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Check it out:
http://www.matprotector.com
Then, using your present mats as a template, draw their outline on the back of the remnant and then use a utility knife and cut them out.
I use these in the winter to keep the originals clean.
Works great.
All RX330 owners, have you noticed people staring at you on the road? My passengers on different occasions have noticed that people on the road keep staring at us. I guess it is still new to most.
We are enjoying our silver with grey FWD with Nav. It is awsome.
-Do you need your vehicle for off road or on road . If you plan to do lot of off road trips , I would not recommend RX 330. You are better off with a 4 runner or GX.
- RX 330 is an excellent vehicle if you are mostly on road and need a comfortable ride .
I had second thoughts about GX , while buying Rx 330 but I gave it up as
-I mostly use my vehicle for work and long drives. Almost no off road
-Fuel consumption is worse with GX but you get more power V8 vs V6.
- A fully loaded GX will cost you more (>5000 +) than RX 330.
- If you do not go off road and need style, luxury and comfort and can spend extra 5000 -7000 than RX any day is a better choice than 4 runner.
In any case, owners of the new 330 who have previously owned the 300; what are your comments comparing the two vehicles.
To owners that have recently traded a RX300 any idea what range my vehicle is worth. Does not have nav, but has most other options and 35,000 miles.
I really wanted the ML this time around, but it wasn't available for the performance/NAV build package. However, the OEM system is more than adequate and should fulfill the need of all except the most discerning audiophiles.
In any case, owners of the new 330 who have previously owned the 300; what are your comments comparing the two vehicles.
To owners that have recently traded a RX300 any idea what range my vehicle is worth. Does not have nav, but has most other options and 35,000 miles.
Driver operated rear window winglets on the LX vs manual on the GX was was the starting subject matter.
Regarding the side swinging rear door on the GX, it may actually be a good idea versus the upward swinging door. We also have a '01 MB ML320 - which has the regular - upward swinging door. Recently on a trip to Atlanta we were in a parking deck - and the ceiling clearance was already low - but when we opened the back hatch we did not notice the sprinkler head protruding from the ceiling above. The door hit it causing a little bit of a dent. A regular upward swinging hatch actually lifts quite a bit higher than the car's regular roofline. And, the GX already being a very tall vehicle (a couple inches taller than the MB) would not only have trouble fitting in some tight parking decks, but certainly would not be able to fully open the rear door.
In my car search, I had thought before about the side swinging GX door and realized the benefit in that it would not have hit the ceiling in this case. So maybe Lexus was thinking of vertical clearance when they decided to make it open to the side.
I can give you some idea as before getting my RX 330,I was given a loner RX 300 ( 2000 with 46500 miles ) by my dealer.I drove it for a month .
I enjoyed RX 300.Its a great vehicle.
The standard CD player(?? Nakamichi) is excellent. I now have a RX 330 with ML. There is a difference in the sound specially if you are used to high end audio. If you crank up the volume with ML , You can feel the drum beats near you feet.The increased number of speakers and subwoofer definitely brings the sound to a different level.The high end frequencies sound much better.You may not appreciate the difference if you are an average listner i.e Bose,Sony , Panasonic, JVC etc .
Besides a good and expensive music system the most important thing is the acoustics of the area you are playing it in.I found that ML sounds much better in ES300 than RX 330. I am not sure if anyone else has observed this.This again is related the acosutics of the area you are playing it in.
Just to let you know that
1.ML was rated as #1 in EDMUNDS top 10 car stero's.
2.An average ML home component system will cost you close to cost of a fully loaded RX 330. I hope this tells you the class of high end audio equipment ML makes.
There is a possibility you may just find it to be average and not that great.
Top glass lowered into the 1/2 door, and the door could then be flipped down, or swung open. Lowering the rear glass slightly was a good way to solve the painful helicopter noise too.
I don't remember the noise in either the 68 or 75 squire wagons entering the pain threshold, certainly not at the eardrum shattering level of the RX.
Thanks,
Scott
My[QUOTE]Originally posted by willard:
[QB]Well, first, if you have an enclosed garage, pull the car in and close the garage door, turn the engine off, but leave the accessories on.
Now, sit and listen to three of your favorite CDs.
Now, listen to the very same CDs while traveling, top up and top down.
And only then decide what it is that most prevents you from fully enjoying your three favorite CDs while traveling.
1. Wind noise at speed...
2. Tire noise at speed...
3. Engine exhaust and intake "notes"...
4. Accessory operating (blower) noises...
5. The LOUD BASS in that "ricer" nearby...
6. General traffic noise...
7. The siren on that car just behind...
Clearly VOLUME is the only answer.
Now, how many, and how much, of your favorite three CDs can be truly enjoyed at extremely high volume? John Phillip Sousa or John Williams comes to mind for me.
Back to the garage.
Listen to a CD with a passage that should be played LOUDLY, with the volume turned up to roadway traveling level. Listen carefully for any noticeable distortion.
If you hear discernable distortion then change/upgrade the speakers first. Then test again and if the distortion is still there you likely need higher supply voltage for the speaker drivers.
That's it, you're DONE![/QB][/QUOTE]
That after having purchased no fewer than 5 LS400s over the years (including Gates' 90), three of them still in the "family".
Did yours ever catch on fire?
Steve, Host
Fire in a Lexus?
I couldn't see any fire through the fogged up windshield. Or perhaps all that excess CO2 extinguished the fire before it could do any real damage.
1.A car's interior is one of the absolute worse acoustic environments in which we listen to music. The angled glass, resonating surfaces, and bad speaker placement relative to the listeners, small acoustic space, ambient noise level, and other factors make a car a very different than a typical living room. A car system just won't sound like a home system.
2.Going to a dealer, taking a car for a test ride, turning the radio to a favorite station, and evaluating the stereo as you drive around—will not tell you what you really want to know. It may tell you something about radio reception, but not much reliable about the sound system itself.
3.Before you evaluate a sound system, make sure the treble and bass are flat—at 0 (no boost and no cut). People fiddle with knobs on test vehicles. You could jump into a 330 and assume the stereo is way too bassy and muddy just because the tone controls are misadjusted.
Some suggestions for comparing audio systems:
1.Select a few discs you know well—and listen to on a good-to-superior quality home system. Then pick a selection from each. These discs should reflect the range of music you like—female jazz vocalist, chamber music, rap, for example. They shouldn't be just that last three Madonna albums (unless you listen to nothing else.) Make sure these discs are originals—not CD copies or converted MP3 files.
2.You need to compare sound systems in the same model. Checking out the Mark Levinson in a Lexus sedan will tell you virtually nothing about how it will sound in a 330. It doesn't even make much sense to compare the 300 vs. a 330—the interior spaces of the two cars are different, so the acoustics are different. Check out the Levinson in a 330 and the standard Pioneer in a 330.
3.With the engine off, roof closed, and windows rolled up, listen to your three selections in Car 1. Make sure the tone controls are "flat," that is no + or - . On each selection, try to focus separately on the high, mid, and bass notes. Then turn on the engine and the AC or fan. (Actually driving would produce additional car and environmental noise, but you can't easily produce the exact same conditions for testing each car.) You don't really need to listen to each entire selection each time, usually part of a song will do.
4.Do the same in Car 2. If your lucky, the same dealer has both 330s.
5. Draw you conclusions and write a bigger—or smaller—check.
That's especially true in the $50K and up class, you can buy a lot of HiFi at 10% of the value of the car.
If you're going to comparison test audio systems you should test in a real or actual useage environment. A system that sounds perfect at low volume in a quiet environment might be an insult to your ears at the higher volumes actually required.
Actually with modern day technology it is typically the high volume passages where the distortion shows up the most. Horrible sound of a speaker voice coil reaching end of travel or speaker driver not able to reach higher voltages.
While few people do sit in a car with the engine off listening to music,it's useful to test sound systems that way.
Listening initially with the engine off may allow you to hear distortion that you'd experience under normal driving conditions, but couldn't as readily identify with the additional background noise from the engine, fan, and traffic.
Also, audio electronics are not generic. Two amps with very similar specs can sound very different. The consumer and pro-audio magazines will always include a listening test when reviewing electronics, speakers, or mikes. The engine-off listening test will give you a better idea of the system's capability. Play with the sound level.
The other thing you're checking with the engine off is how well the sound system has been designed to to overcome the severe acoustic limitations of the car's interior. A system with great looking specs may sound average because of poor speaker placement and bad reverberations.
Distortion can come from many sources--mismatched components (e.g.,too small a power amp to drive the speakers to adequate listening levels), bad sources (weak signal from the radio station or an overloaded CD-R), inadequate speakers, etc.
I would assume most of the thefts involve after market equipment but maybe with the hype and the Lexus name (whether stock or ML)...
Do the cars come with an alarm?
Or you only "hear" in a "false" environment?
Who buys used car stereos anyway?
Unlike the RX300 CD changer, the 6 CDs will be dropped through a dashboard slot, instead of placed in a case. Does that mean they will eject through the slot? That could be fun trying to catch them.
If you want the pricey NAV system, you get the cases. I found those cases a pain in the neck.
The Kelly site has complete info on standard features, options and their prices and a couple of reviews. Very good and positive analysis.
I did not know that with the NAV system, the CD changer is relocated and requires a case to load (mine has the ML package). Can anyone verify that?
Very comfortable seats and good back support. Regular stereo (not ML) very good. Everything works as it should - no 1st year bugs. Build quality is excellent. Easy to drive and park. I recommend it for anyone wanting to sit up high and have more storage area than a sedan and drive mostly on paved roads.
Thx
AC
Craig
Thanks!
Serenoa, This is out of door price + shipping cost to my state ($380)