Elronse

I'm not sure what you're asking for. I think you're asking if the owners of an integrated GPS system have any reception problems. The answer to that would be No, not due to the cabin. The antenna would be an exterior one, and would depend solely on it's view of the sky at the time. Remember that GPS depends on multiple satellites in view at any one time. If you have 3 you get a fix. If you have 4 you get a better fix along with better altitude information. Well you get the idea. The problem with a handheld in a vehicle is that you can be affected more by 'urban canyons' and other obstructions. As the device's antenna doesn't have a complete view of the sky no matter where you place it. However, that said... I've had a Garmin for about 6 years now. I put it up on the dash and it does fine, rarely loses satellite lock. Tells me where I am and all of the fun stuff a GPS unit does. It's just not quite a convenient as a built in unit. Elronse 96 ES300 w/ 92k. New forum member and utterly sigless right now.

I agree. I just got a Viper 790XV installed and it's loaded. You can find them for $500 installed with 1 remote or $600 with 2 remotes. Remote Start is part of the package. It's very nice and one of the new 2-way alarm systems. I looked at the Viper 550 as well, which is a basic alarm with remote start. They're about $300 installed. If you shop around you can find it for that price. (It's like a Viper 500 ESP alarm with the Viper 150 remote start. Alone either one of those is about $200 installed.) Remember that Directed owns Viper, Clifford and about 10 other alarm brands now. There are similar systems out for most of their brands. I've been told that Directed uses the same core for all of the brands, with the exception of some Clifford as they're newly acquired and haven't had their line retooled. The installation takes about 2 hours at a shop. In order to get Directed's warrantee it must be professionally installed. The install cost is about $100 of the price tag on these systems. Very reasonable, IMHO. If you do get a remote start system make sure you ask how many remotes it comes with. If you need 2, find somebody that will give you 2. If you shop around a bit, you can get 2 for the same price as others with 1. Hope this helps, Elronse New 96 ES300 owner. 92k miles (No sig yet, cause I suck)

Yeah, that's too true. But, I do want to enjoy my Lexus for many more seasons. I shall enjoy the ride, my friend. I shall.

I'll look into the tranny fluid. Even though it doesn't meet my stated ROI, it will definitely pay off in the long run. Speaking of that. Anything else I should be doing / using to achieve longevity in my vehicle that may not be obvious? No ROI considerations. And I consider the tranny fluid not to be obvious. Thanks again,

Thanks for the quick reply on my question. I've never cared about what a vehicle performs like, rides like, etc. in the past (Been driving for 25 years) as the previous vehicles were just vehicles. A tool to get from A to B. With the Lexus, I found out what a REAL car can be and what I've been missing all of these years. When I think I could have been driving about 1/2 of those years in a Lexus, I am deeply saddened. Enough on that. Thanks for the info on the Continentals. I don't know enough about cars to be able to make a BS judgement yet. I do know Computers, and they are very similar in that what you're told by a dealer or salesman is normally BS and I know enough to not only know it's BS, but know why and able to tell them why. I figure in a decade or so, I'll be able to do the same with vehicles. I'll keep my eye on these Continentals. I still have full tread on my current tires and will make a rim / tire decision when they wear out. I'm trying to learn and fully appreciate this forums members tolerance and responses. Thanks again.

I read about those at www.tirerack.com Sound awesome, and the user reviews on them are all positive. However, my local tire place told me that Continental was a 'discount' tire company and they didn't carry them. My question is this, 'Since when is 90 bucks a piece, discount?' Enough rant. I'm the one that's interested in mileage and ride. I understand about a nice alloy wheel improving the ride as they offer weight reduction. Now, are the larger the rims and the smaller profile tires the best way to do for ride quality? Ride quality in this instance = smoothness of ride. Thanks, Elronse

Thanks for all of the input. It's been a great help. Steered me away from a CAI for one. It makes sense what you said about it. I'll definitely get a fuel system cleaning, but I won't do that until I have 2 or 3 tanks on the K & N filter. I want to see what it can do for me. I know that these things can be subjective. But my driving is constant with minimal variables. I'll report any changes in MPG positive or negative from what I've tried. Most of my driving is on the Interstate at 75 MPH. I have 45 miles one way with 80% of it at 75. Only 3 of the miles is non-interstate. Thanks again.

This is my second post, the first was similar but wasn't specific to MPG only. I have a 96 ES300 with 92k on it. It's in great shape and I want it to last for a good many years. The last vehicle I had was a little beater (95 Hyundai Elantra) that had 183k on it when I got rid of it. I figure if I can get that out of an Elantra, I should get 1 or 2 million from my Lexus. (Well 500k anyway). Currently I'm getting 25.5 MPG. I improved it by .7 MPG by ensuring full tire inflation (Was SEVERELY underinflated on 1 tire). As I put 25k a year on my car and gas prices are rising so fast, I'm on a quest for improved mileage. Here's what I've decided to do and I'm interested in 2 things from you. The first being any warning or suggestions on what I want to do. If it's stupid, tell me. But tell me WHY it's stupid. The second being suggestions on what I can do in other areas to improve it more. I am interested in a 1 year ROI on anything I do to the vehicle. As an example, if I do something that improves my mileage from 25 to 27.5 MPG, that would mean that my annual gas usage went from 1000 gallons to 909.1 gallons. Which means that the improvement must cost less than $163.62 installed. (90.9 gallons * $1.80 a gallon for premium). So, first on my list is an improved air intake. I have a K&N filter on order, this may or may not improve gas mileage. I plan on tracking this as well as I can, with notations on why I think mileage changed. I figure if I'm going to drive this vehicle until 2020, a reuseable filter is a must. Are there other filters that I can get the same kind of reuseability from for a similar price premium? I'm talking other filters in the vehicle. I'm looking into installing a CAI. I can't find one for the ES300. Is there truly a space issue as I've read in several places? Or just not the market for it because it's not a performance / sports car? Next on the list is to use AMSOIL 0w-30 with either an AMSOIL oil filter or a K&N filter. I like the idea of 'extended drain' oils. This seems anathema to me, but their literature convinced me as well as some 3rd party articles that I've read. They also have the ability to put 2 filters in place with one the normal full-flow filter and the second is a finer filter. As I'm planning on having this vehicle for a very long time, I figure the better the oil is filtered, the better off I am. Transmission fluid and gear box replacement fluids they make as well. All of these? Exhaust is another that I may or may not get to. All I'm worried about is gas mileage, not horse power. However, I figure an engine that is a efficient as possible, will naturally get better mileage. I've seen some CAT back systems that seem to be well-designed, and some full systems as well. How about a replacement CAT? I do know that a higher flow CAT can increase performance, but by how much? And would that meet my ROI requirement. I would consider a longer period on the return on investment, but it would have to be a significant improvement in my mileage to make it worth the investment. Any other suggestions? Thanks, Elronse

Great... Thanks for the information. That's what I was looking for. I don't want to do much to it, just want to ensure that the ride stays great. Any suggestions on washing / detailing the vehicle. I've never even wanted to treat a vehicle I own well before, but I want this one to last and remain the beauty it is today. Elronse

Just bought my 96 ES300 2 weeks ago. Love it. I put over 500 miles a week on it and am wondering what I can do to enhance the mileage I get and anything I can do for comfort improvement. I currently get a bit over 25 mpg on 91 octane. What I'm looking for are categories for improvement and suggestions within those categories. Some that come to my mind are: Mileage: 1) Air Intake - Replace with K & N filter, Cold Air or something similar. Comfort: 1) Alloy and tire combinations 2) Suspension upgrades 3) Cabin noise - Best treatment for seals on the doors? I've read that gummi-pfledge is really good, any other suggestions? Window alignment? Transmitted road noise? Don't get me wrong, it's the best driving car I've ever had, not that that's saying very much. But, I'm hoping to drive this car for many years, and want the best experience possible. Thanks, Elronse