Mad Dawg 350

How about buying an XBox or a PS3 and get Tiger Woods latest golf game?!?!?! Seriously though, golf is expensive even if you play a couple times of month. I traded in my golf clubs for another costly addiction - fly fishing. WHEW!!!!!!

ROCK ON!!! Just think, you now have a designated driver until next summer!!! And if your wifes chooses to nurse Jr or Jr-ette, even longer!!! CONGRATS!!!!

Why not go the the dealer??? I would rather have an OEM wiring harness that was designed to plug right in to the existing electrical system than have someone who may or may not know what they are doing, (especially on a Lexus) trying to 'rig up' a connector by cutting and splicing wires together. I would venture to guess you can just buy the wiring harness seperate from the hitch itself. It is at least worth a call to the dealer to find out.

For me, it is toss up between chips & salsa with a Sam Adams or milk and cookies (chips ahoy)

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Just curious, were the repairs (timing belt/water pump) initially done at an independent shop or at the dealership?? IMO, I would only trust the dealership (nothing against independent repairs shops) to do this kind of major service for they would have far more experience and would know all the little idiosyncrasies.

Mine was an '82 Vette Chevette........

You're welcome!! No experience with Lexol products so I am unable to comment, but do stay away from Armorall's wipes, they're crappy. What I like about the leather wipes from Griot's is that they are convenient, easy to use, no mess, and cleans lighty soiled areas, conditioning the leather at the same time. The fragrance is hard to describe but I like it, as do my friends that ride with me. Kinda manly-leathery type of smell if that helps. I use the wipes once a month and my seats still look like new (especially the sides on the bottom cushion which is subject to the most wear & tear) on my almost year old GS350. I do have to tell you about after conditioning the seats, the seats will not be slick to slide across on, but after a few days, they will be just right. Try them out, I think you'll like the wipes. Like you, I've been eyeing that handled glass-mop-sort-a-thing that Griot's sell. The corners on the GS's glass are difficult to get in to. I can not think of any alternatives other than possibly using a Swifter (used for kitchen/hardwood flooring) type of contraption but the end part with the pad would be too big to get down in to the corners well enough to be effective. I saw just last night as I was thumbing through an Autosport catalog that I received a similar type of glass cleaner on a stick that Griot's sells. Do not recall the price or if they just sell the wand part without the pads. Just check'em out and see what you find. Maybe an inquiry to Griot to see if they will just sell the wand and not the kit might be worth the effort. Good luck in your search!!

It's even worse when one does not know what the cause is. To me, it sounds like the drive thru car wash place you take your car to does not rinse very well and the people did not completely wipe down your wheels afterwards. Then when you drove way, the heat that was generated baked the dust in to the finish. I'm with you, it would bug me like crazy even if it is not that noticable to others.

WOW!!! That stinks!!! To me, looks like the brake dust baked in to the wheel's finish. Just for my sake and maybe others who may have had or do not want to what happen to them, what product do you use to clean the wheels?? Was it one of those "spray on and forget" type of cleaners or the type that is rinsed off?? Was the wheel hot when the product was applied?? Please keep us updated on how the clay works.

I've used quite a few of their products - leather wipes, interior cleaning wipes, speed shine, wheel cleaner, fine hand polish, just to name a few. I really like the results that I have seen with all of these products. If you are interested, they sell a lot of their products in small sample-like sizes to see if you like them or not. Plus they have a satisfaction guarantee that can't be overlooked if you do not like what you purchased. Happy detailing!!!

IMO, cut bait and go fishing. Plenty of special women out there for you to find. Best of luck!!

OH YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! $1100 is way too steep for new rubber for your RX330. Certainly shop around at Costco, BJ's or Sam's Club to see what they have in the size you need. Also shop Tire Rack (tirerack.com) and Discount Tire (discounttire.com). Since you have the 17" wheels, you should get out the door for far less!!! Good luck in your search.

Having once owned an 05 Infiniti G35 with the sport package (6sp tranny, 18" wheels, and sport tuned suspension) my opinion is that my 07 GS350 is far better of a car. Depending on your preferences, sport or luxury, will steer you in the car to get. I know nothing of the Acura's so I can not comment. The best thing for you to do, which I am certain that you will do is test drive them all to see what you like the best. My Infiniti was more performance (w/ 6sp) oriented than the Lexus, though the GS350 is no slouch when it comes sporty driving. The Lexus is just more luxurious. The Infiniti had better brakes and a lot stiffer suspension than the Lexus. The suspension was too stiff for my wife's likeing which is why we sold the Infiniti to get the Lexus. My wife just could not get comfortable on long drives. Best of luck in your search!!

I'm interested in having sound proofing/deadening material installed to try and make my GS350 more whisper quite. Searched this forum and did not find anything on this topic. Looking to do the doors, full trunk, maybe the floorboards if it's not too involved. What do you audiophiles use?? Dynamat, Hushmat, Dampifier, RAAMmat, etc?? What are the pro's and con's??

Here in central NC, snow happens maybe once a year. This past winter it snowed over night, accumalating no more than a heavy dusting but it did coat the road surfaces. I did not have much choice and had to venture out in it. With the "snow" button on for the tranny, it seemed to do fairly well getting around except on inclines. The summer tires that came with the 07 GS350 are just that, summer tires. Not meant for traction in snow. I was able to get up the slight incline with the help of the traction control system when it kicked in. It was very slow going but I made it up the hill. Given that Illinois has far more snow than we do here in NC, the AWD option that you are looking at may be the way to go. Best of luck in your search.

I can sympathize with you. I have a 07 GS350 with OEM Yoko Advan A10B, which only have 11,500 mile on them. When I bought the car new, there was a tiny sticker in the window that in essence stated that even with proper care, if you got 20,000 miles out of them, you were doing very good. While mine do not have the wear issues - 6/32nd left at 10,000 mile service, mine have excessive noise coming from them. They sound like offroad truck tires they're that bad. I'm taking the car in to the dealership today to have them assess the tires. Hopefully, they will agree with the noise that I hear is loud and excessive offering replacement under warranty. IMO, Lexus should have choosen a longer lasting, better performing tire.

Mrs Burns

Fly fishing, mountain biking, gardening, fine cigars and distilled spirits

As an outside observer, it's kinda looking that way. All these thoughts of drinks has made me real thristy!!! When I get home, I think I will have to pull out one of my very big and old college drinking cups (yes I still have a few of them) and pour a super phat bourbon and coke. The party is on!!!!!!

Mine was a '92 VW Jetta GL. It was the first car that my wife and I bought when we were first married. It was great fun until the reverse gear exploded then the car was never quite the same. It later developed some type of timing problem that 3 different dealerships could not figure out.

Anything that someone else is buying!! LOL If I'm buying, beer (just about anything Sam Adams makes), then bourbon, cognac. Starting to get into scotch.

$47,500 out the door back in Sept 06, my car was still on the boat when I bought it!! All options (except ML stereo, 18" wheels, awd), was able to get full window tint, paint sealant, sales tax, destination fee, dealer doc fees as well as $1500 over what was owed on my trade ('05 Infiniti G35). I was very happy with the deal that I was given. To my surprise, the next day after taking delivery, the owner's wife (of the dealership) called me up to thank me for my business, as well as offer me a job (jokingly) because I was able to negotiate such a good deal. I think I got the deal that I wanted because I was paying cash and that a Mercedes and a BMW dealerships were right next door which I said I was going to if they did not give me what I thought was a fair deal. I returned 4 months later, returning the favor and bought my wife a RX - also got a good deal on that purchase as well.

If one is to believe the MPG given by the GS itself, I'm getting about 21mpg around town and nearly 32mpg on the highway doing 75mph with the cruise on. I have an '07 GS350 rwd with just over 11k miles on it. I would say my driving style is fairly average in terms of accelerating from a stopped position.