure it was set up properly; hence it took me just over 1 hour to do!

 

[jimmyc13]

Looks great, no wires. How did you get thenwires behind the dash,windshield?

Thanks! For the wire running from the radar, I installed the detector at the desired location on the windshield, then plugged it in & made sure I had a little bit of play/slack in the line. I read on another forum that using a plastic puddy knife was a good tool to have for an install like this. I used a 5" wide plastic puddy knife and forced the wire gradually down along the edge of the windshield. It's amazing how deep it goes down there (that's what she said)! I used that method to get it all the way over to the A-pillar. Then at the A-pillar, I was able to squeeze the wire between the pillar and the dash. The pillar is a little bit flexible, so I pushed the pillar in (towards the outside of the car) and was able to fit the wire in the crack & is not the least bit visible. Once you run it to the door molding, that was a piece of cake to get it down to the footwell area.

For the remote mute button, you can fit the wiring between the tilt steering wheel and the plastic trim (just stick you finger in the gap & widen it a bit to fit everything thru).

 

[jimmyc13]

Nice job on the install. How did you and your son like the ALMS race?

Thank you very much. How did we like it? We loved it, it was an amazing event and day. The weather was incredible, we got there just before 10 AM and hung out until around 4:15 or so, wanted to leave before the big race ended so we could beat the mad rush out of there and head home. He already asked my wife and I yesterday when we were going back to Lime Rock Park! I was very impressed with how close you can get to the action there, seeing the cars come right off the track! We were able to see one of the Porsche's that crashed on the flatbed afterwards...drove right by us in the paddock area, luckily had my camera on me at the time.

We'll hit this event next year for sure! I'm still amazed at the mileage in this CT. We drove all the way there and back on a single tank of gas (about 340 miles round trip), with still enough gas to spare and it was less than $30 to fill up when we got back home! This was the worst mileage I've ever gotten, hadn't driven consistently 75-80 mph in this car until then, now that the Escort was finally installed.

 

[jimmyc13]

Bill - Yes, I do use it. I cannot easily reach my detector with where it is mounted, so that's why I got it. It comes in real handy when you drive new locations and also whenever there is a cop up ahead that you already know is there...just eliminates the beeping when you need to. I was going to try mounting it just below the mirror, but I'm not a fan of advertising to cops that I have one, nor would I want a cop to see it lit up at night if they were driving behind me. I've always mounted my detectors low on the windshield as I believe you have a better shot at picking up the laser signal as well.

 

[jimmyc13]

They are legal in the US, with the exception of Virginia. If I were to ever get pulled over, even though they are legal, I would take it down. I'd be embarrased if he pulled me over, saw it and said "gee, that thing did you a lot of good, didn't it"?