Just buy a new pocket off of eBay. You will need to get the double din trim and new HVAC controls. I recommend just buying everything from Crutchfield. Many people have done this with great results.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have been searching for a pocket for days and can't seem to find one! If I do find the pocket and HVAC controls, would you recommend just running new wiring from all the speakers to a new amp in the trunk, or reusing the existing wires and finding a compatible amp replacement (if one even exists)?

 

I found one on eBay. The HVAC controls will be new and included in the kit that you buy from a place such as Crutchfield. You have to buy a new radio bezel that is made by Metra and again, it includes the new HVAC controls.

you could run new wires for all of the speakers, but the front door ones are really hard. Where the wires pass through the jam and into the door is an electrical connector, not just a rubber boot that you can push wires through. You could push them through the rubber and have them exposed in the door jam, but I don’t like doing that. Unless you are pushing a ton of amps with a high-powered amplifier into some really high-end speakers it’s really not necessary to run new wires. You could always run new wires to the rear deck speakers, but they are super easy to get to since they are accessible through the trunk.

if you want to install a new amplifier you have two options, replace it with another factory Bose amplifier, or go aftermarket. Of course like anything the sky is a limit and it all depends on your budget. The best way to go about it is just to replace the front door speakers and the rear deck speakers and then do a new amp in the trunk and then abandon the two middle speakers that are in the side panels in the rear seat. If you do coaxial 6 x 9 speakers in the rear deck you won’t need or miss those middle speakers.

Personally I recommend installing a new head unit and then running new high-quality RCA cables to a new amp installed in the same location as the factory Bose amp. Then run power, ground, and a remote-on cables down the opposite side of the car to the trunk and the amp. Then you can tap into the harness coming out of the factory Bose amplifier and connect those to the new amplifier for the front door and rear deck speakers, or just run new wires to the new speakers in the rear deck.

 

Awesome that is definitely great info I was looking for! I was curious if all the wires to the speakers were easily accessible from the harness on the existing Bose amp. I used to install car stereo systems for Circuit City WAY back in the day, so I am very comfortable installing a new amp...I just wasn't sure about how crazy the existing wiring is or if there was an amp that can work with the existing speakers, which appear to be 2ohm. I think you are right that it is just better to replace them all and run all new power and signal wires to a new amp and tap the speaker wires from the trunk. This is actually my son's car as he has always wanted one of these G35s, but the stereo is proving to be a pain. With all this, the biggest hurdle it seems is going to be finding the pocket for the top where the existing navigation screen is. I can find kits all day, but none of them come with the pocket! If anyone happens to run across one, let me know where!

Thanks again!

 

The stock Bose speakers are 3 ohm-ish. A good aftermarket amp will drive them, but you’ll want a 6 channel amp if you leave the stock speakers in place. The rear deck speakers are “woofers”, not coaxial, so the middle speakers should be used to retain the highs. When replacing the speakers do a two or three way coaxial 6x9 and you won’t miss the middle set of speakers at all.

the wires are very easily accessible in the trunk to tap into. If you don’t want to hack into the harness you can pull the plug out of the factory Bose amp, solder wires to it and then run those wires to the new amp. That way you can reinstall a factory Bose amp if you sell the car and want to keep the amp. Either way it’s pretty easy, especially if you have experience. The hardest part is the fact that the entire rear interior of the car has to come out to gain access to the rear deck 6x9s, but it’s not too bad.

 

The bose speakers are total ***. I did a comparison with the "standard" speakers once upon a time. The bose speakers look like paper-coned OEM speakers from an 80's ford ranger.

The wiring from the trunk, especially on the coupe, is easy to get to, but since it's a harness made to a specific length, you may need to extend the wires, or have an amp that can be mounted just right to put the outputs in range of the existing wiring.

If I were to re-do one of these with all my knowledge and experience, I'd do this:
JDM climate controls in the factory trim plate. This keeps climate controls exactly like stock, in stock positions and looking stock.
Remove the factory radio and mount the Pioneer DMH-WC5700NEX in that spot. Run the wire to the modular display to be mounted at the top of the storage box. It puts navigation in a useful spot.
Run well-shielded RCAs from the radio to new amplifier(s?) in the trunk, use the existing wiring to go from the trunk to the front doors. Don't bother with the rear speakers. Put good 6.5's components with separate tweeters in the front doors. You will probably need some speaker spacers to get them to mount correctly. Find a friend with a 3D printer that does ABS, and that part can be easy.
Put a good 8" - 10" subwoofer in the trunk. Open air can work, but I prefer sealed.