Just picked up our new '02 SE...merlot with black cloth, sunroof and Bose 6 disc in-dash. It's a wonderful car, and since we usually keep our cars for 8+ years I am planning on it being a wonderful car for some time to come.

What I like:
(1) power
(2) Xenons
(3) handling

What I dislike:
(1) torque steer
(2) FM radio (see my question below)
(3) the fact that I now have car payments


My first question on this board is a simple one - the Bose stereo CD sounds fine, but the FM is quite muffled (even with the treble cranked up to +5). Is that normal, or do I just need to clean the wax out of my ears?

Thanks!

SteveH

 

the bose system is really a clarion as i recently found out. bose only "tunes" it...whatever that means. thus, not the greatest. how does the cd sound? if it's still muffled...prob something's wrong.

 

CD sounds great, so I don't think it has anything to do with the speakers. I guess I just expected a bit more out of the FM.

SteveH

 

Get an FSTB, it helps a bit.

Read #4 of Bose's answer to that particular question.

They check the vehicle acoustics and customize the "circuitry" on the headunit to compensate for flaws and/or tunes it accordingly to get the best sound. Bose's website explains this more.

 

uh..a FSTB help in cornering..i cannot see how that can help torque steer..

 

Of course there's a difference in quality between CDs and the radio, but the Max's seems too much of a difference. Oh well, I don't listen to the radio much anyways.

Kinda off-topic: Does anyone have XM or any other satellite radio? If so, how's the quality of it? CD quality?

 

Some of the torque steer is from chassis flex.

 

I think something is wrong with your reception, I'd have it checked out! Mine works perfect, and I can pick up stations far away crystal clear. Could be an antena ploblem.

 

I don't have it but i do audition it a lot at the shops. In any case, it's not exactly CD quality but you'll be hard-pressed to notice the difference unless you've got a trained ear. At best i'd say it's close to a 192kbps mp3 encoding.

As far as XM/Sirius goes, i do notice a slightly better SQ from Sirius than i do with XM but a lot of people would say the opposite. So in the end it's all up to your ears and channel line-up preference.

 

you need Limited Slip more than a strut bar..

 

Kinda disappointing that our 10 year old Subaru had a much better sounding stock FM, but I think that VQ sounds better than FM anyhow

SteveH