Stereo Suggestions
 

Just replaced my totaled 2003 350z Touring with a 2014 370z Touring sport, normal factory stereo. Going to replace it and looking for suggestions that will retain the steering wheel controls after installation. Is that possible? The features I care about are a USB plug, either in the front or wired into the center console that will charge and play the phone, front auxiliary plug and camera ready (in case I want to install later) and would be nice to have that interactive with iphone feature. And of course AM/FM. Don't care about Satellite radio or navigation.

I'm female and have absolutely no experience with DIY'ing for my car (my house a different story). I doubt I can install it myself, afraid I will break something. My thought was to purchase somewhere like BestBuy and have them install it. Or is this something you think I can do by watching a youtube video? Would love any input, encouragement or guidance. Thanks in advance!

Best buy actually isn't a bad place to go, they are a large company, have a national footprint and can be services for warranty at any of them so it's not a bad deal.

Keep in mind, if you switch out the deck, things may not sound as good afterwards. Whats the stock system on the car already?

"normal factory stereo"

:icon18:

So is that the bose or regular speakers? Clarity is important.

Hi mrocco,

I'm assuming you don't have the factory nav head unit. If you do, things will be a bit different than what I am about to mention.

Kenwood (JVC) makes good stuff at reasonable price. Installation will require the following:

A double din head-unit (this is the deck itself, double din refers to its size) - $300 at minimum.

Installation kit (wiring harness, face plate, etc.) - $50 at minimum.

Steering wheel adaptor (retains steering wheel controls) - $60 at minimum.

Optionally, you may want a backup camera if you don't already have one - $50 - $$100.

Labour to install will be at least 4 hours. So factor that into the price.

Best of luck!

The speakers are in the front and are Bose. The stereo has no name on it, and the car manual has pages and pages of information for different types of head units but no mention of any brands. Does this mean it's Bose? I'm sad because the manual shows one of the options with a USB plug in the console, but mine only has a cigarette lighter. Here is a picture - I included one of the car just for fun.

When the accident killed my 350 I was SO sad and went on and on about how much better I liked the 350 body vs the 370. It's only taken 24 hours for me to be in love with this 370z lol.

I should have mentioned it's the stock stereo without Navigation.

I thought that clarity/sound quality came from the speakers. If the actual head unit impacts the sound what specs do I look for in a unit to maintain a quality sound?

The deck could be made by a plethora of manufacturers, what matters at the end of the day if its bose or not, bose likes to run their stuff funny sometimes.

Certain cars like my old Infiniti i30 had amps on the back of each speaker while other models had an outboard amp.

Understanding this can't help you understand what parts you need and what drawbacks you may encounter.

I've been doing car audio stuff for a decade now and I've learned a ton over the years. You can definitely reach yourself this stuff but if you do watch videos on YouTube, you need to try to find someone working on a similar year z or what you see can be misinformation.

I typically stick to alpine and pioneer for decks, they make some very solid products.

Go to crutchfield.com and look up your model car, they have some good pictures that come up.

Some others can chime in that know more than I if there is an outboard amp or if there is an amp.built into the deck.

Quality comes from both actually, each plays a part. If the deck has an amp than you put in a new deck but need to be able to mimic the crossover points for the speakers so you don't ruin certain drivers.

You can find cheaper speakers that sound awesome and expensive speakers that sound the same as cheaper speakers. Unfortunately marketing for audio is often misleading, now a days it's hard to know what stats to believe and what's embellished.

It's going to come from both actually as mentioned above. What is your budget total for this build? What features are you looking for? What kind of sound are you looking for? And what music do you listen to? This will help me make some suggestions.

The majority of my music is 60's and 70's (rock, Motown etc) but with Funky Deep House and DJ remix type music as well. I like a very BIG sound. After reading the suggestions here I got in the car and CRANKED up the sound. It sounds great! So much better than the standard audio that came with my prior 2003 350z. Like 100% better. I don't want to mess that up with the wrong replacement. I think all the z's come with Bose? if so, then I have a Bose system.

I think I'm going to go to a place called Beach Auto Sound here in Huntington Beach. They only do car audio (and window tinting) and always seem to know what they're doing (I used them to upgrade the 350). While they might not be the cheapest route, I know I can trust their expertise. My budget is whatever it takes to get what I want. The main priority is the iphone USB (I'm dying without it) and to sound really good when cranked up loud. It's either that or trust a place like bestbuy where I have no idea if the person selling me the stereo or the person installing it are that knowledgeable.

Than you everyone for your input, this forum is a really great resource!

mar

We can help you pick parts and at least take that burden off and just let them install

No they all don't come with bose and thank GOD for that. Because I rip so many out for their poor sound quality. Any new head unit and speaker combo will blow bose out of the water believe it or not.

Hello. Just wanted to share that I've decided to get the pioneer 6200NEX. I'm having it installed at the place I mentioned, not a big box store. As fun as it would have been to try to DIY it I have no extra time.

To answer your question that was accidentally posted to another thread:

It's a different wiring harness adapter. If your stereo shop is reasonably competent this will not be any problem for them.

So I had the Pioneer 4200NEX installed before I saw Jayhovah's post. But I did mention to be aware that it was all Bose in there. I sure wish I had mentioned that last post about the wiring harness adapter, because I was there ALL day! They obviously figured it out but it took a few tries. They were competent enough to know it didn't sound right. I choose the 4200 because I didn't care about built in navigation. The stereo sounds AMAZING and I love apple carplay. Really happy with my choice.

Glad they got it taken care of! I'm putting in my new headunit today!

Jayhovah, let me know how it goes! And tell me which one you get. It's so cool to go from a boring stock stereo to something you love! It's like a new toy and I couldn't be happier. I even turned Suri on for the first time because now using her (actually made it a him) makes sense.

But they did explain something about the way it had to be wired and to be careful with the volume or I could blow my speakers out. The unit doesn't stop the volume at a predetermined max that is appropriate for my speakers. For sure the volume I consider maximum (for me) is not going to blow anything up so it's not a problem.

I went a little lower-end =) Pioneer AVH-X3800BHS... still finishing up the install piece by piece a couple of hours at a time. So far I've installed and run cabling for the backup camera, installed the mic in the factory location, and installed a PAC-CP5 for steering remote control. I am simultaneously running wiring for a sub amp (future upgrade), rerouting some of my laser jammer wiring, and making a custom A-pillar pod for my boost gauge... too many things at once makes for slow progress, but I figure why not while I have everything torn apart.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Sadly I've had to correct this issue a few times for customers. Installers use the same base model harness and you get distortion by number 10 on the volume knob. Even had to correct one in CA:shakes head:

FYI - The 6 disc Nissan HU pictured in mrocco's original post (#6 in this thread) referenced above is definitely Bose which was usually part of the original no-Nav Touring package with Nav/Bose being the next level. Base/Sport/Nismo trims usually came with the non-Bose base single CD AM-FM HU which is easily upgraded to aftermarket HU's driving the existing non-Bose speakers or optional aftermarket choices depending on budget. These trims came with the standard dual DIN opening so there is no need for an aftermarket kit but all will need the aftermarket adapter harnesses.

I too was going to use this unit till I found out it doesn't support Android Auto so I'm going to get the Pioneer 4200NEX or the Kenwood 9703S which is equivalent to the Pioneer.