2008 Aveo5 Deck and Speaker Basic Question

[alloy171]

I own a 2008 Aveo5 with the basic radio in it. I am looking to install an aftermarket deck in it and maybe some speakers to liven it up.

Can anyone tell me where I can find the CORRECT wiring harness and dash kit for this year and model? I am sick of best buy and circuit city telling me the install will be free, but the parts will be over 50 dollars. It cant be THAT expensive.

Also, what are my speaker sizes front and rear? Is it worth it to install some aftermarket speakers?

I'm not looking for an intense system, just something a little better than stock so i can enjoy music. Is the install hard for the new deck? Is there a write up for the install?

Thanks

[AveoRob]

Alloy,

I have an 08 Aveo5 SVM too. First thing I did is rip out that POS radio. I recommend using cruthcfield.com for your hardware. They will provide you with the correct harness, dash kit, and install instructions for free. This was the easiest install I ever did. After prewiring the radio harness and adapter harness, the install took literally 5 minutes. Now I know how easy it is to steal this radio. I bought a Kenwood 119 dollar radio and got the free harness, dash kit, install instructions, and free shipping! For the speakers, the doors are a weird 4.5 or 5", crutchfield will recommend a 4" replacement. Don't do it, they still sound like ass. You need to buy 1 inch spacers for 6.5 inch speakers and shallow mount 6.5" speakers such as infinity. They must be shallow mount or the window will hit when rolled down. Mount the spacers in the old holes and put the speakers in the spacers. The rear speakers are a 4x6 plate. Crutchfield will recommend a 4" with an adapter. You can also use infinity 4x6 plate. I would probably leave the stock in the rear unless you are going all out. Now you also need an amp and a sub, but you didn't ask about that.

[genefitz]

I agree with AveoRob on that. Crutchfield would be the best place to go if you are doing it yourself. If you want someone else to do it, finding a GOOD PROFESSIONAL stereo shop is a great idea.
Due to the odd speaker size, I ended up ordering my speakers on ebay, primarily because I didn't want to use spacers and my LT has the 6 speaker system. I am replacing my factory speakers with an MB Quart 4" component kit in the front, and MB Quart 6.75" coaxials in the rear.
On another Aveo forum, a fella asked about the wiring diagrams so that he could wire in a new stereo, and I had to tell him NEVER EVER cut wires to install a stereo, buy a harness.
Some people can be foolish.
Oh, and by the way, just the harness and the dash kit will cost around $50 Sorry, but no way around it.

[little monster]

using an MB quart component kit, can you use the seperate tweeter to replace the factory tweeter on a premium sound system? My brother had an MB quart system that sounded spectacular, I would love to put one in my car.

[genefitz]

using an MB quart component kit, can you use the seperate tweeter to replace the factory tweeter on a premium sound system? My brother had an MB quart system that sounded spectacular, I would love to put one in my car.

Yes, absolutely you can. It would be a spectacular choice. Last minute I switched to Blaupunkt for price reasons, but there are very few speakers that carry both sound quality and overall durability as the MB Quart components.
If you go with the factory size, 4" drivers and 1" tweeters, and have the premium sound system common on the Aveo LT, the tweeters will be a direct size match for the factory speakers. Mind you, components come with their own cross over, best placement of which would be in the kick panel just forward of the door. This way you can run the new Tweeter and Driver wires.
For the rear deck speakers (speaking of the Sedan mind you) I would suggest coaxials. the stock size is 6.75", however you can use 6.5" with an adapter. Using components in the rear of a car (unless used in the door) is kind of a waste of money, when you can get very nice coaxials, even MB Quart, for a fairly decent price, and the sound will amaze you.
For those who don't have the stock premium sound, the forward column pieces with the tweeter placement can be ordered either from your local dealership, or online at http://www.gmpartsdirect.com. See the earlier thread.
I hope this helps.

[little monster]

thats a great help! I was thinking of getting infinity speakers for the front but with this option available I will hold off! thanks again, but I have one other question... and this is very dumb I know, but do the factory tweeters twist out or mu the whole panel need to come off. I know you mentioned running new wires for the crossovers. Is there any good sites that tell how to get this panel off without breaking anything. This carf is my first new car and I am trying to take good care of it. I have the hatchback version.

[nickmnusa]

Hey fells im getting my stereo from crutchfield in a few days and was thinking about wiring my xm plug and play radio power into the wiring harness. Might this be a bad idea and draw too much power? should I just continue to use the cigarette plug and hide the wiring as best as possible? Thanks

[genefitz]

If you are using just the plug & play unit (IE the Roady XT) I would suggest you stick with the lighter plug, OR route the wire, and use one of the "spare" slots in your fuse block. Cutting into the stereo wiring for an external unit may be a little hard on your stereo fuse. Remember, it does take more power to run the display and lighting for the external unit than it would for just a controller/tuner for a sat-ready stereo.