All in the title... And also, is the factory SatNav any good? Should I bother? I'm big on factory upgrades, and don't really care to replace the original head unit, but if the Nissan nav unit isn't great, I might go that way...

 

OEM is pretty lame compared to even basic aftermarket GPS systems, even including smartphones. The OEM systems is also prohibitively complicated and expensive to install, if not original to that particular car.

 

Satellite radio is the same for any car. It’s content and nothing to do with hardware (H/U, speakers, etc.)

The Z’s CES is lame, whether it is the Bose “upgrade” or the Clarion system.

Search here to gain an understanding and the best way to upgrade the 350z's CES.

--Spike

 

That's what I was afraid of. I like the clean look of the factory nav unit, and hoped that the harness was the same, even if the car didn't have the nav option...

 

Sorry if I made that confusing. By SatNav, I meant the Satellite Navigation unit, not satellite radio... Now I'm confused because I don't know what CES means! I don't mind the Bose in my '05 Touring, but I almost exclusively listen to podcasts these days...

 

You can do a very clean and OEM-looking install of a nav unit in the cubby, if you're handy, or just change out the Bose headunit for an aftermarket piece with nav capabilities. Do some searching on this site and you'll see some great examples of what's possible. Some have even installed iPad or Android tablets in that space. I went with a Garmin unit in my cubby:

 

[QUOTE=dcains;10390973]You can do a very clean and OEM-looking install of a nav unit in the cubby, if you're handy, or just change out the Bose headunit for an aftermarket piece with nav capabilities. Do some searching on this site and you'll see some great examples of what's possible. Some have even installed iPad or Android tablets in that space. I went with a Garmin unit in my cubby:


I'm liking the tablet idea. I've yet to justify buying one, and this might be it...

 

Did you hard wire the unit or use the lighter recepticle?

 

I have a small USB power supply board hard wired to switched 12 volts, and the GPS is plugged into that. You could also crack open the lighter adapter plug that comes with the GPS and hardware that, or buy a generic lighter socket and hide that under the dash.

 

Great advice… any of the methods you describe work well with modern low voltage devices (smartphones, pads, etc.).

Mercifully the foolishness that manufacturers were doing just a few years ago (9.5 volt devices, dedicated chargers, etc.) have given way to USB connections for operations and charging.

 

My completely custom 7" Magellan installation in the stock Nav location:

 

^^ Your Magellan install looks great!

A couple questions…

1. How do you update maps?
2. How do you handle voice guidance?

 

Not my Z but I would do this and use the Pinoeer nex 4000 and use the iOS in the car deture to have the full Apple experience in your car navigation, voice commands and hands free calling, and Siri.

 

Spike:

To install the Magellan, I stripped it out of its case and flush mounted the screen to the bezel, which was customized to fit. I then put a micro USB->USB wire from the GPS and ran it under the center console, exiting in the center console glove box.

I still haven't updated the map, though it needs it badly.

Voice guidance isn't a problem. My long term plan was going to be to fab a mount for a 'center channel' speaker in the location of the OEM GPS controls/joystick, but it turns out that I can hear the Magellan speaker so well that there is no need - though I may do it anyway (splice in a 2" speaker from the Magellan leads).

Thanks for compliment! I even put a tiny square hole in the customized factory GPS bezel in order for the satellite tracking LED to show (orange/green - seen in last pic).

 

Srry to be a buzz kill, I simply dock my Droid phone and go. #cheapb@stard.