Wimpy horn?
 

I've had my 3i for about a month now, and I very happy with it, except for the wimpy horn. :rant:

Has anyone replaced the stock horn with one that other drivers will actually hear? If yes, how hard is the install?

Thanks.

I Put one of these in my Miata aboiut three years ago...easy to install and LOUD as hell. 139db, and it sounds kinda..Porsche-like.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog....2520&SKU=77505

I just found the stock horn, unplugged it and wired up the Italian one. Been scaring the hell out of unattentive SUV drivers ever since. :)

hmm.. i might have to get me one of those

I have routinely been replacing stock horns on my cars for years. I install a high/low tone set of Fiamms. It's hard to find them labeled as such nowadays, but if you go to Pep Boys or any of the other chains and look at the horns in the package, chances are they will be labeled as Fiamms. Can't beat them for getting someone's attention (usually scares them then pisses them off when they see it isn't a semi). I normally have to fab up a bracket or two and extend the wire from one to the other, but it isn't hard to do. If the 3 is anything like the Protege, easiest thing to do is remove the front bumper cover to gain access.

The install is only slightly annoying. The horn is behind the driver's side fog light and as such there's not a lot of space to work in. Also it's a lot easier if you lift the car up on jack stands or ramps.

There are multiple choices I've seen people use to replace the horn, try googling these:
-Fiamm Freeway Blasters ~ $30 (this is what I have)
-Helle Supertones ~$55
-Wolo horns ~$25
-Stebel nautilus compact dual air horn ~$35 (this is what I'd prefer)

The Fiamms are much better than the stock Fiamm Hi tone on the car, and are pretty inexpensive. If I were doing it again then I go with the stebel horn. The dual horn with the compressor is about the size of two cans of redbull and puts out something like 138 db. Also when wired up it will go off when you hit the panic button, but when you just hit lock twice it just chirps for a second instead of going off full blast. That's just because the brief surge of power isn't enough to get the compressor fully going. I'd prefer that feature for lock confirmation vs. the horn going full blast.

Another wimpy horn remedy
 

After being cut off several times in my 3i and having the factory horn go completely unnoticed, I put in a set of the Hella Supertone 85115s. At 118dB @ 6', they are among the loudest horns you can get without going to air horns. I made a couple of brackets and mounted them right behind the grill. They came with a relay that I installed where the factory horn was and used the factory horn wire to activate the relay, and then ran 12 AWG wire from the battery to the relay (fused) and from the relay to the horns to allow them to operate at their full potential. They cost ~ $60.00 shipped and are well worth the investment.

^nice.

Aftermarket horn
 

Just installed a Stebel Nautilus from Griot's Garage. Even with the CAI clearing the area, it was still a bear to install. Big improvement, though. Stock horn is also a Stebel if I remember correctly, but it's the size of a seashell.
Daryl

congrats on your install. OEM horn is a Fiamm. ;)

I ordered the horn from Griot's that eggynatey mentioned.

Here's the stock horn next to the new one:

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...500/Horns1.JPG

It probably would have fit in the stock location (behind the fog light on the driver side), but it would have been very tight, so I moved it up to a spot behind the front grille.

Here's what it looks like installed (with the grille off, so you can see):

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...rn_Install.JPG

Much, much louder than the wimpy stock horn. :pfanndina

My buddy just installed a frickin train horn in his Blazer. It sounds ridiculous. It's so damn loud. Scared the crap out of me when he hit the switch.

Out of all horns you guys used which one I can use with stock wires and still be loud ?

My Mazda 3 horn may be wimpy, but I still see it as an improvement from my old protege horn...

Any of them can be hooked up using the stock wiring. Both the Hella supertones and the stebel nautilus come with relays for wiring them up, however I know people who have done both of them without the relays and they have had no problems from them in over a year.

So did I (a lot longer ago than three years though) and actually have forgotten that a car sounds any different (until I use it!). If you want or need a horn put an air horn in! No question.