4flyer
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I see you go to Collin. Same haha
What Did You Do To Your 3rd Gen Today?
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I see you go to Collin. Same haha
Thomas_Magnum_'98
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Is that a KDC-X500? I think I have the same radio! What kind of phone do you have?It all started with stopping in at the car stereo place to see if I could get a replacement clicker for the aftermarket alarm that was in my truck when I bought it. Turned out it was of a type no longer manufactured so no new clicker for me. A new alarm setup then - I can justify it - the driver's side door lock is nearly worn out from turning the key so many times. The new alarm and clicker setup won't cost much more than fixing the lock...
So I am waiting for the installation to be completed and I start looking at the stereos. Just looking of course - the stock unit sounds just fine to me and I like the fact no one is likely to steal it. I like that it's simple too - not a lot of buttons, no menus, etc.
But the phone - I really need the hands free phone. I can even write it off I need it so bad, and Bluetooth would sure be nice. I can use my headset for the phone but for Bluetooth music I really need a new stereo. Need - that's it - need.
Next thing you know I have this:
I've just started programming it and it's going to take a while but I like it so far. The readout is kind of hard to see in daylight (why is this stereo mounted so low?), but I knew that when I got it. I looked at the double-din version and decided it was way too obvious to thieves and I want the space below for a Scangauge.
Mission creep - we haz it! :thumb:
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GangsterOfLove
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It's a KDC-X599 - which I think is a KDC-X500 with some additional equalizer functions. It sounds fantastic to my ears, even using the stock base model speakers.
I use it with an iPhone 6. It pairs automatically every time - which is something the Alpine in my work truck has never done reliably. :thumb:
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Thomas_Magnum_'98
New member
I think it's got a bit more power than the X500 if I'm not mistaken. I was gonna say if you like your music to sound PHENOMENAL, plug your iPhone in the USB port. It uses the head unit's DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) and just gives the music a much fuller sound. It also charges your phone at the same time. If you're a REAL nerd, you can load some FLAC files on a USB and play music from that. It will blow your mind. [emoji41] Here's my setup with a 128 GB Sandisk flash drive with all my albums loaded on it in FLAC format.
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GangsterOfLove
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Thanks for the info! I'll certainly try using the USB connection and see how it sounds.
When you play from a flash drive like that, how do you search for your songs?
When you play from a flash drive like that, how do you search for your songs?
Thomas_Magnum_'98
New member
What I do is have a folder for every artist, a folder for every album from that artist inside there, and then the songs inside the album folder (this is how most music defaults to saving anyway). Once you've got the flash drive plugged in, you can hit the back/search key on the bottom left corner of the face to go "up" folders and enter to go "down" into them. The flash drive does have to be formatted as FAT 32 though. It won't work otherwise. I love this little head unit!
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4runner001
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4flyer
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Well they don't call it quad c anymore
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theesotericone
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That's not nerd that's audiophile. If you where a real nerd you'd see if there's any after market firmware for that unit and flash it.
I just picked up a Dual DV526BT double din a few weeks ago. It was really cheap on Amazon. So cheap in fact that it won't play FLAC. So I've been in the process of converting my 300GB collection of FLAC to MP3 320kbps. Talk about audiophile sacrilege. The only plus is that will make the collection under 120GB so I can fit it on one micro sd card. I still have my Fiio X3 that plays FLAC that I can just plug into the 3.5 jack as well. For the price of the unit I'm incredibly happy with it so far.
Thomas_Magnum_'98
New member
That's true! That's great, man. Honestly too, unless you're running some seriously good equipment, there's not a huge difference between mp3 320 and FLAC imo. It just makes me feel better to play FLAC lol.
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4runner001
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Well they don't call it quad c anymore
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Haha it's been a few years since I took summer classes there. At least we know we're taking about the same school.
Back on topic.... I rented a RugDoctor today to clean up the interior. Man was it filthy!
redstar
New member
My first deck was a Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X696. Fantastic deck. Only reason I replaced it was cause I had employee discount at a car audio shop and I bought the Pioneer DEH-80PRS for half price lol.It all started with stopping in at the car stereo place to see if I could get a replacement clicker for the aftermarket alarm that was in my truck when I bought it. Turned out it was of a type no longer manufactured so no new clicker for me. A new alarm setup then - I can justify it - the driver's side door lock is nearly worn out from turning the key so many times. The new alarm and clicker setup won't cost much more than fixing the lock...
So I am waiting for the installation to be completed and I start looking at the stereos. Just looking of course - the stock unit sounds just fine to me and I like the fact no one is likely to steal it. I like that it's simple too - not a lot of buttons, no menus, etc.
But the phone - I really need the hands free phone. I can even write it off I need it so bad, and Bluetooth would sure be nice. I can use my headset for the phone but for Bluetooth music I really need a new stereo. Need - that's it - need.
Next thing you know I have this:
I've just started programming it and it's going to take a while but I like it so far. The readout is kind of hard to see in daylight (why is this stereo mounted so low?), but I knew that when I got it. I looked at the double-din version and decided it was way too obvious to thieves and I want the space below for a Scangauge.
Mission creep - we haz it! :thumb:
Im still using the Kenwood though! I hooked it up to my PC and tapped into its power supply
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redstar
New member
Dude change out those speakers. You'll be amazed.
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theesotericone
New member
Put a lift on it last night. Also put on SPC upper control arms and sway bar bushings all the way around. It's this toytec lift. All in all it was about ten hours of my time with some of that making coffee and posting cool shit on the interwebs. I took it on the highway to test it out and it still cruises straight at 80MPH. Then I took it down some well known dirt roads and it felt super smooth. The ass end didn't wash out once. Pre lift height was 20.5" all the way around. Post lift it's sitting at 24". I'm sure it'll settle out a bit but I'm happy with it so far.
The hardest parts where getting that damn upper bolt on the rear shock off. In the end a sawzall made it pretty painless. The smell of cutting through the bushing alone was worth it. Just glad the wife wasn't home. The other thing that I sort of forgot I had to do was press the old UBJ out of the spindle and press the new bushing for the SPC arms back in. A quick trip to Oreilley's and I had a free ball joint press kit. Of course it didn't have all the parts to make it perfect but after cutting a piece of 1.5" black iron pipe to size it worked out great.
Here's some of the fun.
The hardest parts where getting that damn upper bolt on the rear shock off. In the end a sawzall made it pretty painless. The smell of cutting through the bushing alone was worth it. Just glad the wife wasn't home. The other thing that I sort of forgot I had to do was press the old UBJ out of the spindle and press the new bushing for the SPC arms back in. A quick trip to Oreilley's and I had a free ball joint press kit. Of course it didn't have all the parts to make it perfect but after cutting a piece of 1.5" black iron pipe to size it worked out great.
Here's some of the fun.
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JayRolla
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Front looks a little high. I would crank the front down an 1".
theesotericone
New member
Sure. Send me some adjustable coilovers and I'd be happy too. lol
The measurements from center of hub to fender are the same all the way around with a 1/2 a tank. Could be the incline it's parked on is throwing your eye off?
JayRolla
New member
That could be it. I guess no rake looks unnatural. From looks like it has 5" of lift.
theesotericone
New member
It's more lift then I expected for sure. About 3.5 inches from where it was before. I'm hoping it settle out a bit in the next month or two. At full flex the rear brake line is really tight. I might add the extended. It's also still got the stock 265's on it for now. I'll have to live with that for the next 10,000 miles at least. If I dump any more money into it now the wife will not be happy. She's also the reason the factory running boards are still on it. lol We purchased this to replace her astro van and it's slowly morphing into my weekend rig.
Next in line would be a front bumper and sliders. Then the brake upgrade. Then tires and possibly new rims. I plan on painting the stock bumper black and having a local welded weld some hi lift points up. Then maybe black out the lower rocker panels and doors. First I have to remodel our kitchen though. Once that's out of the way I'm hoping to have carte blanche on the 4runner.
4Runner010
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Relentless DIY is done and painted adding hoops soon
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