Replacement Horn - Install Question

[mschrenk]

Asking for suggestions on a replacement horn. Would really like something a bit louder and was considering what ECS has listed on their site from Hella or I have also seen the VEMO horn listed on some other sites. I wanted something that wouldn't require any modifications and would prefer a straight up swap. I'm pretty sure my car has two horn, one on each side of the car. Any help you guys could throw my way I would appreciate it.

Hella Horns on ECS:
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-Z3-2.3-...teSearch/Horn/

Vemo horn on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Vemo-W0133-192...ype=automotive

[spacecowboy]

I have the twin Hellas on the VW. Not anywhere as loud as I thought they would be. I'm thinking about Stebel Compact Nautilus air horns. Has anyone used them, or heard them?

[MartyBtoo]

+1

I put the more expensive Hella electrics on my commute Honda, and was totally unimpressed by them.

Marty

[afb]

i put these in. forget which brand they were, but they sound like the older ferrari air horns

[wrench13]

+1 on the Steibel - have them on my bikes - they are FING LOUD and if you get the chrome ones look pretty good too. Let me know if you want those, there are guys on the bike sites that have really good discounts.

[BenFenner]

I've gone through more horns than you can imagine looking for LOUD results. The air horns are almost all useless. Also the modern pancake style (Hella Supertones come to mind, but also tons of stock cars come with them) are usually not loud enough unless you find one off an old Mercedes. The older Volvo horns are sort of the cream of the crop (and have an actual curved horn shape so you know what you're looking for). Here's a thread on another forum I made: http://www.sr20-forum.com/car-entert...-car-horn.html

The take-away was to go with a pair of commonly available and inexpensive Fiamm horns:

FIAMM 72112 Low Note Horn
FIAMM 72102 High Note Horn

And make sure to wire them in parallel.

The frequency is low enough to really carry and garner attention, and the two tones work together to create a secondary resonance that increases the volume (amplitude) above the 130 dB that each supplies individually. Most dual horn setups should do this, but for whatever reason the air horns tend to be much too high pitched to carry enough distance once installed under a hood (on a motorcycle they would be fine I'm sure).

[mschrenk]

Thanks for the recommendation. I went ahead and ordered both using Amazon Prime for about $30 total. (I'm addicted to Amazon Prime) Do I need anything else for this install? When you say wire them in parallel should I be installing both of these to the one of the horn wires? I believe my car has one horn behind each headlight. If that is the case then I remove one of them, seal up the plug and abandon that side? Sorry for the questions - Once I receive the horns I just want to know what I'm getting in to once I start. The less that is a surprise the better. Thanks again.

[BenFenner]

If you have two horns already (I'm not familiar with the Z3 horn setup yet) then ignore the comment about wiring them in parallel. Just wire them the same as factory.

[rf900rkw]

Forum member Cloudbase came up with his own solution. Loud it is.


h

[MartyBtoo]

Forum member Cloudbase came up with his own solution. Loud it is.

Too bad that it is a full size train horn, requiring a fairly large air tank with 120 PSI!

Marty

[Watch Carefully]

Reviving an old thread here. I am seeking loud and obnoxious 2- or 3-tone horns. If anyone has recommendations they feel are superior to the option listed below, I'll be glad to learn.
Brad

PS. @BenFenner -- is this the type of Volvo horn you mentioned below?:

I've gone through more horns than you can imagine looking for LOUD results. The air horns are almost all useless. Also the modern pancake style (Hella Supertones come to mind, but also tons of stock cars come with them) are usually not loud enough unless you find one off an old Mercedes. The older Volvo horns are sort of the cream of the crop (and have an actual curved horn shape so you know what you're looking for). Here's a thread on another forum I made: http://www.sr20-forum.com/car-entert...-car-horn.html

The take-away was to go with a pair of commonly available and inexpensive Fiamm horns:

FIAMM 72112 Low Note Horn
FIAMM 72102 High Note Horn

And make sure to wire them in parallel.

The frequency is low enough to really carry and garner attention, and the two tones work together to create a secondary resonance that increases the volume (amplitude) above the 130 dB that each supplies individually. Most dual horn setups should do this, but for whatever reason the air horns tend to be much too high pitched to carry enough distance once installed under a hood (on a motorcycle they would be fine I'm sure).

[Randy Forbes]

Search: Maserati air horns.

They haven't actually been made by Maserati in decades, but that will get you to the currently available units. A small air compressor, and typically two (2) trumpets (sometimes 3, to 5, if you want it to play "tunes").

This set sold for $70.00 on ebay



If you're wanting horns to let people know you're already in the space they're driving into, then these are what you want! I've had them on several MGBs over the years.

[Watch Carefully]

Search: Maserati air horns.

If you're wanting horns to let people know you're already in the space they're driving into, then these are what you want! I've had them on several MGBs over the years.

Thanks, Randy. I had a pair of air horns on an A6 years ago that were just the sort of inattentive-driver/pedestrian-fright-inducing-device I'm seeking now.
I think you've nailed it. I'll have a triple this time, I think.

PSA: Grainger has a crazy low price on clearance:
https://www.grainger.com/product/FIA...orn-Kit-53CU69

[Randy Forbes]

Thanks, Randy. I had a pair of air horns on an A6 years ago that were just the sort of inattentive-driver/pedestrian-fright-inducing-device I'm seeking now.
I think you've nailed it. I'll have a triple this time, I think.

PSA: Grainger has a crazy low price on clearance:
https://www.grainger.com/product/FIA...orn-Kit-53CU69

WOW, that's less than I paid for a set in 1977! I spontaneously bought a twin-trumpet set (from Major's Imported Auto Parts) on my way home from work after a woman in a Galaxy station wagon about pulled over on top of my MGB, during my routine commute from Concord, CA to San Francisco. I installed them that night.

I just ordered two (2) sets from Grainger's, just to have on hand; thanks for the tip!

[Watch Carefully]

WOW, that's less than I paid for a set in 1977! ... just ordered two (2) sets from Grainger's, just to have on hand; thanks for the tip!

Happy to repay the favor!

[Tigershark48]

That’s clearly the same compressor used on Stebel Nautilus horns like I use on my motorcycle. The plastic trumpets are used on the one posted here in place of the Nautilus ram horn. Great price for sure.

Note: The compressor draws upwards to 10 amps. On my bike, that current normally goes through the horn switch and would fry the switch in short order and/or blow a fuse. To protect the switch, I replaced the oem horn with a relay with the horn wires going to each of its coil contacts. When the horn button is pressed, it energizes the coil and closes the relay contacts. One relay contact terminal is wired directly to the negative battery post and the other relay contact terminal to one of the compressor terminals. The other compressor terminal is wired back to the positive battery post via a 20 amp fuse. The relay coil draws minimal current protecting the horn switch, while the relay contact completes the circuit from the battery to the horn compressor. Also note that the compressor will either suck or blow depending on the polarity of the DC power, so it will only work with positive volts to the positive terminal and the negative ground to the other. If you wire the compressor backwards, it will spin, but won’t toot the horn. Switching the compressor wire should fix it. Polarity to the coil doesn’t matter as the coil is energizes in either current direction.

I’m not sure what the Z3 oem horn current draw is or if it already uses a relay. If no relay is in the circuit, adding one for an air horn would probably prolong the horn switch life and could prevent a blown fuse.

[Jetmex]

I love the Crazy Reds from the Miata group. I have them on two Z3s now and would buy them again in a minute... Not sure they are still selling them but here is the link... http://www.crazyred.com/pages/best_sellers.html#HORNS

[Watch Carefully]

WOW, that's less than I paid for a set in 1977! I spontaneously bought a twin-trumpet set (from Major's Imported Auto Parts) on my way home from work after a woman in a Galaxy station wagon about pulled over on top of my MGB, during my routine commute from Concord, CA to San Francisco. I installed them that night.

I just ordered two (2) sets from Grainger's, just to have on hand; thanks for the tip!

@Randy_Forbes, I've not yet given much thought to where these will fit. I imagine they need to go in the front left corner, somewhere below the air cleaner box.
Any tips? Can I do this without removing frontal bodywork, lamps, etc.?