Hi everyone. I wasn't sure where exactly to post this question, but I wanted some input from 350z owners.

Christmas is coming up and I wanted to buy a navigation system for my husband. I have seen ads for the portable systems (Megellan, Tom-Tom, etc.), but I have also heard that you can have one installed in-dash. His car did not come with navigation.

Is there a preference from anyone? Portable or in-dash look/work better? What brands are good to use? If I decide to get the in-dash is there an easy one to install for home installation? All I really want to get is the navigation feature. I noticed that some systems come with DVD, Music capabilities, but I don't need those. Thanks for any help!

P.S. if I get in-dash navigation does the radio have to be taken out? (he bought a new dvd/cd player for the car and it is already installed) and I don't want to add anything more than just navigation. Thanks again!

 

get a portable then. most in-dash units are all-in-ones. Meaning they have radio, dvd, cd, navi, etc etc. already in them. They do make a stand alone navigation system but they cost more than they are worth in my opinion. Garmin or TomTom seem to be your best bet for portable navigation.

 

portable would look like crap in the Z IMO

 

I have the Garmin 2720 in my Z and it fits perfectly in the car.

 

Need more info. What kind of DVD/CD player does he have? And, What is your limit according to pirce? IMO, getting those portable ones would not look to appealling. Something can easily plug right into the DVD headunit he has, but it does depend on which one he has.

 

Well, first of all, your husband is a lucky man to have a spouse who cares enough to do research on his gift. Unfortunately, the answers you get here may do nothing more than confuse you. Here is why I say this: Navigation devices will go into either the upper/forward cubby or the double din slot (the radio container) of the Z. Since your husband already has new equipment installed in the double din slot (that he probably doesn’t want to sacrifice), your only choice is the upper/forward cubby.

You can put a really nifty navigation unit in the upper/forward cubby. The equipment you install here is not expensive, but the installation is custom and requires the expertise of an experienced/advanced 12 volt installer. You cannot go to BestBuy or CircuitCity and expect them to do this.

So, the only practical choice in the scenario you describe is a portable GPS unit. IMO Garmin makes the best units. Here is the website.

http://www.garmin.com/automotive/pro...tml#automotive

The best selection in the Garmin line is the Nuvi 660. That is because this unit has a large (4.5”) screen that fits inside the upper/forward cubby space of the Z. But, the Nuvi 660 is very expen$ive. The next best are the other Nuvi devices, the StreetPilot c3xx models or the StreetPilot c5xx products. These all have 3.5” screens.

My Z has an arrangement like your husband, so I put a portable Garmin into the upper/forward cubby space, but I don’t like this arrangement. I like the Garmin’s navigation interface, but a 3.5” screen is too small to view clearly while driving. That’s my opinion, but your husband may not mind the small screen. If you do go this route, you will need to “hard-wire” a 12 volt power supply to the upper/forward cubby space for the GPS, and you may need to run an antenna. I put my antenna on the rear strut bar inside the car, and the works great. So even buying the portable GPS, you will have some install costs or efforts.

Please forgive the lengthy post. After re-reading this, I think you should reconsider your gift idea. If your husband reads the Forum here, he probably already has an idea of what he wants for a GPS install. Your well-intentioned gift may disappoint him. In my case, I’m following this Forum to discover the best way to install a fixed navigation solution with a 7" screen in the upper/forward cubby of my Z (and scrapping the portable GPS I am now using).

I’m off to Palm Springs for a golf trip, so I won’t be able to respond again for a few days.

--Spike

 

I've got the Garmin Nuvi 350 and it sits quite nicely in the cubby compartment (2005 Z). It works well without an external antenna; the built-in antenna gets full satellite signal even in the garage. The nice thing about it is I can close the cubby door and no one knows there's a GPS unit in there.

Audio output is sent to the HU AUX input and power comes from the 12V plug. I find myself not looking at it much since the voive guidance is very good at giving directions. The MP3 feature is also nice and I've used it just as much as the iPod.