vetteman00

Hello everyone i currenly own an Is300 and want to upgrade to a gs430 or 350, However i am a stereo junkie and cant bring myself to owning a car that the radio can't be changed out. My qustion is this, Has anyone made or has anyone isnstalled an aftermarket radio in a 3rd gen gs yet?? I know i could do a bit1 or RF360 but would really love to change out the stock unit!! Any help would be awsome!!! Thanks

jamodeo

iTrader: (1)

If you are talking about the whole nav screen, I have never personally seen one changed out, and I don't know how you would keep your climate control, parking sensors display (I do not know if you would loose the spedo display of parking hazards) if you replaced the unit. I have seen people change amps, speakers, and subs, but never the center unit. Hopefully someone else can provide some more insight.

-Joe

AudioBob

I have never seen anyone take out the entire unit and replace it. As mentioned above, too many things are included in the stock unit to make it a viable option. Imam using a Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.3 and it does an excellent job of providing a strong and noise free signal to my aftermarket gear. The car does need a good processor as the factory signal is not very flat and requires some major work to make it usable for a person that wants a top notch system.

jamodeo

iTrader: (1)

I have never heard of, or seen the 3sixty.3 before your post, but all I can say is wow! That is one crazy customizable device! Thank you for sharing.

-Joe

AudioBob

It is a relatively new processor, but so far I am really happy with it. It had a few software issues initially, but Rockford Fosgate has fixed what appears to be most of them at this point. It is upgradable, they have plans to add functionality and peripherals to it as well as an IPAD application for tuning and etc... It was very easy to integrate into the GS.

DrewGS350

iTrader: (1)

I too have never heard about 3sixty.3 until today. All I can say is fantastic. What improvements did you notice and I take it you did the install yourself?

jamodeo

iTrader: (1)

Very cool! What kind of speakers are you using?

-Joe

drydeniv

Agreed, the 3.sixty.3 looks like a fantastic processor, and I am seriously starting to consider an aftermarket setup as my ML is disappointing me more and more...

So silly, since my 2001 2GS 430's ML was simply fantastic....


@ AudioBob, I've read roughly 100 (or more) of your posts regarding your evolving system, and it sounds amazing...

Would you be willing to give the current rundown of your 3GS setup?
And, would it at all be worth it just to use the stock speakers with the 3.sixty.3?

There are a number of threads about this subject already, forgive my brief re-referencing of these threads below:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...r-upgrade.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...ring-help.html

maybe over at diymobileaudio, too?
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...sixty-3-a.html

swtjlsy

iTrader: (6)

there was one car from New Jersey that has a single Din installed under the factory radio.not sure if it worth the work to rewire the entire HUD to just add aftermarket head unit

AudioBob

I will give a run down tonight of where it is and the things that I have encountered along the way.

jamodeo

iTrader: (1)

Interesting, I wonder how that would work. I know the bottom is technically separate because the ML and stock audio units are different, but I'm curious as to see what the stock screen says when you hit the audio button, and does the bluetooth still come through the speakers, or the lexus link system, or parking sensor beeps... Very curious!

-Joe

AudioBob

The system in my GS 350 has evolved from just changing out the front speakers to a decent component set to where it sits today. I started out with a set of Polk MM6501 components in the fronts running off of the factory amp. I made a set of adapters out of 3/4" floor underlayment because there is not much depth to the doors for aftermarket woofers. I Also installed Dynamat Extreme on all four doors, rear deck and trunk. I completely removed the vapor barriers on the front doors and cut and installed sheet metal over the large openings as well along with Dynamat. This helped with noise and sealed the doors more and improved mid bass response.

I then installed an AudioControl LCQ-1 and a 4 channel amp. I used two channels to run the door speakers and the other two on the factory sub. While it was a noticeable improvement, the sub bass just wasn't there and after about six months, I realized that I wanted more processing power and better equalization. I looked at every processor out there and chose the Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.3 because it seemed to have just about all of the features that I needed/wanted and it was set up to be upgradable. Like any processor out there, it had software issues at first, but RF seems to have addressed them in the updates. It does a great job turning the factory signal into a very high quality output for aftermarket amps. It is a very powerful processor and while it is not hard to install, I don't recommend a person with very little knowledge of car audio to attempt to do.

Currently my system consists of Focal 165v30 woofers in doors, Morel tweeters in dash, factory center, factory rears and a Morel Primo 10" sub woofer in a sealed box. I unhooked the rear tweeters in the doors so only the mid is playing. I currently have three amplifiers running the system as the RF 3Sixty.3 has no built in amplification. The main amplifiers that I am running are Italian, made by a company called Audio System. I am also using a small Alpine on the center channel. I just love Italian amplifiers!!!

I removed the factory sub last weekend when I finally got around to building a proper enclosure for the new sub. Morel makes one sweet sounding sub that blends very well with the fronts. I may add another sub for a little more volume, but I need to give this sub time to break in as it has only been in for less than a week.

I am just now starting to be satisfied with the overall sound and I haven't even had the car on an RTA yet for an initial tune. I plan on doing that this weekend and I am very encouraged because I can finally see some potential. I know that I will most likely never be totally finished as I just like to take a break from life and mess around with audio gear because I enjoy it.

vetteman00

Hey thanks for all the response guys. I may end up just doing a rf360 as that sounds like the best route.

vetteman00

I'm wondering if you unplug the radio from the harnesses would every thing else function properly? I really want to make this happen!! The thought of owning a car with a factory radio makes my butthole pucker!!! LOL

IXI187IXI

iTrader: (3)

are you talking about Ron's GS?



Link to his magazine spread