# Cruze Car PC Sound system



## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

I decided to go ahead and share my sound system build. As the title states I will be using a car pc for the head unit with centrafuse loaded as the front end software. I will be running tosslink fiber optic from the pc to my alpine pxa-h800 dsp. For the pc I purchased....

Mini-byte double din mini-itx case
 OCZ Vertex 4 128gb solid state I got this refurbished on sale for $89
2 ddr3 4gb memory sticks I had laying around 
 Gigabyte GA-H77N-Wifi motherboard
 M3-ATX 125W power supply
Intel I3-2120T processor









This is it next to the stock radio. That particular case is made to fit a 7 inch LCD screen on the front of it like an aftermarket radio but I will be removing that portion and mounting the screen in the factory location. Even with that portion off its still a bit longer than stock so it will require some modification with a Dremel.


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## NCHEVYHEVN (Aug 5, 2012)

Nice!!!

I thought I would be the only one to install a Car PC into a Cruze. I'm going a different direction than you and only having the PC being and AUX input rather than replace the entire radio. I'm also not using Centrafuse or any other front end. I'm just going to use Windows 8.1

What kind of screen are you using?


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

This makes 3 of us 


Sent from iFail Mobile


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

Look forward to the build. Currently running a tablet but there's so much more I want to do so I may entertain the car pc idea again.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

I'm looking into relocating the stock deck to the trunk, extending the wires and taking the button controls and relocating them. Then using the Y splitter idea, run a car PC audio stream into the same line as the stock deck. Which ever source is playing the music it should, in theory, power the speakers no problem. Lots of rewiring, I know, but just the kind of challenge I like. Relocation of the dash buttons would be necessary for the car PC to fit in the dash with a screen attached. Thoughts?


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

NCHEVYHEVN said:


> Nice!!!
> 
> I thought I would be the only one to install a Car PC into a Cruze. I'm going a different direction than you and only having the PC being and AUX input rather than replace the entire radio. I'm also not using Centrafuse or any other front end. I'm just going to use Windows 8.1
> 
> What kind of screen are you using?


I purchased a 7 inch resistive touchscreen from ebay
I plan to remove the resistive layer and replace it with a capacitive touch panel kit in the future.


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> I'm looking into relocating the stock deck to the trunk, extending the wires and taking the button controls and relocating them. Then using the Y splitter idea, run a car PC audio stream into the same line as the stock deck. Which ever source is playing the music it should, in theory, power the speakers no problem. Lots of rewiring, I know, but just the kind of challenge I like. Relocation of the dash buttons would be necessary for the car PC to fit in the dash with a screen attached. Thoughts?


Yea you would have to relocate the buttons and get a new dash piece for the pc to fit in the dash with the screen. Just curious but why relocate the stock deck? What about mounting the pc under the seat and leaving the radio in place. Put the pc screen in the factory location and relocate the the other screen to the center cubby.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

queencitypr0 said:


> Yea you would have to relocate the buttons and get a new dash piece for the pc to fit in the dash with the screen. Just curious but why relocate the stock deck? What about mounting the pc under the seat and leaving the radio in place. Put the pc screen in the factory location and relocate the the other screen to the center cubby.


Do you mean the mylink touch screen to the center cubby? IDK that it will fit although I could relocate it to the glove box if need be. That would be a more sensible approach to relocate the stock screen though. Nice idea!

Do you know the type of cable or have a picture of the cable that links the stock screen to the stock deck?


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

I'm also working on fiber glassing some tweeter pods to go in the sail panel above the door.















The first pic is after I attached the mounting ring to the trim piece, stretched speaker grill cloth over it and coated it with fiberglass. The second is after sanding, adding body filler, more sanding, sanding and a couple coats of primer. The tweeters are  Seas Prestige 27TFFNC/D


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> Do you mean the mylink touch screen to the center cubby? IDK that it will fit although I could relocate it to the glove box if need be. That would be a more sensible approach to relocate the stock screen though. Nice idea!
> 
> Do you know the type of cable or have a picture of the cable that links the stock screen to the stock deck?


Oh ok. I didn't know you had the my link. If its the base screen then I believe its just 3 wires. For the my link screen I'm not sure.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

It's touchscreen


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

Mick said:


> Look forward to the build. Currently running a tablet but there's so much more I want to do so I may entertain the car pc idea again.


What kind of tablet?


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

It's a galaxy tab 3. 

Having issues with heat currently since temperatures are up to 107, so my battery stops charging. Do the car pc's hold up well to heat like stereos?

I'm thinking if drilling into the a.c. vents that run behind the stereo but need to figure out how to plug back up first when needed.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

Mick said:


> It's a galaxy tab 3.
> 
> Having issues with heat currently since temperatures are up to 107, so my battery stops charging. Do the car pc's hold up well to heat like stereos?
> 
> I'm thinking if drilling into the a.c. vents that run behind the stereo but need to figure out how to plug back up first when needed.


PC's are only as cool as the fan and space factors allow. Probably run hotter d2 the increased processing power/components. 

If you want to drill into AC pipes you can. You can use the chrome metal looking tape to seal them up when you are done. It looks like the tape used on chain link fences when you want to cover a hole. Very strong/durable.


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## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

Easy enough, thanks. 

Thought about adding a fan but figured since it would only be blowing got air, it wouldn't be with the trouble. The a.c. should help.


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

From what I have seen solid state hard drives hold up a lot better in hot environments than traditional hard drives.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

queencitypr0 said:


> From what I have seen solid state hard drives hold up a lot better in hot environments than traditional hard drives.


Very true and you'd need to use one on a carPC but a tablet is what it is in his case.


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

Got the tweeter pods painted and test fit to see how they look. I'm pretty happy with the way they came out.


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

queencitypr0 said:


> View attachment 97522
> View attachment 97530
> View attachment 97538
> 
> ...


Are these the type of tweeter pods everyone is using from Andrei's build or do his go in the stock location?


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

I'm not sure. I didn't know that he made tweeter pods.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## iTz SADISTIK (Apr 6, 2014)

queencitypr0 said:


> I'm not sure. I didn't know that he made tweeter pods.
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


He doesn't, but without going through the entire thread again I couldn't remember if separate pods were used at all so I asked


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

iTz SADISTIK said:


> Are these the type of tweeter pods everyone is using from Andrei's build or do his go in the stock location?


Stock location is where his were in his car but they were covered differently than factory. They may have been aimed towards the passengers more than each other.


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

I made some good progress today.

Here is the screen and control board mounted into the screen housing.



The computer mounted in the factory location. It was a tight fit with all the usb cables coming out the back but I was able to make it work. It is mounted upside down because I attached a slim bluray player to the back of the button panel and the cpu fan would be in the way if it was mounted right side up. I know its not the best solution but If I have issues then I will figure something else out.



And here it is all buttoned up.


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## queencitypr0 (Feb 16, 2011)

I don't have pictures for this but I also wired up the metra steering wheel adapter along with a Joycon EXD. The metra adapter outputs resistive values based on what button you push on the steering wheel. The joycon exd reads the resistive values and allows me to assign any keyboard sequence to that particular value. Centrafuse will read it as a hotkey and execute the command. So I still have fully functioning steering wheel controls!


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## goinovr (May 6, 2013)

It's not the hard drives you really have to worry about with heat. It's the processors on the board that will burn out first. I would probably tap into an A/C duct to make sure it stayed cool. 

I'd also run something like this with Linux...

Jetson TK1 Embedded Development Kit | NVIDIA


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