# 2012 Chevrolet Cruze



## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

Hi everyone,

with the recent passing of my Saturn, I decided to go out and purchase a 2012 Chevy Cruze.

I had an extensive system in the Saturn, and in an ideal world I would just pop it all into place in the new ride...but not such luck.
(all my gear is listed in my sig)

So I am wondering what people have done out there with their Cruzes' !? 
Has anyone done a 4 way active setup (three way front stage) ??


Please post any tips and install pics!

dash kits, amp locations, etc. I want to see it all!


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

instead of starting a new thread i just figured i'd turn this into my build / progress thread

The car is a 2012 Cruze ECO. The following gear is to be installed.

SOURCE
Headunit - DEX-P99RS

DRIVERS
Tweeters - ML 28
Mids - L3SE
Woofers - ML 165
Subwoofers - 2 x 12" IDMax
Shaker - Buttkicker MINI

AMPS
(tweeter & mid) - PRS-A900
(woofer) - PRS-A900
(subwoofer) - PRS-D1200SPL
(shaker) - GM-D7400M

and a lot of install related gear (dampening, second battery, etc.)



most of the progress is taking place on monday, however i'd attached a few pictures of what has taken place so far.

This is the car being used.










Rear shot of the IDMax 12" v3










Side shot of the IDMax 12" v3










This is the L3SE. They are being installed in the sail panels.










Front shot of the ML 165 woofers. These are being installed in the stock door locations.










This is the stock trunk on my car. The cavity seen allows for three of my four amps to be perfectly placed in there. It will then be built flush with the rest of the trunk.










Rear seats removed










The ride with winter boots on in the install bay










Prepping for wiring and dampening










The beginning of the box. Sealed, dual chambered. 1.3 cubic feet each.










Just showing two of the three amps in the cavity. The third fits in the slot seen with the foam removed.










A close up of the above pic










passenger front door w/out panelling










same as above










Stock driver from front doors










some work needed to seal off the doors!










Center console / dash prepped for wiring










Drivers kick










Mic will be placed behind the slits seen on the rear view mirror casing.


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## D-Bass (Apr 27, 2012)

Metra Axxess make the GMOS-044 wiring interface to change the deck, and the 993011s mounting kit, and 40-EU55 antenna adapter if you're replacing the deck.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

thanks. the metra kit is actually the one being used.

it claims to retain all steering wheel function and use of the factory screen to navigate and control certain vehicle functions.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

just a couple more box pics.

the flat carpeted sheet is the insert to cover the cavity being used to house two of the amps in the trunk.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

sail panels progress shot


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

the mid isn't actually mounted yet, so it isn't quite centered, but they are progressing.












and just the door getting some treatment


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

tweeters actually fit with no modification needed thankfully.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

perfect fit for the battery. it will be encased when its done.


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

Sub'd

I have a 2011 that's the same color...


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

m3gunner said:


> Sub'd
> 
> I have a 2011 that's the same color...




I like your taste!

manual ECO too?


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

this is a mock up of amp placement.
the bottom two amps are to be covered to make the floor flush. 
the top two amps will lay directly beneath the sub box.

fans will be used where needed.


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## Sound Suggestions (Dec 5, 2010)

:snacks: looking good sir!


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

jstoner22 said:


> I like your taste!
> 
> manual ECO too?


Yes, indeed...


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

here is a few more shots of the progress.

this shows the amp covering, the battery enclosure on the right rear, and some progress being made on the mids pods.


no idea why the front badge and licence plate turned out yellow in the photo. the badge is black and the licence plate has a clear/smoke cover on it.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

still have some work to do....
-cleaning up amp wiring
-steering wheel controls
-utilizing stock usb connection in console for ipod
-a whole lot of vacuum time and shining
-grilles

in the meantime, here are some more pictures.



here is a shot of what the finished trunk looks like.
the battery is hidden in the enclosure seen in the bottom right.
two amps are mounted beneath the sub enclosure.
the other two beneath the false floor which allows for a flat trunk.










just the uncovered battery.
1/0 gauge main run and grounds.
4 gauge to each amp.
breaker










the two hidden amps underneath the subs
the end caps are not on yet since I haven't completed any tuning, so it will be cleaned up one that happens.










this is the shaker underneath the drivers front seat. 
it is completely hidden from view, and does not obstruct movement in any way.










a shot of the front stage.
these drivers will have grilles on them. they just haven't arrived yet.










left mid










right mid


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## cyrusthevirus23 (Feb 16, 2013)

jstoner22 said:


> just a couple more box pics.
> 
> the flat carpeted sheet is the insert to cover the cavity being used to house two of the amps in the trunk.


that box looks sweet and those subs are a great choice to have i used two have two of these in my 89 camaro iroc those things are so clear!


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

So... how/where did you run the 0 gauge to the back?

Looking very good!


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

m3gunner said:


> So... how/where did you run the 0 gauge to the back?
> 
> Looking very good!



The seats were actually removed, front and back. This allowed much better access to effectively hide everything. 

The car just happened to make things easy. There wasn't an issue running all the wires along each side. Nothing shows.


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

Nice... that's good news on the wiring.

I need to take some time to see how the doors come apart. I'm planning on going very light with my system. Stock head, MS-8, JL Audio XD amps, Dynaudio speakers and either a JL Audio 13tw5 or a Microsub 8.3.


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## cyrusthevirus23 (Feb 16, 2013)

i also love the stealth mode with the amp under the box great place


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

m3gunner said:


> Nice... that's good news on the wiring.
> 
> I need to take some time to see how the doors come apart. I'm planning on going very light with my system. Stock head, MS-8, JL Audio XD amps, Dynaudio speakers and either a JL Audio 13tw5 or a Microsub 8.3.


that should be a nice system! simple and quality components.





cyrusthevirus23 said:


> i also love the stealth mode with the amp under the box great place


just found this picture of the other two PRS-A900 amps.
its obviously not completed, the wiring will not be looking like that.

its just showing the first false floor to give a level mounting service for the amps and hide the RCA's. The opening in the cavity showing the wiring will be closed off as well.
You can see from the previous main trunk picture what this looks like with the second floor covering the entire thing.

4 amps, all hidden!


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## cyrusthevirus23 (Feb 16, 2013)

jstoner22 said:


> that should be a nice system! simple and quality components.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thats coming together quite nicely you cant even tell there is 4 there impressive sir


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

some more progress pics.

the pods are 90% done. just a little touch up is needed, and the grilles are still enroute.

have the stock screen and the steering wheel controls hooked up now.
the harness indeed retains full function of the stock info screen in addition to controlling my P99RS


















Thank you GM! The usb connection in the console is a simple USB at the other end as well. So the P99RS simply plugged straight into the stock wiring. Most cars are not like this.










finished amps beneath the false floor


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

Nice job!
sub'd for more


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

Well some good and bad news.

the bad news = my yellowtop is dead. It gave me 7 years of trouble free use in demanding applications. 

the good news = I did things right and installed a battery isolator. Without one, the yellowtop not holding its charge would have discharged my starting battery as they levelled out. This is one main reason why these are needed in a dual battery setup!
Here is a better picture of the isolator










A shot of the engine bay wiring including the isolator. (not much to see as its all covered in loom)










Also, it isn't visible at all unless you stick you head in the actual trunk and look around the box, but the inflation kit sits nicely in the slot seen.
A couple of 'L' brackets keep the box firmly in place as well.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

Just did some colour matching between the headunit and cluster / info screen.
Its near perfect colour match in person.

















Still waiting on the grills for the pods to arrive.
A couple of rattles to work out, but very minor thankfully.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

For those that are possibly thinking of using the harness from metra, apparently you lose the ability to dim your cluster and info screen at night.
Not a big deal for me, but still something to note.


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

Do you still have bluetooth with the vehicle or does that go away as well?


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

I am actually not 100% on this.

My pioneer bluetooth is in there as well and saved its settings from my last install. So it just automatically worked. But now that the headunit is in...I may have a redundant system.

I haven't tried re-pairing my phone yet, but the stock voice prompts and mic still work when using the steering wheel call button.

I'll have this figured out in the next day or two and report back.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

m3gunner said:


> Do you still have bluetooth with the vehicle or does that go away as well?




I just tried using it. 


YES, it does indeed retain the factory bluetooth.

...so it turns out I have a redundant system haha


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

are those pods for the l3se's sealed? or do they vent into something...


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

jstoner22 said:


> I just tried using it.
> 
> 
> YES, it does indeed retain the factory bluetooth.
> ...


That's frigging AWESOME... this means I could use my Alpine 9887 and retain the Bluetooth.

Looking great!


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

quietfly said:


> are those pods for the l3se's sealed? or do they vent into something...



They are indeed sealed. 

Sealing them limits the bandwidth of the driver on both the upper and lower end. This wasn't a concern of mine however, as I am not running tweeter-less, and only running down to 300/400hz.

They perform fantastic in these enclosures in the frequency range I'm giving them.


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## mister2d (Mar 7, 2013)

Hi

Good build thread. I have a 2012 Sonic hatch and about to start a build. My car is mostly identical to the Cruze.

Couple questions. Why did you run RCAs and power together. Doesn't this usually create interference and/or alternator whine? Also, is there a reason you didn't use a power distribution block instead of wiring all those power lines to the second battery?

Just asking... About to start mine today.

Thanks


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

mister2d said:


> Hi
> 
> Good build thread. I have a 2012 Sonic hatch and about to start a build. My car is mostly identical to the Cruze.
> 
> ...




The RCAs are run on the passenger side. The power on the drivers side.
High-end shielded RCA's were also used. There is no whine /interference at all.

There was no need for a distribution block. Not having one saved money, one less connection for potential problems, easier install, and better delivery of power.
There is no point in having a distribution block if you have a second battery in the trunk with easy access. It will only be of benefit if you have a single battery with multiple amplifiers.


So you have the 1.4T in your Sonic?
Make sure to start a build thread! I'm curious to see what you are doing with it


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

jstoner22 said:


> For those that are possibly thinking of using the harness from metra, apparently you lose the ability to dim your cluster and info screen at night.
> Not a big deal for me, but still something to note.





I just want to clarify that I spoke to soon on this. You do not lose this ability. Sorry about the confusion.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

Brock_Landers said:


> I always appreciate builds on these kinds of cars more than luxury cars. Lucky for me, my doors had no holes to cover up and were pretty much resonance free. You definitely have to get more creative and do more work when that isn't the case.
> 
> What is that inflator thing?
> 
> Looking good!


A LOT of new cars do not come with spare tires any more.
In place of a spare, the car comes with the inflater kit.

It is a 'goo' that is sprayed inside the tire, then the tire is inflated. It will allow 50 miles on a flat this way so you can get to a service bay.
(Only works on tread flats though. Anything on the side-wall and you are out of luck)


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## mister2d (Mar 7, 2013)

jstoner22 said:


> The RCAs are run on the passenger side. The power on the drivers side.
> High-end shielded RCA's were also used. There is no whine /interference at all.
> 
> There was no need for a distribution block. Not having one saved money, one less connection for potential problems, easier install, and better delivery of power.
> ...


Ah, I must have missed seeing that in your pics.

Yes I have the 1.4T Sonic. I'll have my build thread up in a few moments.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

took these a few months ago.

doesn't do much for SQ via a cellphone, but here it is.
2012 Cruze ECO - YouTube
2012 Cruze ECO (HAT, Hertz, Image Dynamics, Pioneer) - YouTube


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## mister2d (Mar 7, 2013)

That sounds really nice.

Want to record with better SQ? Get a Nokia phone that has Rich Recording. I've tried it on my system and it captures pretty well up to 107dB.


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

Finally got the grilles on my L3SE's


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## jstoner22 (Jun 30, 2009)

finally got my sub grilles installed!


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