Hello all,
I just picked up an 03 with 70K miles on it this past Wednesday, 03/06. I have liked the car for a long time, flirted with buying one back in 09 but ended up going with a MINI convertible. I modded that car, performance and suspension, but now I was tired of the hard ride and manual transmission. So I fell back into the Q45. Very happy with my purchase, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of updates or changes available to the stock stereo. It came with the Bose with a 6 CD changer and a tape deck (I don't remember cassettes being around in 03), anyway I would like to be able to use my phone via Bluetooth and play my iPod at least with an aux, but the 2 stereo stores I went to locally said there is nothing they can do, not even replace with a new stereo. I did some research online and I see this one guy, who has a Q45 and is/was an audio tech and he's done some cool things, but A, he is in IL and B, I haven't been able to contact him. Any suggestions or advise is welcome. In the short term I did get a Bluetooth FM Transmitter. Also, not that I want to do any crazy performance or suspension mods on this car, I would welcome suggestions for an exhaust and wheel/tire increase over the stock 17's.
Thanks

Welcome to the forum!

I don't know how much you know about Nissans in general, but I'd also recommend you look at the 2003-04 M45 also as you research Q45 info as they shared a lot of components and quirks.

1. Audio
I have seen some aftermarket audio stuff on an M45. I'll see if I can dig around for the link, but I know I've seen some on youtube.

2. Suspension
Not much to do, but if you have come to a point where you absolutely have to change the suspension, BC coilovers can be a good option. Member HollywoodJackson has had a good experience with them and when he rolls by, might be able to offer more pointers.

3. Wheels
Any 5 x 114.3 bolt pattern wheel in the correct offset and bore hub should work. You can get M45 wheels, or from the Q45 ones that had 18 inch wheels.
You could also go for FX 20 inch wheels if you like the look. I did.

4. Exhaust
There are always a myriad of options. I think both DarkKnightQ and HollywoodJackson have posted their exhaust work. When I get to a better position, I'll post that link too.
What kind of sound are you going for?
One thing I'd say is that completely removing the resonators left my exhaust a little too raspy for my liking. I did that because the right side one was corroded. That's something you need to look into btw, since you have an old low-mileage car

Not sure this'll have much to do with an 03', but I used the plug n play "Nissan pac Roem" or something. by pacific something, cant recall lol. I pulled my radio, used an aftermarket double din dvd and the adaptor is Boss amp compatible. Sounds great. It took me a couple of tries, but I found the right company. One company had me going the RCA route with the color plugs. s*** sounded like s*** for 3 weeks.

Does yours not have an AUX port? If so you can do a lot with that. You can plug bluetooths and whatnot into it. Otherwise go back to the old cassette to aux to phone set up which I hate lol.

Personally, I would keep your Bose thing...and just get back to playing CDs. I have Amazon music and all that, but I'm telling you...CD's sound soooo much better in the car. When I first got my Q, I put in one of my favorite CDs, and it sounded so sexy. I only changed mine out because the lights were half out, volume button was half shot, and I like to watch movies in my dash. Otherwise, I would have kept it. But I'm glad I didn't lol.

There are options to replace the radio, more complex for these newer Q's than the older ones where the whole unit came out. The car stereo store I bought mine from has options for these early 2000's cars, try to find a dealer that can help.

EdBwoy wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 09, 2018 12:45 am

2. Suspension
Not much to do, but if you have come to a point where you absolutely have to change the suspension, BC coilovers can be a good option. Member HollywoodJackson has had a good experience with them and when he rolls by, might be able to offer more pointers.

4. Exhaust
There are always a myriad of options. I think both DarkKnightQ and HollywoodJackson have posted their exhaust work. When I get to a better position, I'll post that link too.

Thanks EdBwoy!

Suspension: from what I've read you've done with your Mini, and now that you've got tired of the stiffened suspension and manual transmission, I strongly suggest you try the BC Racing coil overs. That way you can find out how you like the stiff suspension with an automatic transmission! Haha. The stock suspension had too much body roll. That could be that my struts were on the frits when I purchased the car. I can't imagine new OEM struts feeling as good as the BC Racing coil overs.

Seriously, my Q felt sketchy on the freeway at 100 MPH with the OEM sport suspension. The coil overs now have the car feeling like my brother's Z06. You would be happy with a tuned suspension.

Exhaust: my exhaust mod is actually an exhaust leak that I love the sound of! Basically, the pipes come down from the manifold, join together and become one pipe, then go into a cat which is right under the shift console. The pipe coming out of that cat, is broken. The resulting sound is very low, almost quiet, at idle. But when I step on it, it sounds glorious. Driving down the street, and letting off the accelerator, it back fires (the correct term for this is AFTER FIRE) nicely. I do want to actually fix my exhaust, so that its not leaking. However I want to maintain this new sound. So I haven't gotten around to it just yet.

Hopefully, my input helps.

All the best,
~HollywoodJackson~