For you wanting to know if you could upgrade the 2006 Factory HU to the Bose System...THE ANSWER IS YES!!!

I recently purchased the Bose 6 CD changer Mp3 HU to install on my 2006 and after several "No's and it can't be done, etc." My radio guy in Palmdale, CA put it in for me. The wires/harness is already installed for the upgrade in the 2006 Z. It has just been taped away at least I can speak for the 350Z Enthusiast. When my radio guy initially searched he was proverbly ready to give up. He was saying everything other people said "It can't be done because you don't have the correct plug to operate the steering wheel remote and you have the wrong speakers

I told him that was a no brainer if I couldn't keep my steering wheel control. So, he went back and looked a little harder...especially when I told him I found that extremely hard to believe that Nissan would spend extra time making 2 diffferent harnesses for the Bose system and the factory spec system.

A few minutes later he said, "Hey man you are in luck...I found the necessary plug to connect the Bose radio to your steering wheel remote."

Ultimately he connected an aftermarket amp to the Bose System and I kept the same speakers for now and will add a subwoofer in a little while. But for all of you that had wondered the same question, I am proud to say that IT CAN BE DONE...REGARDLESS OF WHAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS BEEN TELLING YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Most people didn't think it absolutely couldn't be done, the problem was that it wasn't worth all the extra money just to install a crappy HU. The general feeling was that if you're going to spend money, spend it on a much better HU.

After all, the convertors for Bose to "normal" components have been around for quite a while.

 

I guess if you want to keep the stock look...good job!

However, for about 300 bucks...an alpine will knock your socks off

 

Hopefully the '06 is a different headend that the first three years of production which has seen a rather high number of failures - mostly in the CD having "issues" like failure to eject discs and failure to play discs. Of the four parts of the factory installation the antenna and its RF booster amplifier are by far the best efforts. The head end is acceptable especally if you can disconnect the automatic sound (level) distorter - there is a thread titled something like $0.10 Bose fix or the like. The worst part of the factory effort is a toss up in my book between the micro-amplifiers which might on a really good day have 8 watts, possibly as high as 16 watts of real honest power per channel or those wonderfully "creative" speakers.

 

Does your non Bose stock system come already with steering wheel controls?

 

Yes it did which is why I was able to make the switch happen

 

Ok. I got the Bose head unit. It's installed and working great! I have aftermarket amps and speakers -- it all sounds fantastic!

The only problem is that I could not see anywhere where the "extra" Bose compatible steering wheel connector is hidden. Any clues on how hard I should look? Where specifically? Do I have to take out anything more than the console to find it?

Thanks.