Crappy horn...
 

Who else thinks the horn on Pros are too high pitched. It sounds more like a chirpy beep than a honk to me.

I remember when I got my car, and my parents heard it, they were like "What the hell is that? Is your horn going bad?" Even some of my friends have made fun of how it sounds. I want to change it.

Has anyone changed it? And if so... What did you get? How did it sound?

we have gone down this road before....and I agree with you about our wimpy horn....a good replace ment is the FIAMM twin horns....with its own little air compressor.....it WILL get someones attention.

:{D

I agree. But that is basically all Japanese horns. I changed mine and went with the Hella air horns. They work really great. It is funny when you honk at somebody and you scare the sh!t out of them because they don't excpect it from a little Japanese car.

I'm strongly thinking about replacing my horn as well. It gets ignored, which is scary. I've been looking at FIAMM's site, and the 'El Grande' series looks good (not to mention the cool name), but they don't have a sound sample. Air horns are loud, but I don't care for the way they look. I'd love to have something that just bolts in, in place of the stock horns. Anyone have any suggestions?

I never had this problem with my TransAm;)

one of the drawbacks to just replacing the horn with a better sounding one is that the Proteges only come with one horn unit. The best sounding horns (like those on the Italian sports cars) use two units, one with a low tone and one with a high.

I replaced my horn with a FIAMM set (just had to find a bolt to mount the second one to) and they sound better. But, these units are built like the originals and not like a "horn"... I would like to have with something a deeper sound... they are still to high pitched for my liking. Next time I have reason to pull the grill off I'll likely replace them.

I've got dual Hella mini-horns (not full air horns) that are not too big.
But I haven't installed them yet. I was going to put them on my SE-R but didn't end up doing it before I sold it. I think they were 28 bucks online.

I think I'll install them this weekend. Should at least sound a lot
better than stock, and a little more Zuffhausen.

I bought a low-note horn at Autozone for under $15.00 and put that in parallel to my stock horn (using same bolt). Now, when using the horns, it is loud and I get everyone's attention (low and high-stock horn) sounding. That or it is so obnocious to everyone they look. It has helped me though!

- Brian

I agree about the wussy horn...noone takes it seriously. I put Fiamms on another car years ago. Liked the sound but hated the delay while the compresser built up pressure---say half a second. That half second delay can be important! Anybody else notice this or is it just me?

So it seems it´s either Hella or FIAMM...

Anyone know what BMWs have under the hood? I have noticed that BMWs sound pretty good (At least the previous generation of the 3 series does).

I also found this site with sound samples of some horns.

The horn does sound like crap, but what everyone needs is a huge foghorn for their Protege it will get you noticed

You can take the ones off of a big rig :D . That'll get someone's attention. And yeah, all Japanese car horns sound weak.

It's not so much the sound of the horn that is the problem for me...it is the fact that I have to really 'lean into' the steering wheel to get the horn to make any sound at all! Does anyone else have problems with their steering wheel?

yes, I really do have to mash the contact points for the horn to sound... no giving a friendly "beep" at someone you know...

My father-in-law actually did that... he has a transportation business, and own several big rigs.

He took the horn off one of them, and installed it in one of his cars. It was funny as hell to get behind people and see their reaction to it. :D :D

But I saw the horn... it´s huge. He said he would let me have it if I wanted it... but it wouldn´t fit under the hood of a Pro.



I don´t have this problem. All I have to do is lightly tap on it with one finger to make it beep.

Types of horns
 

There are 3 types of horns that I know of:
1. Electric Disc type - Euro sounding "beeep" (our stock is this type). It's disc shaped.

2. Electric Horn type - American sounding "baaah" (sounds kinda like trumpet). There's usually a square bell shaped opening.

3. Air Horn - slight compressor delay (sounds like a boat, or an antique car). It goes "fwaaaaaang". These look like long bugles.

FYI: You need to break-in the horn pad on your steering wheel to soften up the spring. Don't go wake up the neighborhood. Just use it more often than you normally do.

I have the FIAMM disc type. It's difficult to stand even 3 feet in the front of my car without covering your ears because they will get hurt and will ring for a while. I got blasted by accident during the install and the ringing didn't go away for a whole day. I completely underestimated the loudness.

I do like having a hi-lo sound in parallel because it sounds more pleasant, but having one sounded loud enough and I didn't want to tax the wiring. I think these discs draw about 4 Amps. The stock wiring seems kinda weak (18 gauge I think) to sustain 2 horns going off for a long time (for emergencies) without burning up.

Re: Crappy horn...
 

My friend got a triple airhorn. It sounds like a tractor trailer...

I really like the sound of the horns in BMWs. I might just go to the local BMW dealer and buy one.

I guess it´s easier to pick out one you like from cars you pass by, and then just go to that dealer and say, "I want a replacement horn from model X".

My friend with an Rx7 TT hated his horn too so he got a 120 dB horn that kicked anyone's ass who stood in front of him haha

these would probably make you happy.
Hella twin horns

I used to have a set of those on my previous car, they do sound pretty damn good... but they do take up a lot more room than the stock one.

Now there's a smart man!! If you're gonna go to all the trouble, might as well get a bad-ass sounding horn. :D

I bought ones that look EXACTLY like those. They are made in Italy, and are not Hella, but they look exactly the same... even the little holding brackets look the same.

They sound awesome!

But, like JJB said, they take a lot of room, and I couldn´t install them where the stock one used to be... I had to install them behind the front-right strut tower. I couldn´t install it anywhere else because of all the AC tubing, and I didn´t have enough time. But I might try and set it up behind the bottom front grill (not the top one where the emblem is, but the one between the fog lights).

trip to junkyard
rip out an old F-150 horns out
pay $5
swap out horns on P5
go for a drive
scare the shit out of unsuspecting motorists :cool:

If you had written "priceless" at the end, it would have been a MasterCard commercial. :D

Hehe.
Hey, question about installing the second horn in parallel. Where did you mount it? What size bolt?

The kit comes with these little metal holders to attach the horns. I used those to attach both to the same bolt on the passenger strut tower. (one of those bolts that have no nut on them... or is it nut with no bolt... anyway...).

I will eventually move the horns to a position closer to the front (perhaps right behind the grill that is between the fog lights... I think there is enough space there).

The kit came with these overcomplicated instructions and a relay, but I didn´t need it, so I tossed it and the instructions away (I´m an electrical engineer, so I never read manuals or istructions unless I burn or break something).

I don´t know the bolt size... I just looked through a bag of old bolts I had and used one. Just find one that fits. Make sure they are tight, or the vibration from the sound will move them.

It´s a piece of cake to do. Just takes a little thinking to install both of them and not have the hood touch them.

Thanks for the tip.

I believe there's a hole to mount the second horn on the chassis frame (above the radiator). The factory horn is mounted in this frame on the passenger side. This extra hole is on the driver side. Perhaps you can mount it there.

I tried mounting them where the factory horn was... but they are just a little bit too big... they didn´t fit (at least the ones I bought... some other brand might fit).

LOS-323,
I'm asking this because you're an electrical engineer. You're running two horns each drawing about 4 amps for a total of about 8 amps, right? The factory wiring seems to be a thin 18-gauge. In your experience, is this safe? Won't it overheat the wiring?

Wow - how have I missed this thread for so long.....;)

Anyway - I have a set of air horns, and have had them for quite a while. One of the best upgrades I've done so far.

Because of my inexperience with wiring them, I bought a set for a Miata from Moss Motors: http://www.miatamania.com/cgi-bin/db...9&PlateID=4369

I had put this exact set on my Miata, and was very pleased. Plus, they are designed for the single-wire horn setup, just like the Protege.

Anyway - I had a "hella" of a time (sorry - couldn't resist, even tho they are FIAMMs) finding a place to mount the horns under the hood. I still had my stock intake, and things are crowded under there. But I did find a very satisfactory location for both the horns and the compressor. I did have to extend the stock horn wire a few inches to reach, but that was no big deal. I have some pictures on WebShots that show the mounting pretty well: http://community.webshots.com/album/34434049WpPmay

I used the mounting bracket that came with the kit (remember, Miata) for the horns (had to trim the bracket just a smidge), and the stock horn bracket for the compressor.

Hope that helps some.

~HH

Question for TheMAN
 

Where did you mount the second OEM horn?

Thank you for your help.

02 DX Millenium Red
MP3 Strut Tower Bar kit
AEM Short Ram intake (sometimes)

I don´t think the increase in amps is worth upgrading anything. Even if the amps consumed are a lot more, you only use it for very short times... unlike the headlights, for example, where they are on for very long periods of time... enough time to overheat the wiring, and even burn a fuse. But the horns... I don´t think so... that´s why I didn´t even bother changing anything.

Also, like The Man said, if there is a 15amp fuse there, it means the wiring is designed to take much more than that.

sorry to possibly hijack here but my 02P5 horn is dying on me @ 4K miles....anyone else have that issue? I'll bring it to dealer and have them go stock.....for now.....
Though the Dixie horn from the General Lee is a possibilty....:D
FWIW I don't believe the horn issue is in regards to a charging issue as in having heat, wipers, headlights all at once...I don't see them dimming.....being in Boston I use the horn alot:rolleyes:

I'm sorry that your horn is starting to go. Not to discount the wisdom of TheMan and LOS-323, but please let us know if the problem is the wiring or the horn.

Yep, Boston sure demands a lot of hornwork. I believe the city is notorious for aggressive driving all around.

:doh:

I'll get it right next time :)

will do....sounds like a sick goose...I love the car and I understand my horn issue as a fluke for now

I would like to replace my OEM horn. What kind of horn is the easiest to replace the OEM with? Does FIAMM that replaces the OEM? I see several people have FIAMM horns, which model do you have?

I replaced my horn with a horn from Pep Boys. About $25. Much deeper sounding, like an American car.

http://www.morrownet.net/negatize/im...n_IMG_0472.jpg

It was actually a dual horn kit, but I only installed one horn. Works pretty well.

I thought of installing just one... but the sound of both complement each other. It sounds fuller. If you have the time, and the space, I would definitely suggest you install the other one as well. It really sounds better.

I installed a second horn last weekend. BIG difference.

Installed it next to the fluid bottle near where aftermarket intake filters are situated. There are several 6mm holes here.

Since I couldn't make it face the front there, the disc horn was installed facing down to reflect the soundwaves off the road for a reverb effect.

I tried it face up, but the insulation material on the hood absorbed some of sound.

It's so LOUD it hurts! It sounds exactly like a Mercedes Benz now.