2013 Chevrolet Cruze LS KISS Stereo Upgrade

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Reithi

Junior Member
There are not many documented Cruze builds out there. I got the car for my wife four years ago after a local dealer made an offer I couldn't resist.

Being her daily driver, she had always wanted better sound with more bass and handsfree calls that didn't take up too much trunk space. The original plan to build an active 3-way front plus sub was replaced with a basic build with minimal equipment and custom fabrication.

Two months ago, I had to get off my behind after the left front midbass speaker started rattling.

This is what went in..................
  • Headunit: Sony MEX-GS820BT Single DIN
  • Wiring Interface: GMOS 044
  • Front Midbass: XS-XB1621C 6" Midbass
  • Front Tweeters: Pioneer TS-T110 Hard Dome Tweeter
  • Rear Fill: Pioneer TS-A1670F Coaxial
  • Subwoofer: Pioneer TS-W261S4 in a custom sealed box
  • Subwoofer Amp: Pioneer GM-A3702 2-Channel Amp in Bridge Mode
  • Fuse Holder: Stock OEM Fuse
  • Speaker Rings: Soundskins
  • Speaker Adapters: Scosche SAGMHR-634
  • RCA Cables: Made as we watched a movie with the wife
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I started with the amp mounting and wiring. It had to go into the trunk as there were not many other places it could fit. The GM-A3702 size was the perfect size for the space. The carpet was sandwiched between two HDPE cutting boards and pre-wired before being going back into the car.

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Next up was the sub and box. I went with a down firing 1 cu ft sealed box for accurate punchy bass. A Chevrolet logo was machined to give it a custom touch and wrapped in black carpet to match the trunk interior.

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It was time to move on to the A-pillar tweeter pods. The Sony XS-XB1621C tweeters could not fit in the stock mounting locations and didn't come with flush mounting brackets. After testing a few tweeters I had lying around, I settled for the Pioneer TS-T110 tweeters.

I also ordered generic plastic tweeter pods and spare A-pillars for fiber glassing in case I would need to return the stock ones should the car be sold. The A-pillars were then wrapped with vinyl and fitted back into the car.

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Now onto the door speakers. Metra speaker adapters and Soundskins speaker rings were installed but forgot to take pics inside the doors.

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Keeping with the "simple" theme, the Sony GS820BT was selected for it's rated output of 45W RMS per channel, just enough clean power for the front components and rear coaxials.

It was hooked up with the GMOS-044 wiring interface to retain the warning chimes and avoid cutting the stock wiring harness.

The headunit was installed with a Metra kit painted to match the dash. The constant power and ground cables were also replaced with 12 gauge wire and connected directly to the bsttery.

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The headunit and sub amp power wires were finally soldered, heatshrank and connected. As luck would be, the car had two spare fused power connections. With a total current draw for the headunit and sub amp at about 40A at maximum power, I used spare slots instead of installing a separate fuse holder and distribution block.

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That's it folks.

How does it sound? It sounds pretty good for a simple system without processing and amplification. The output is surprisingly flat, midbass and tweeters sound much better while the sub rounds it off with clean tight bass.

Just what the doctor ordered.
 
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Reithi

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