Xm Radio Installed " Finally "

lexuses drvr · July 6, 2006

Whats up America :) this past weekend I had the chance to install my xm radio ( roady 2 ) into my car . It took some hours of sweat to complete . I received it as a xmas gift and i`m barely getting around to it now . I think its pretty good . It comes with a bracket that hooks up to the center 2 vents perfect . even looks good sitting right in the middle above the factory radio . hooking up the antenna took some thought . I wasn`t about to drill any holes in my car . So I placed it in the center of the trunk , close top the back glass . ran the wire inside the trunk and just run through here & there , hiding the wires at the same time . I lead the wire all the way to the front of the cabin . I had to take out the radio & hvac. control unit . I also had to think of a way to run the power . I wasn`t going to have this big lighter connector showing like that . In my arm rest is another 12 volt adapter . I connected it in there . ran the wire under the shifter to where the radio would be ( hiding the wire ) at . since the connectors to the xm radio are all small . I was able to push the connectors out the vents and connecting them to the xm radio stand ( hideing the wires ) . after I put the radio back . connected the xm radio to the stand and called to subcribe . it was turned on within 15 minutes . the only bad thing is that my XM kit came with a cassette adapter ( not a big fan of that ) . So I have to slide in the tape and that would be the only wire showing . Would be from the adapter :( but its not that bad . Any questions , suggestions , comments , request to see pictures ( don`t have none @ the moment ) Ideas I would appreciate . Also working on hooking up 1 10" woofer in the trunk now .

hawkshaw · July 6, 2006

You might be able to mount the antenna inside the rear deck for aestheic reasons. Because glass doesn't block radio signals it works fine on my LS430.

One more thing: You may not like the appearance of the cassette adaptor, but it'll sound better than the FM transmitter-type kits.

lexuses drvr · July 8, 2006

You might be able to mount the antenna inside the rear deck for aestheic reasons. Because glass doesn't block radio signals it works fine on my LS430.

One more thing: You may not like the appearance of the cassette adaptor, but it'll sound better than the FM transmitter-type kits.

Hey thanks for the responce & the idea . Real late I know but your right I may get tired of the wire hanging down the radio . Its not long so it looks ok right now . what I have come across these days since I installed it was. My radio will spit out the cassette adapter every now n then . It getting annoying . Other than that its perfect. I enjoy listening to the stations . Any suggestions ?? Did you buy the fm transmitter for yours or did you hear it from others ???

hawkshaw · July 8, 2006

Mine's a dealer-install in a 2006 LS430, so it's fully integrated into the system. My suggestion for the antenna placement was because that's where the dealer installed mine.

As far as FM vs. cassette adaptor, I've seen a lot of complaints about sound quality on XM/Sirius and iPod discussion lists. The consensus seems to be that as far as sound quality goes, the FM transmitters are consistently inferior.

You might do some research--perhaps on these forums--to determine if there's any way to integrate your unit directly into the system (perhaps an aftermarket adaptor). This would, of course, give you the best sound quality and no ugly cassette adaptors.

blake918 · July 18, 2006

Lexus, you might want to consider a wired fm modulator. I have one in my LS, and I couldn't be more pleased with the sound quality considering that their are no direct connect options for my car. I think it sounds better than a tape adaptor since I tried that too. Plus, the wired modulator connects to the satelite antenna port on your tuner, so you would have one less wire than with your tape adaptor. ;) I have my antenna on my trunk lid, and I'm glad it's there. I had the antenna inside the car before I got around to running the wire to the trunk lid, and my satelite signal is way better than it was when the antenna was inside the car.