Factory order sport arrived: Couple surprises
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Joined: Jan 2010
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From: Near Philly
Factory order sport arrived: Couple surprises
I received my factory ordered 1500 sport from the dealer on Saturday the 10th. I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of items.
First, my grille was body colored the way it supposed to come and not the chrome grille with honeycomb inserts that is on the Laramie. I assume they got their parts supplier issues worked out, etc.
Secondly, I ordered the media center 430 expecting the REN sales code and received the 430 RBZ. The "hard" buttons on the front are different. The open/close and voice command buttons are switched among some other differences. It's nice to have the voice command button on the driver's side although it would be nice to have it on the steering wheel. I'm not sure what else is different between the two head units since I have never really seen the REN in person.
My overall thoughts: I was reading a lot on this board on how the alpine surround system was lacking. Well, I have to disagree. I am very happy with it. To be sure, you will not win any car-audio competitions with this stock system. However, as far as stock systems go, IMHO it rocks. What I like about it is that the speakers are extremely clear. There is not much hissing noise during loud volume control when there is a break in the sound during play (I am sure there is a technical term for this). Also, I am not getting any distortion during play.
I changed my eq settings to +8 bass, +7 treble and -2 mid. I also set the fade to 1 click towards the rear. I felt the music coming equally from all angles and the sub hits "OK" when the volume is on the high side. The volume did seem a little front heavy until I set it to 1 click towards the rear. I actually like not having the bass dominate the sound, but there to get the full range. And by far a CD or good MP3 rip plays and hits way better then FM or Sirus. Don't tune your eq on radio.
As far as MPG goes, it so much depends on your driving habits. If you want to get good gas, you can. If you want to whip around town, you won't. I was surprised to see how well you can keep the hemi in 4 banger mode around town and not just on highway. However, you are definitely not showing off the power in ECO mode. After 70 MPH on the highway, it's tough to keep the eco light on unless you are on a slight down grade.
And as everyone already knows, the power is impressive. It's there when you need it! I'm trying to baby it for now for break in. I'll let her loose after a 1k or 2k miles.
Another thing I appreciate is the pleasant drive. What I mean is at 80+ mph on the highway it feels like I am doing 50. I really have to be careful because I caught myself doing 85 or so in a blink of an eye. My old Durango was screaming at 85 MPH and would be vibrating by that point (to say the least). The Ram is almost sleep walking at 85mph.
One last thing: The sport cloth/pleather bucket seats are phenomenal. I was close to getting the leather with heat and vent, but I am glad I didn't to save a few bucks (I am sure they are nice!). I was really impressed with the pleather-vinyl. The cloth seems very sturdy as well. Good support around the sides of the buckets. I was VERY happy with the comfort level of the seats and soft feel.
That's all I have for now. I could probably fill up 10 pages worth of how much I love this truck.
I'll be able to post some pics tomorrow morning.
First, my grille was body colored the way it supposed to come and not the chrome grille with honeycomb inserts that is on the Laramie. I assume they got their parts supplier issues worked out, etc.
Secondly, I ordered the media center 430 expecting the REN sales code and received the 430 RBZ. The "hard" buttons on the front are different. The open/close and voice command buttons are switched among some other differences. It's nice to have the voice command button on the driver's side although it would be nice to have it on the steering wheel. I'm not sure what else is different between the two head units since I have never really seen the REN in person.
My overall thoughts: I was reading a lot on this board on how the alpine surround system was lacking. Well, I have to disagree. I am very happy with it. To be sure, you will not win any car-audio competitions with this stock system. However, as far as stock systems go, IMHO it rocks. What I like about it is that the speakers are extremely clear. There is not much hissing noise during loud volume control when there is a break in the sound during play (I am sure there is a technical term for this). Also, I am not getting any distortion during play.
I changed my eq settings to +8 bass, +7 treble and -2 mid. I also set the fade to 1 click towards the rear. I felt the music coming equally from all angles and the sub hits "OK" when the volume is on the high side. The volume did seem a little front heavy until I set it to 1 click towards the rear. I actually like not having the bass dominate the sound, but there to get the full range. And by far a CD or good MP3 rip plays and hits way better then FM or Sirus. Don't tune your eq on radio.
As far as MPG goes, it so much depends on your driving habits. If you want to get good gas, you can. If you want to whip around town, you won't. I was surprised to see how well you can keep the hemi in 4 banger mode around town and not just on highway. However, you are definitely not showing off the power in ECO mode. After 70 MPH on the highway, it's tough to keep the eco light on unless you are on a slight down grade.
And as everyone already knows, the power is impressive. It's there when you need it! I'm trying to baby it for now for break in. I'll let her loose after a 1k or 2k miles.
Another thing I appreciate is the pleasant drive. What I mean is at 80+ mph on the highway it feels like I am doing 50. I really have to be careful because I caught myself doing 85 or so in a blink of an eye. My old Durango was screaming at 85 MPH and would be vibrating by that point (to say the least). The Ram is almost sleep walking at 85mph.
One last thing: The sport cloth/pleather bucket seats are phenomenal. I was close to getting the leather with heat and vent, but I am glad I didn't to save a few bucks (I am sure they are nice!). I was really impressed with the pleather-vinyl. The cloth seems very sturdy as well. Good support around the sides of the buckets. I was VERY happy with the comfort level of the seats and soft feel.
That's all I have for now. I could probably fill up 10 pages worth of how much I love this truck.
I'll be able to post some pics tomorrow morning.
Thread Starter
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Professional
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 103
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From: Near Philly
Any reason for the change? slightly improved unit over the REN?
Champion
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 3,563
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From: Ontario, Canada
It is made by Mitsubishi, not sure of any changes other than the VR and Uconnect buttons are on the the drivers side which is something that totally makes sense. I wondered why they weren't before.
