What did you do to your FX / QX70 today?

I installed Curt hitch today. Took about two hours, but the satisfaction was UNLIMITED. Stealership quoted me $650 for hitch + install. Not sure why so much, maybe because they remove the bumper for installation. I did not. Install was complicated, just had to be patient with drilling holes in aluminum bumper support, and then threading bolts into them. It did suck for inner bolts, as they lined up just inside the bolts that attached bumper support to the frame. In all, very happy with install
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Any more pics on the hitch installs. I will be installing a hitch onto my old FX35 when I get back in town. So ironic, I took a the hitch off and now that my brother-in-law bought, he needed one back on.
 
Any more pics on the hitch installs. I will be installing a hitch onto my old FX35 when I get back in town. So ironic, I took a the hitch off and now that my brother-in-law bought, he needed one back on.

Yes, the FX stays in the family... :)
 
I can take a picture underneath the car, and pinpoint "hard" places. But install was pretty straight forward. I did not remove any bumper plastic pieces. Only thing removed was muffler section on my Stillen (2 bolts on each pipe AND there is a ground wire (I believe) that goes from frame to muffler). Drilling, I used 1/2 titanium drill, and just "peeled" away plastic pieces to get the holes. Most annoying was to thread the bolts into holes, as hitch holes line up exactly with bumper beam support bolts. Just take your time,. I had this wire shipped to me with hitch (not sure what it is called) that you can screw one end to the bolt and thread the other one into hole - made it a lot lot easier. Hitch was a little heavy, so I had to do "spider-monkey" stuff laying on the ground and propping it with one hand and one leg, while screwing bolts in. I started with one bolt on each side that goes in horizontally, so the hitch would be in place, and then did four bolts that go into bumper support. Or, my hitch wasn't OEM, it is Curt


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I got my FX about a month ago and got what I think to be a great price on an '03 with 48k miles. Outside it looks amazing with very few imperfections that you really have to look for. Inside it is pretty spotless as well except for the driver's area (I think it was owned by a couple with no kids or a single person :o). The driver's side carpet is was a bit dirty under the mat and the seat looked wrinkled greyish and worn (it has Willow interior). I let the guy at the carwash talk me into an interior and exterior detail for $100 and I must say that the seat cleaned up beautifully. I wish that I had taken a before and after picture... I thought that I would need to replace the lower seat section but was dreading it as I was seeing costs in the ballpark of $1500. Now I just need to get a few splits/tears mended and it will be beautiful. With the addition of some WeatherTech mats, the interior will be close to good as new. Well worth the $100 just for the seat cleaning alone :o).
 
I just finished throwing on 20% tints on the front drive and pass side. It was so hot outside but great for the tints to really stick. Next weekend will be 20% on the rears or the factory. More goodies should be coming in the mail this week...cant wait :)
 
Minor mod, replaced the satin black tape on my mid stainless bar (under the grill) over time the old tape had shrunken and one each end the SS was exposed.

Nice to have the ride back and start in on re-fresh work. Going to attempt dropping in new dash speakers this week.
 
Minor mod, replaced the satin black tape on my mid stainless bar (under the grill) over time the old tape had shrunken and one each end the SS was exposed.

Nice to have the ride back and start in on re-fresh work. Going to attempt dropping in new dash speakers this week.
Sounds sweet. What type of speakers are you going with?
 
For the dash Infinty Kappa series 329CF, been a long time for me and auto audio. If Tchuck lived here I'd just cut him a check :)
 
For the dash Infinty Kappa series 329CF, been a long time for me and auto audio. If Tchuck lived here I'd just cut him a check :)

You can cut me a check anytime you want, buddy.

^ That sounds promising! I know they are power hungry, what were they driven with?

I had kappas in a previous ride, running off the head unit. The key is to avoid sustained distortion. After you install them, turn the fader all the way to the front and crank it up slowly. If you reach your limit without audible distortion, great. If you hear ANY hint of clipping, crackling, or anything funny at all, make a note of the volume level and make 80% of that level your limit. When you get a real amp you can reassess.

You're also right about them being power hungry, but that's only half the issue. The other half pertains to Bose's modus operandi - low impedance drivers with low power amps. The Bose amp will already be meager, but additionally your kappas will almost certainly be of a higher impedance than the Bose drivers. That's a double whammy of lower volume. Better sound quality, but lower volume.
 
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