This thread is to advise those who are considering putting an aftermarket head unit in there 350z hr. I have now tried all three kits (metra, scosche, and american international). So I would just like to give my opinion on them.

The metra dash kit is decent for either a single or double din head unit but if your using a single din, head units that have any sort of flip down face will not work without some modifications(deh-80prs). If your going to be installing a double din hu then the you will only be using a small plastic trim piece along with the oem stereo mounts so you sort of pay for a lot of things you don't need. The fitment is pretty good but I felt the construction was lacking but it was still strong enough to decently support your average single din hu.

The scosche dash kit also works somewhat well for either a single or double din hu. Where this kit differs from the metra is it has a removable pocket and both a single or double din hu would use the oem hu mounts. Fit and finish was not that great in that it left a small gap at the botton, but I liked the fact that the oem mounts were more secure than metras mounting system for a single din hu.

The American International kit in my opinion is the best by far for either a single or double din hu, or even two single dins. The kit has beveled edges instead of flat ones therefore to me it looks the best hands down. The construction in my opinion is much better than the metra and scosche as it feels very sturdy (American Made). Some slight modifications have to be made if you want to install a double din unit but they are very straight forward. The biggest thing for me with this kit is the fact that the hu can be adjusted in a wide range of ways so as to accommodate flip down face hu's. Another reason I really like this kit is because it comes with new plastic mounting brackets which are used with both double or single din installations. This is good for sound quality purposes as you are not grounding the hu chassis to the body of the car unlike the oem metal hu brackets. With the HU isolated from the body of the car, you can ground the hu to the same grounding point of all your other stereo components. This allows for a zero difference in ground potential between your hu and amps, which in turn can lower floor noise picked up by your rca's.

I hope this helps those looking to put a new head unit in their hr z. It's too bad I bought the other two before trying the AI kit.

 

+1. AI is definitely the best.

 

Any links to where we can buy that AI double din kit?

 

I got one for my '08 from an ebay seller (3kingsaudio) about a month ago, <$20 shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271013676324

 

if thats a double din why does it have a mid piece?

 

Thanks for the review as I'm thinking about buying a new hu soon. It's long over due b/c I'm still running the stock unit... time to spice up my stereo.

 

The Metra I had was like that, too. Just trim that thin crosspiece off with a sharp razor blade.

 

The one thing I will say if you use any kit that uses the oem/non oem brackets is you may want to get yourself a dremel. It really makes things a lot easier to cut/dremel off the little plastic pieces that stick out from the ac control unit located underneath the hu as these make it difficult for the lower part of the brackets to go back in and come out.

 

Not sure what you mean. Never had that issue on my '08, with either the Metra or AI kit. I do have a Dremel, though.

 

Hey, thanks for the shout out!