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Detail-It-Yourself

Car Tech & Electronics

Every Detail-It-Yourself guide on car tech & electronics. Or browse all guides.

Car Tech & Electronics

A radar detector suction-mounted to a car's windshield, its blue LED display lit and legible, viewed from inside the vehicle.
Car Tech & Electronics

The Best Escort Radar Detector for Every Situation

Escort makes eight overlapping radar detectors and nobody untangles which one is actually which. Here's the pick for four real situations, checked against the two independent hands-on tests that exist and the Reddit thread where Escort owners actually argue about it.

A car's dashboard touchscreen showing the CarPlay home screen with app icons for phone, music, maps, and messages
Car Tech & Electronics

Wireless CarPlay Adapters: What Actually Changes vs. Plugging In

A wireless CarPlay adapter doesn't add CarPlay to your car, it replaces the cable on CarPlay you already have, and that swap costs you real lag, phone battery, hotspot access, and connection reliability that most reviews never mention.

A view through the windshield of a car driving on a foggy highway at dusk, with taillights visible ahead
Car Tech & Electronics

Radar Detectors in 2026: What's Actually Legal Where You Drive

Two states ban radar detectors outright, one federal rule only touches commercial drivers, and a state that gets accused of banning them constantly never actually did. Here's what the actual statutes say.

A driver's hand on the wheel of a car with a basic FM radio display showing a connected Bluetooth phone but no touchscreen app icons
Car Tech & Electronics

Adding CarPlay to a Car That Didn't Come With It

Before you buy a wireless CarPlay adapter, check one thing about your car first: if it doesn't already have wired CarPlay, that adapter won't do anything, and the real fix is a portable display, a head-unit swap, or a vehicle-specific integration kit instead.

A suction-mounted dash cam attached to the inside of a car's windshield, recording the road ahead
Car Tech & Electronics

Dash Cam Placement: Where It Belongs on the Glass (and What It Does to Your Tint)

The legal mounting zone and the tint strip at the top of your windshield are, in most states, the same four to six inches of glass, which is exactly why getting this wrong can cost you a ticket and a bubbled tint edge in the same afternoon.